Islam, Gender, and Social Change
The anthology, Islam, Gender and Social Change, starts with an introduction by Professor John Esposito, one of the coeditors, and it continues with an overarching chapter "Islam and Gender: Dilemmas in the Changing Arab World" by the other coeditor, Professor Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad. The int...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
International Institute of Islamic Thought
2000-07-01
|
| Series: | American Journal of Islam and Society |
| Online Access: | https://www.ajis.org/index.php/ajiss/article/view/2067 |
| _version_ | 1798027813894225920 |
|---|---|
| author | Anne Sofie Roald |
| author_facet | Anne Sofie Roald |
| author_sort | Anne Sofie Roald |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The anthology, Islam, Gender and Social Change, starts with an introduction
by Professor John Esposito, one of the coeditors, and it continues with an overarching
chapter "Islam and Gender: Dilemmas in the Changing Arab World" by the other coeditor, Professor Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad. The introduction
gives a short survey of gender issues in Islamic history and it points out that
reforms in women’s issues have more often than not been a State rather than a
grassroots concern. The strength of the introduction is that in contrast to many
of the other articles in this volume, it takes into account not only the feminist
point of view on gender but deals with the various views that exist in Muslim
society.
Haddad’s chapter introduces the first part of the anthology titled “Islam,
Gender, and Social Change: A Reconstituted Tradition,” which gives the reader
a short survey of the modem challenges facing Arab society. She sees the
main factors of change in the Arab world as the economic fluctuations of the
1970s and 1980s: labor migration, women’s entrance into the labor market,
State ideology and politics, the Islamic movement’s role in society, United
Nations’ recommendations, and input from Western feminist movements. So
far, so good; however, in her following comments, Haddad has a tendency to
victimize Arab Muslim women, particularly the religious-oriented- viewpoint
which, as a researcher on the Muslim world, I cannot always agree with.
This victimization is partly a result of how Muslim women are often described
from an outsider’s perspective, either from a Western or a secular Muslim point
of view. Victimization of Muslim women is not only a feature in Haddad’s article
but also in many of the other articles in this book. Interestingly, even the
few Muslim contributors do not have a particular Islamic outlook; rather, they
are part of a Western research paradigm. The fact that Islamic-oriented Muslim
women are generally defined within a frame of Western research traditions
reinforces, on the one hand, attitudes of “we” and “them” and, on the other, the
notion that these women are victims rather than women responsible for their
own lives ... |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T18:58:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b31e76247d9040df8a6e8442cf5cd072 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2690-3733 2690-3741 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T18:58:50Z |
| publishDate | 2000-07-01 |
| publisher | International Institute of Islamic Thought |
| record_format | Article |
| series | American Journal of Islam and Society |
| spelling | doaj.art-b31e76247d9040df8a6e8442cf5cd0722022-12-22T04:08:07ZengInternational Institute of Islamic ThoughtAmerican Journal of Islam and Society2690-37332690-37412000-07-0117210.35632/ajis.v17i2.2067Islam, Gender, and Social ChangeAnne Sofie RoaldThe anthology, Islam, Gender and Social Change, starts with an introduction by Professor John Esposito, one of the coeditors, and it continues with an overarching chapter "Islam and Gender: Dilemmas in the Changing Arab World" by the other coeditor, Professor Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad. The introduction gives a short survey of gender issues in Islamic history and it points out that reforms in women’s issues have more often than not been a State rather than a grassroots concern. The strength of the introduction is that in contrast to many of the other articles in this volume, it takes into account not only the feminist point of view on gender but deals with the various views that exist in Muslim society. Haddad’s chapter introduces the first part of the anthology titled “Islam, Gender, and Social Change: A Reconstituted Tradition,” which gives the reader a short survey of the modem challenges facing Arab society. She sees the main factors of change in the Arab world as the economic fluctuations of the 1970s and 1980s: labor migration, women’s entrance into the labor market, State ideology and politics, the Islamic movement’s role in society, United Nations’ recommendations, and input from Western feminist movements. So far, so good; however, in her following comments, Haddad has a tendency to victimize Arab Muslim women, particularly the religious-oriented- viewpoint which, as a researcher on the Muslim world, I cannot always agree with. This victimization is partly a result of how Muslim women are often described from an outsider’s perspective, either from a Western or a secular Muslim point of view. Victimization of Muslim women is not only a feature in Haddad’s article but also in many of the other articles in this book. Interestingly, even the few Muslim contributors do not have a particular Islamic outlook; rather, they are part of a Western research paradigm. The fact that Islamic-oriented Muslim women are generally defined within a frame of Western research traditions reinforces, on the one hand, attitudes of “we” and “them” and, on the other, the notion that these women are victims rather than women responsible for their own lives ...https://www.ajis.org/index.php/ajiss/article/view/2067 |
| spellingShingle | Anne Sofie Roald Islam, Gender, and Social Change American Journal of Islam and Society |
| title | Islam, Gender, and Social Change |
| title_full | Islam, Gender, and Social Change |
| title_fullStr | Islam, Gender, and Social Change |
| title_full_unstemmed | Islam, Gender, and Social Change |
| title_short | Islam, Gender, and Social Change |
| title_sort | islam gender and social change |
| url | https://www.ajis.org/index.php/ajiss/article/view/2067 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT annesofieroald islamgenderandsocialchange |