Product Description

"Islamic feminism" would seem a contradiction in terms to most Westerners. We are taught to think of Islam as a culture wherein social code and religious law alike force women to accept male authority and surrender to the veil. How could feminism emerge under such a code, let alone flourish? Now, traveling throughout Central Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, as well as Islamic communities in the United States, acclaimed Arab Studies scholar and bestselling author Elizabeth Fernea sets out to answer that question.

Fernea's dialogue with friends, colleagues, and acquaintances prompts a range of diverse and unpredictable responses, but in every country she visits, women demonstrate they are anything but passive. In Iraq, we see an 85 percent literacy rate among women; in Egypt, we see women owning their own farms; and in Israel, we see women at the very forefront of peacemaking efforts. Poor or rich, educated or illiterate, these women define their own needs, solve their own problems, and determine the boundaries of their own very real, very viable feminism. In Search of Islamic Feminism offers a groundbreaking new interpretation of the status and vision of Muslim women that will open up a new world to its readers, even as it challenges our own sense of what feminism means.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1479271 in Books
• Published on: 1998-11-10
• Released on: 1998-11-10
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 7.97" h x 1.07" w x 5.23" l, .83 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

From Amazon.com
To the West, the Islamic world often appears homogeneous and monolithic; the Islam practiced in Iran or Saudi Arabia is our model for Islam everywhere: heavily veiled women, strictly segregated schools and workplaces, the harsh law of sharia demanding a thief's hand cut off or an adulterous woman stoned to death. In reality, the practice of Islam varies widely from place to place and culture to culture; in Turkey, for example, Islam may be the religion of the majority, but the political and legal systems are strictly secular. In Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, politics and religion are one, represented by the power of the mullahs and the ruling family. Uzbeki Muslims are different from Senegalese Muslims, and North African Islam has more than a little sub-Saharan influence to thank for its pantheon of djinns, afrites, and holy saints. Just as religious practices differ from country to country, so does the impact of Islam on women. Muslim women in Morocco, for example, have the legal right to drive a car, while women in Saudi Arabia do not. This being the case, is it even possible to define an Islamic brand of feminism? Elizabeth Warnock Fernea, a professor of Middle Eastern studies at the University of Texas, Austin, certainly tries and, in many cases, succeeds. Her book, In Search of Islamic Feminism, is both an account of her many years spent living and traveling in the Middle East and an attempt to define the issues facing Islamic women today. Though Fernea occasionally comes off as naive, she also makes valuable points about the many faces of Islam and feminism.

From Library Journal
Feminism, like democracy, is not an easy sell in many parts of the world, especially in traditional societies with autocratic regimes. However, feminism today enjoys an advantage in that it can adapt to local cultural forms and practices; hence the author's concept of Islamic feminism. Fernea, who has written numerous books on the Middle East (e.g., Children in the Muslin Middle East, Univ. of Texas, 1995) has firsthand experience of the cultural context she treats in this investigation. Starting in the mid-1950s, she has traveled repeatedly with her family to the Middle East, spending years at a time there. Here she sets out to answer basic yet sometimes complex questions about Middle Eastern women: their predicament, what feminism means to them, whether its ideas are helpful, and the alternatives in traditional societies. The last chapter is on Muslim women in the United States. Although the author states in conclusion that Islamic feminism seems to her to be alive and well in the countries she visited, gender equality is still a long way off. Highly recommended for all libraries and essential for women's studies collections.?Ali Houissa, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
A remarkable, stereotype-shattering, gender-bending study of Middle Eastern women and their efforts to gain equality. Fernea (Middle Eastern Studies/Univ. of Texas) spent two years traveling to Uzbekistan, Morocco, Kuwait, Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Israel asking these questions: Is feminism possible under Islam, a religion that at least on the surface seems to demand that women be subservient to men? And if so, how is Islamic feminism different from Western feminism? Fascinating questions, these. And Fernea (coauthor, The Arab World, 1985, etc.) does an admirable job of chronicling her attempts to answer them. A travelogue of sorts, the book yields some surprises. Chief among them to Western feminists--who almost universally believe feminism is impossible for women hidden behind facial veils--is this: Feminism in the Middle East is alive and well. In Morocco, for instance, at least 20 percent of the judges are women. Not only that, but much of the funding for a major women's research center has come from the government. Which is not to suggest that all is perfect. Women's place under sharia, or Islamic law, remains up for interpretation; Uzbekistani women still rely on abortions as their primary form of birth control. Conversational in tone, the book could have used a little more editing. (Do readers really need the menu for every meal Fernea ate on her voyages?) In her effort to be exacting and fair, Fernea also includes items that do little to advance her narrative. Why, for instance, include details about an interview that never takes place with Safinaz Kassam, an Egyptian literary and drama critic? Don't let the academic-sounding title deter you. This volume explodes the myth that feminism can't take root in lands where Islam rules. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.