Description
Book SynopsisFocuses on women's Islamic activism in Egypt to challenge binary representations of religious versus secular subjectivities
Trade ReviewAn Islam of Her Ownmakes important contributions to our understanding of contemporary forms of Islamic activism and will be of great use to students and scholars in the fields of women's studies, anthropology and Middle East studies.- -- Amira Mittermaier * European Association of Social Anthropologists *
A unique and thought-provoking study of women's Islamic activism in Egypt. -- Nadine Muller and Claire O'Callaghan * The Year's Work in Critical and Cultural Theory *
This unique study of the personal narratives of women active in Islamic charity organizations in Cairo allows us to glimpse the surprisingly complicated and contemporary meanings for them of & Islam as a way of living. -- Lila Abu-Lughod,author of Writing Women's Worlds: Bedouin Stories
An informative, critical engagement of the interplay of feminism and religion in a postcolonial society. -- A. Madhi * Choice *
A lucid account of the personal, community, and national forces that shape Egyptian Muslim women who engage in social activism as part of their commitment to religious ideals. This book seeks to go beyond the usual dichotomies that pit the secular and modern against the religious and traditional. -- Marnia Lazreg,author of Questioning the Veil: Open Letters to Muslim Women
Emphasizing narratives that explore modern selfhood and identity politics among Islamic activist women, Hafez examines the many contexts that transcend an opposition between religion and secularism. This timely, excellent book formulates new methodological and theoretical approaches relevant to anthropology, religious studies, gender studies, and Middle East studies. -- Susan Slyomovics,co-editor of Women and Power in the Middle East
This book makes an excellent contribution to Islamic social movement research by challenging the binary categories of religion" and "secular" discourses that have been used to previously evaluate the goals and motivations underpinning Islamic activism. * Mobilization *
This is an excellent absorbing study of contemporary activism in educated professional Muslim women. * The Muslim World Book Review *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments 1 Introducing Desiring Subjects 2 Writing Religion: Islam and Subjectivity 3 Women's Islamic Movements in the Making 4 An Islam of Her Own: Narratives of Activism 5 Desires for Ideal Womanhood 6 Development and Social Change: Mehmeit 7 Reconsidering Women's Desires in Islamic Movements Glossary Notes Bibliography Index About the Author
