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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Rethinking Muslim Women and the Veil |
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| AbdulBasir |
| 12/08/02 at 19:02:20 |
| [slm] Anyone read this book? I actually got this for someone for Eid but sort of cheated and read it before sending it to them. :) This book is really a tremendous effort. It is written by a convert to Islam and is unique in that it might be one of the first rigorous detailed analyses of hijab written by a Muslim (and one living in the West) that discusses hijab within the context of the complex arguments put forth against it by Orientalists and liberal feminists. Most Muslims works on hijab are overly emotional, or simplistic, and dimiss the arguments of liberal feminism without responding to them. Katherine Bullock responds to these arguments in a way that many long frustrated by the works of Mernissi, Goodwin, Brooks and others have been hoping for for quite some time. Rather than sidestepping them, she analyzes and questions many of them, using the language of feminist discourse, and then proposes an alternative (and positive) theory to the hijab. It is this complex analysis, which also includes a discussion of the origins of the negative Western attitude towards hijab in the colonial era, with discussions of many of the feminist theories regarding femininity and essentialism and how they relate to hijab that distinguish this book. One of the best sections of the book is an entire chapter dedicated solely to discussing and refuting the works of Mernissi. Anyone who has had the displeasure of reading Mernissi should read this book definitely! Another unique aspect of this book is that she dedicates a whole section to an analysis of her own personal interviews with Muslim women and their views and experiences on hijab. This adds a personal touch and credibility to many of the concepts she discusses later in formulating a very positive theory about hijab. May Allah reward Sr. Bullock for this book; it might be the best and most high-level analysis of hijab from an Islamic feminist perspective out there. [slm] |
| 12/10/02 at 20:36:08 |
| AbdulBasir |
| Re: Rethinking Muslim Women and the Veil |
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| merimda |
| 12/12/02 at 01:55:30 |
| Wa Alaikum Assalam, I don't have this book but I have Sr. Kathy's thesis "The Politics of the Veil". I believe the book is an edited and refined version of her thesis. The only chapter I have read is the one you mentioned..The one in which she critiques Fatima Mernissi's arguments about the veil in "Beyond the Veil" and "The Veil and the Male Elite". Masha-Allah sr. Kathy does a good job discrediting Mernissi's arguments by revealing flaws and contradictions in her (Mernissi) methodology . This thesis was lent (now given) to me two years ago and I have been meaning to read the whole thing but just never made the time or I would forget. Hopefully this review will encourage me to to make the time, insha-Allah. salam, merimda |
| 12/12/02 at 01:58:42 |
| merimda |
| Re: Rethinking Muslim Women and the Veil |
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| gift |
| 12/12/02 at 05:17:06 |
| [slm] do you guys mean sr kathy as in momma mod!!! :o [wlm] |
| Re: Rethinking Muslim Women and the Veil |
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| Sara |
| 12/12/02 at 07:18:36 |
| [slm] Attia, they mean Sis Kathy Bullock. :) |
| Re: Rethinking Muslim Women and the Veil |
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| Kathy |
| 12/12/02 at 09:07:37 |
| [wlm] AHHHHH! another Sister Kathy?![img]http://www.jordysworld.de/emoticons/cool23.gif[/img] I thought my name would be original in the Muslim world! Ah well, as those who know me personally, they know I do not like being called "Sister." What a wonderful sign.... more Muslim reverts! |
| 12/12/02 at 09:10:30 |
| Kathy |
| Re: Rethinking Muslim Women and the Veil |
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| gift |
| 12/12/02 at 09:54:32 |
| [slm] oops - boy do i feel stupid :P :-/ [wlm] |
| Re: Rethinking Muslim Women and the Veil |
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| se7en |
| 12/12/02 at 14:02:51 |
| as salaamu alaykum, I ran out of money before I could buy it at isna :'( Last I heard, she was writing an anthology on Muslim women writers.. anyone know what happened with that? wasalaamu alaykum :-) ps -- I just did some surfing and found the story of Sr. Katherine's conversion!!.. subhanAllah [url]http://www.islamfortoday.com/12hours.htm[/url] |
| Re: Rethinking Muslim Women and the Veil |
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| WhatDFish |
| 12/15/02 at 10:19:17 |
| assalaamu`alaikum i just ordered the book from http://store.talkislam.com/index.html, thanks guys. and ill recommend it to every person i meet who champions Mernissi's books! |
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