Between Warrior Brother and Veiled Sister
This book examines the construction of gender and patriarchy in Iran during the onset of modernity, the Islamic revolution of 1979, and the post-revolution era. Among the many works published by prominent scholars of Islam and Iranian women’s studies, Minoo Moallem’s investigation of the constructio...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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International Institute of Islamic Thought
2008-04-01
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| Series: | American Journal of Islam and Society |
| Online Access: | https://www.ajis.org/index.php/ajiss/article/view/1480 |
| _version_ | 1818908669094395904 |
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| author | Minoo Derayeh |
| author_facet | Minoo Derayeh |
| author_sort | Minoo Derayeh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This book examines the construction of gender and patriarchy in Iran during
the onset of modernity, the Islamic revolution of 1979, and the post-revolution
era. Among the many works published by prominent scholars of Islam
and Iranian women’s studies, Minoo Moallem’s investigation of the construction
of gender by neo-colonial modernity and political movements of a
nationalist or fundamentalist orientation deserves special attention.
Inspired by Michel Foucault as well as Caren Kaplan and Inderpal
Grewal, Moallem incorporates a post-modern and a transnational feminist
approach by arguing that post-modernity should be used as a framework to
study the growth of modernity (p. 20). Challenging the popular belief that
fundamentalism is a return to the roots and early periods of a tradition or a
culture, she finds it “in dialogue with modernity” (p. 13) and thus argues
that the Islamic fundamentalism observed in the twentieth century is a postmodernization
phenomenon; in her words, “a by-product of the process of
modernization” (ibid.). Nevertheless, she does not actually consider fundamentalism
to be a truly post-modern phenomenon, since it does not respect
the “concept of difference,” as is the case with nationalism.
Moallem questions the stereotypes presented by the travelers and foreign
diplomats of the late-eighteenth to early-twentieth centuries concerning
the harem, the veil, women, and so on. She challenges their vantage point in
creating “otherness” and portraying Islam as barbaric. Although many
works deal with women, patriarchy, and the construction of gender under the
Pahlavis, the author offers a new reading and shows how the two rulers’
forceful steps in the name of modernization and progress led to the establishment
of a nation-state in which each individual – man or woman – was
socialized to perform his/her role according to the “natural and social division
of labour” (p. 74).
Her work is timely, especially now when Islamic fundamentalism is
defined and analyzed by the politics of power through the global media. In
the case or jihad, for instance, the author states that for fundamentalists, and
more specifically in Ayatullah Khomeini’s view, there are two types of jihad: ... |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T22:14:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3ced3452516e4de880c84748168a4b9a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2690-3733 2690-3741 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T22:14:41Z |
| publishDate | 2008-04-01 |
| publisher | International Institute of Islamic Thought |
| record_format | Article |
| series | American Journal of Islam and Society |
| spelling | doaj.art-3ced3452516e4de880c84748168a4b9a2022-12-21T20:03:48ZengInternational Institute of Islamic ThoughtAmerican Journal of Islam and Society2690-37332690-37412008-04-0125210.35632/ajis.v25i2.1480Between Warrior Brother and Veiled SisterMinoo DerayehThis book examines the construction of gender and patriarchy in Iran during the onset of modernity, the Islamic revolution of 1979, and the post-revolution era. Among the many works published by prominent scholars of Islam and Iranian women’s studies, Minoo Moallem’s investigation of the construction of gender by neo-colonial modernity and political movements of a nationalist or fundamentalist orientation deserves special attention. Inspired by Michel Foucault as well as Caren Kaplan and Inderpal Grewal, Moallem incorporates a post-modern and a transnational feminist approach by arguing that post-modernity should be used as a framework to study the growth of modernity (p. 20). Challenging the popular belief that fundamentalism is a return to the roots and early periods of a tradition or a culture, she finds it “in dialogue with modernity” (p. 13) and thus argues that the Islamic fundamentalism observed in the twentieth century is a postmodernization phenomenon; in her words, “a by-product of the process of modernization” (ibid.). Nevertheless, she does not actually consider fundamentalism to be a truly post-modern phenomenon, since it does not respect the “concept of difference,” as is the case with nationalism. Moallem questions the stereotypes presented by the travelers and foreign diplomats of the late-eighteenth to early-twentieth centuries concerning the harem, the veil, women, and so on. She challenges their vantage point in creating “otherness” and portraying Islam as barbaric. Although many works deal with women, patriarchy, and the construction of gender under the Pahlavis, the author offers a new reading and shows how the two rulers’ forceful steps in the name of modernization and progress led to the establishment of a nation-state in which each individual – man or woman – was socialized to perform his/her role according to the “natural and social division of labour” (p. 74). Her work is timely, especially now when Islamic fundamentalism is defined and analyzed by the politics of power through the global media. In the case or jihad, for instance, the author states that for fundamentalists, and more specifically in Ayatullah Khomeini’s view, there are two types of jihad: ...https://www.ajis.org/index.php/ajiss/article/view/1480 |
| spellingShingle | Minoo Derayeh Between Warrior Brother and Veiled Sister American Journal of Islam and Society |
| title | Between Warrior Brother and Veiled Sister |
| title_full | Between Warrior Brother and Veiled Sister |
| title_fullStr | Between Warrior Brother and Veiled Sister |
| title_full_unstemmed | Between Warrior Brother and Veiled Sister |
| title_short | Between Warrior Brother and Veiled Sister |
| title_sort | between warrior brother and veiled sister |
| url | https://www.ajis.org/index.php/ajiss/article/view/1480 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT minooderayeh betweenwarriorbrotherandveiledsister |