Images of the Muslim Woman and the Construction of Muslim Identity. The Essentialist Paradigm
This article argues that much of the postmodern discourse on the Muslim woman and her veil is symptomatic of what I call the “essentialist paradigm”. The world is seen through the prism of a group’s religious/cultural identity and eventually constructs a Muslim identity – and with it an image of the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Karl Franzens Universität Graz
2016-05-01
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| Series: | Journal for Religion, Film and Media |
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| Online Access: | http://unipub.uni-graz.at/jrfm/periodical/pageview/1304745 |
| _version_ | 1818807509330165760 |
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| author | Elham Manea |
| author_facet | Elham Manea |
| author_sort | Elham Manea |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article argues that much of the postmodern discourse on the Muslim woman and her veil is symptomatic of what I call the “essentialist paradigm”. The world is seen through the prism of a group’s religious/cultural identity and eventually constructs a Muslim identity – and with it an image of the Muslim Woman. The image of the oppressed veiled Muslim Woman and the treatment of a piece of cloth as synonymous with her whole identity and being are products of this paradigm of thought. Using an interdisciplinary approach that combines discourse analysis and a case study of the construction of the British Muslim community, this article argues that the essentialist paradigm ignores the context of its subject matter with all its accompanying power structures, political and social factors, and the roles played by both the state and fundamentalist Islam in constructing a Muslim identity and with it the Muslim Woman and her dress code. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-18T19:26:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-26422aa10eda426ba342ad31b0c9170f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2414-0201 2414-0201 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-18T19:26:48Z |
| publishDate | 2016-05-01 |
| publisher | Karl Franzens Universität Graz |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal for Religion, Film and Media |
| spelling | doaj.art-26422aa10eda426ba342ad31b0c9170f2022-12-21T20:55:50ZengKarl Franzens Universität GrazJournal for Religion, Film and Media2414-02012414-02012016-05-012191110Images of the Muslim Woman and the Construction of Muslim Identity. The Essentialist ParadigmElham Manea0Zurich UniversityThis article argues that much of the postmodern discourse on the Muslim woman and her veil is symptomatic of what I call the “essentialist paradigm”. The world is seen through the prism of a group’s religious/cultural identity and eventually constructs a Muslim identity – and with it an image of the Muslim Woman. The image of the oppressed veiled Muslim Woman and the treatment of a piece of cloth as synonymous with her whole identity and being are products of this paradigm of thought. Using an interdisciplinary approach that combines discourse analysis and a case study of the construction of the British Muslim community, this article argues that the essentialist paradigm ignores the context of its subject matter with all its accompanying power structures, political and social factors, and the roles played by both the state and fundamentalist Islam in constructing a Muslim identity and with it the Muslim Woman and her dress code.http://unipub.uni-graz.at/jrfm/periodical/pageview/1304745veilIslamgroup identityessentialist paradigmMuslim WomanBritish Muslim community |
| spellingShingle | Elham Manea Images of the Muslim Woman and the Construction of Muslim Identity. The Essentialist Paradigm Journal for Religion, Film and Media veil Islam group identity essentialist paradigm Muslim Woman British Muslim community |
| title | Images of the Muslim Woman and the Construction of Muslim Identity. The Essentialist Paradigm |
| title_full | Images of the Muslim Woman and the Construction of Muslim Identity. The Essentialist Paradigm |
| title_fullStr | Images of the Muslim Woman and the Construction of Muslim Identity. The Essentialist Paradigm |
| title_full_unstemmed | Images of the Muslim Woman and the Construction of Muslim Identity. The Essentialist Paradigm |
| title_short | Images of the Muslim Woman and the Construction of Muslim Identity. The Essentialist Paradigm |
| title_sort | images of the muslim woman and the construction of muslim identity the essentialist paradigm |
| topic | veil Islam group identity essentialist paradigm Muslim Woman British Muslim community |
| url | http://unipub.uni-graz.at/jrfm/periodical/pageview/1304745 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT elhammanea imagesofthemuslimwomanandtheconstructionofmuslimidentitytheessentialistparadigm |