To Wear or Not to Wear the Hijab Online (a Study of the Identity Performances of Muslim Canadian Women on Facebook)
Autor/in:
Mohammadi, Fatemeh
Quelle: Journal of Cyberspace Studies, 4 (2020) 2, S 81-160
Inhalt: This paper looks at how Muslim women with an Iranian background and now living in Canada perform their identity through wearing the hijab. This was achieved by observing the behavior of six members of this community on Facebook using Erving Goffman’s stigmatization theory. The observation reveals that women who wear the hijab are more likely to identify themselves as Muslim-Canadian while those who have abandoned the hijab after immigration are more likely to identify themselves as Iranian-Canadian. Moreover, the results show that while Goffman’s theory is very useful in trying to understand the stigmatization of the veil after the 9/11 attacks as well as other extremists’ attacks, the pressures that this created on Muslim women, as well as the behavior of some women in dropping the veil in order to ‘pass’ such stigmatization, his theory is of limited use in understanding the more complicated performance of women who kept their hijab in spite of the challenges they faced.
Changing Gender Norms in Islam Between Reason and Revelation
Autor/in:
Bakhshizadeh, Marziyeh
Quelle: Opladen, 2018. 247 S
Inhalt: Women‘s movements in Islamic countries have had a long and arduous journey in their quest for the realization of human rights and genuine equality. The author examines whether discriminatory laws against women do in fact originate from Islam and, ultimately, if there is any interpretation of Islam compatible with gender equality. She investigates women’s rights in Iran since the 1979 Revolution from the perspectives of the main currents of Islamic thought, fundamentalists, reformists, and seculars, using a sociological explanation. The disputes about human reason and its relation to revelation can be traced in various Islamic schools of thought since the eighth century AD. However, the disputes have intensified since the eighteenth century when Muslims faced challenges to their faith and social order, brought about by modernity and enlightenment from the West. There were various reactions within the Islamic world. These reflections produced different interpretations of Islam that can be categorized based on their understanding of how compatible Islamic laws are with a specific time and space; as well as how they define the relationship between human reason and revelation. The three major interpretations of Islam within a spectrum are on the far right fundamentalists, in the middle reformists, and on the far left secularists; each having diverse views on the legitimacy and applicability of all Islamic law in modern times, and consequently having various perspectives on justice and gender equality. Accordingly, the author aims to investigate the different interpretations on Islam to find out which interpretations are compatible with the global norms of justice, and hence in accord to women’s rights and gender equality. In order to analyze the Islamic thought flows through a sociological perspective, a theoretical model is proposed based on theories of sociology of religion (Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann), Structuration theory (Anthony Giddens) and struggles related to universal norms of justice (Nancy Fraser, Axel Honneth, Seyla Benhabib). According to this theoretical model, there is a dialectical relationship between individual and structure. Religion, as a factor of structure, defines a framework of interaction for individual agents in personal and social life. Religion also offers a value and meaning system for human beings. On the other hand, human beings examine the patterns of interaction through 'reflexive monitoring,' and employing human reason and rational explanation. Therefore, human beings do not passively accept all patterns of interaction. In this model of dialectical relationship between individual and structure, justice means providing equal access to political, economic, and cultural resources in society and in the family. On this matter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women provide practical and universal criteria for the protection of human and women's rights, and ensure gender equality in society. Following the theoretical model, the research aims to reconstruct the main interpretations of Islam in three core issues of Islamic law, human reason, and women’s rights considering universal norms of justice.
Schlagwörter:Gender; gender; Islam; Islam; Menschenrechte; human rights; Diskriminierung; discrimination; religiöse Faktoren; religious factors; Gerechtigkeit; justice; Vernunft; reason; Gleichberechtigung; equality of rights; Gleichstellung; affirmative action; woman; Iran; Iran
SSOAR Kategorie:Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung, Religionssoziologie
When the Personal Is Always Political: Norwegian Muslims' Arguments for Women's Rights
Autor/in:
Helseth, Hannah
Quelle: Social Inclusion, 6 (2018) 4, S 59-66
Inhalt: For almost two decades, the public debate about Islam in Western Europe has been dominated by concerns about the lack of gender equality in the racialized Muslim population. There has been a tendency to victimize "the Muslim woman" rather than to encourage Muslim women’s participation in the public debate about their lives. This contribution to the study of discourses on Muslim women is an analysis of arguments written by Muslims about women’s rights. The data consists of 239 texts written by self-defined Muslims in major Norwegian newspapers about women’s rights. I will discuss two findings from the study. The first is an appeal to be personal when discussing issues of domestic violence and racism is combined with an implicit and explicit demand to represent all Muslims in order to get published in newspapers - which creates an ethno-religious threshold for participation in the public debate. The second finding is that, across different positions and different religious affiliations, from conservative to nearly secular, and across the timeline, from 2000 to 2012, there is a dominant understanding of women's rights as individual autonomy. These findings will be discussed from different theoretical perspectives to explore how arguments for individual autonomy can both challenge and amplify neoliberal agendas.
Schlagwörter:Arendt, H.; Arendt, H.; Feminismus; feminism; Individualismus; individualism; Neoliberalismus; neoliberalism; Islam; Islam; Gleichstellung; affirmative action; Menschenrechte; human rights; woman; Muslim; Muslim; Europa; Europe; Norwegen; Norway; Brown, W.; public debate; traditional media; women’s rights
SSOAR Kategorie:Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung, Religionssoziologie
From Salafi preaching to political preaching: women's turnout and the evolution of Salafi movements in Egypt
Titelübersetzung:Von der Salafiyya zur Politik: die politische Partizipation von Frauen und die Entwicklung der Salafiyya-Bewegungen in Ägypten
Autor/in:
Bouras, Naïma
Quelle: GENDER - Zeitschrift für Geschlecht, Kultur und Gesellschaft, 9 (2017) 1, S 30-43
Inhalt: "Der Beitrag beleuchtet das Engagement von Frauen im Umfeld der Salafiyya. Dazu wird gefragt, auf welche Weise Frauen an der Politisierung der Salafiyya-Strömungen teilhaben. Um dieser Frage nachzugehen, werden in einem induktiven Vorgehen zentrale Beiträge von Frauen zur Verbreitung der Salafiyya-Ideologie analysiert. Zudem wird die Teilnahme der Frauen - durch soziale Netzwerke wie Facebook oder ägyptischen Medien - am Prozess der Politisierung der Salafiyya nach dem Aufstand von 2011 untersucht." (Autorenreferat)
Inhalt: "This article investigates women's involvement in the Salafi milieu. We ask how women follow and participate in the politicization of Salafi trends. To answer this question, we analyze, through an inductive approach, their important contributions in spreading Salafi ideology. Then, we investigate their participation - through social networks (e.g., Facebook, Egyptian media) - in the process of Salafi politicization in the aftermath of the 2011 uprising." (author's abstract)
Schlagwörter:Ägypten; Egypt; Islam; Islam; Politisierung; politicization; Revolution; revolution; woman; Empowerment; empowerment; politische Partizipation; political participation; religiöse Bewegung; religious movement; arabische Länder; Arab countries; Nordafrika; North Africa
SSOAR Kategorie:Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung, politische Willensbildung, politische Soziologie, politische Kultur, Religionssoziologie
Challenges for gender equality: women's religious circles in post-revolutionary Iran
Titelübersetzung:Herausforderung für Geschlechtergleichheit: religiöse Frauenzirkel im postrevolutionären Iran
Autor/in:
Chavoshian, Sana
Quelle: GENDER - Zeitschrift für Geschlecht, Kultur und Gesellschaft, 9 (2017) 3, S 117-132
Inhalt: "Die Handlungsmacht von Frauen im postrevolutionären Iran ist in hohem Maße mit religiösen Frauenzirkeln und deren spezifischen Ritualen verbunden. Aktuelle wissenschaftliche Arbeiten attestieren neuen Formen religiös basierter Präsenz von Frauen in der Öffentlichkeit eine hohe Bedeutung. Im Fall des Iran ist die drängende Frage, in welchem Ausmaß religiöses Handeln in weiblichen Pietätszirkeln - lange vor der Revolution 1978/79 gegründet und mit wachsender Relevanz danach - über diese Zirkel hinaus zivilgesellschaftliche Bedeutung zukommt. Diese Studie widmet sich den inneren Dynamiken unter Frauen innerhalb der Zirkel aus der Perspektive struktureller Machtbeziehungen. Im Mittelpunkt steht der Prozess der 'Selbst-Spiritualisierung' von Frauen, und zwar als eine Form der Selbstermächtigung und Selbstautorisierung, und weiterhin als Modus einer spirituell legitimierten Hierarchiebildung innerhalb der Zirkel. Es wird argumentiert, dass diese Art des religiösen Wettbewerbs unter Frauen Geschlechtersegregation reproduziert und die Unterordnung unter institutionalisierte Strukturen männlicher, religiöser Macht verstärkt. Die Wirkungen der 'Selbst-Spiritualisierung' in Form von Selbstermächtigung, Selbstautorisierung können aber auch als Ausdruck von Selbstbestimmung gelesen werden: über das Aushandeln von neuen Geschlechterrollen und politischen Lebenshaltungen, inklusive nichtreligiöser Bewegungen." (Autorenreferat)
Inhalt: "The agency of women in Islamicate societies is largely anchored in ideas over pious circles and gender-specific rituals. Recent studies attest religious modes of women's presence in the public space a high significance. Taking the case of Iran, the urging question is how and to which extent religious agency within female pious circles - which were formed before the 1978/9 Revolution and fashioned after it - has been able to attain broader civil significance beyond these circles. This study explores the inner dynamics of female pious circles among women as related to structural power relations. It spells out the process of 'self-spiritualization' to characterize interactions within the circles that act as a tool for self-elevation and self-authorization and as a mode of spiritually legitimated construction of hierarchies within the circles' spiritual empowerment. It is argued that a type of pious competition between the women unfolds leading to an affirmation of gender segregation and concomitantly, of submission to institutionalized structures of masculine hierarchy and power. Finally, it pursues the effects of unfolding 'self-spiritualization' through elevation, authenticity and self-authorization that might achieve a considerable degree of self-empowerment for negotiating gender roles and political life attitudes." (author's abstract)
Challenges for gender equality: women's religious circles in post-revolutionary Iran
Titelübersetzung:Herausforderung für Geschlechtergleichheit: religiöse Frauenzirkel im postrevolutionären Iran
Autor/in:
Chavoshian, Sana
Quelle: GENDER - Zeitschrift für Geschlecht, Kultur und Gesellschaft, 9 (2017) 3, S 117-132
Inhalt: "Die Handlungsmacht von Frauen im postrevolutionären Iran ist in hohem Maße mit religiösen Frauenzirkeln und deren spezifischen Ritualen verbunden. Aktuelle wissenschaftliche Arbeiten attestieren neuen Formen religiös basierter Präsenz von Frauen in der Öffentlichkeit eine hohe Bedeutung. Im Fall des Iran ist die drängende Frage, in welchem Ausmaß religiöses Handeln in weiblichen Pietätszirkeln - lange vor der Revolution 1978/79 gegründet und mit wachsender Relevanz danach - über diese Zirkel hinaus zivilgesellschaftliche Bedeutung zukommt. Diese Studie widmet sich den inneren Dynamiken unter Frauen innerhalb der Zirkel aus der Perspektive struktureller Machtbeziehungen. Im Mittelpunkt steht der Prozess der 'Selbst-Spiritualisierung' von Frauen, und zwar als eine Form der Selbstermächtigung und Selbstautorisierung, und weiterhin als Modus einer spirituell legitimierten Hierarchiebildung innerhalb der Zirkel. Es wird argumentiert, dass diese Art des religiösen Wettbewerbs unter Frauen Geschlechtersegregation reproduziert und die Unterordnung unter institutionalisierte Strukturen männlicher, religiöser Macht verstärkt. Die Wirkungen der 'Selbst-Spiritualisierung' in Form von Selbstermächtigung, Selbstautorisierung können aber auch als Ausdruck von Selbstbestimmung gelesen werden: über das Aushandeln von neuen Geschlechterrollen und politischen Lebenshaltungen, inklusive nichtreligiöser Bewegungen." (Autorenreferat)
Inhalt: "The agency of women in Islamicate societies is largely anchored in ideas over pious circles and gender-specific rituals. Recent studies attest religious modes of women's presence in the public space a high significance. Taking the case of Iran, the urging question is how and to which extent religious agency within female pious circles - which were formed before the 1978/9 Revolution and fashioned after it - has been able to attain broader civil significance beyond these circles. This study explores the inner dynamics of female pious circles among women as related to structural power relations. It spells out the process of 'self-spiritualization' to characterize interactions within the circles that act as a tool for self-elevation and self-authorization and as a mode of spiritually legitimated construction of hierarchies within the circles' spiritual empowerment. It is argued that a type of pious competition between the women unfolds leading to an affirmation of gender segregation and concomitantly, of submission to institutionalized structures of masculine hierarchy and power. Finally, it pursues the effects of unfolding 'self-spiritualization' through elevation, authenticity and self-authorization that might achieve a considerable degree of self-empowerment for negotiating gender roles and political life attitudes." (author's abstract)
From Salafi preaching to political preaching: women's turnout and the evolution of Salafi movements in Egypt
Titelübersetzung:Von der Salafiyya zur Politik: die politische Partizipation von Frauen und die Entwicklung der Salafiyya-Bewegungen in Ägypten
Autor/in:
Bouras, Naïma
Quelle: GENDER - Zeitschrift für Geschlecht, Kultur und Gesellschaft, 9 (2017) 1, S 30-43
Inhalt: "Der Beitrag beleuchtet das Engagement von Frauen im Umfeld der Salafiyya. Dazu wird gefragt, auf welche Weise Frauen an der Politisierung der Salafiyya-Strömungen teilhaben. Um dieser Frage nachzugehen, werden in einem induktiven Vorgehen zentrale Beiträge von Frauen zur Verbreitung der Salafiyya-Ideologie analysiert. Zudem wird die Teilnahme der Frauen - durch soziale Netzwerke wie Facebook oder ägyptischen Medien - am Prozess der Politisierung der Salafiyya nach dem Aufstand von 2011 untersucht." (Autorenreferat)
Inhalt: "This article investigates women's involvement in the Salafi milieu. We ask how women follow and participate in the politicization of Salafi trends. To answer this question, we analyze, through an inductive approach, their important contributions in spreading Salafi ideology. Then, we investigate their participation - through social networks (e.g., Facebook, Egyptian media) - in the process of Salafi politicization in the aftermath of the 2011 uprising." (author's abstract)
Schlagwörter:Revolution; Islam; religious movement; Arab countries; Politisierung; empowerment; politicization; religiöse Bewegung; woman; political participation; Islam; Empowerment; revolution; Egypt; Nordafrika; arabische Länder; Ägypten; North Africa; politische Partizipation
SSOAR Kategorie:Religionssoziologie, Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung, politische Willensbildung, politische Soziologie, politische Kultur
Living Together v. Living Well Together: a Normative Examination of the SAS Case
Autor/in:
Beaman, Lori G.
Quelle: Social Inclusion, 4 (2016) 2, S 3-13
Inhalt: The European Court of Human Rights decision in SAS from France illustrates how a policy and national mantra that ostensibly aims to enhance inclusiveness, ‘living together’, is legally deployed in a manner that may have the opposite effect. In essence, despite acknowledging the sincerity of SAS’s religious practice of wearing the niqab, and her agency in making the decision to do so, the Court focuses on radicalism and women’s oppression amongst Muslims. Taking the
notion of living together as the beginning point, the paper explores the normative assumptions underlying this notion as illustrated in the judgment of the Court. An alternative approach, drawing on the work of Derrida for the notion of
‘living well together’ will be proposed and its implications for social inclusion explicated. The paper’s aim is to move beyond the specific example of SAS and France to argue that the SAS pattern of identifying particular values as ‘national values’, the deployment of those values through law, policy and public discourse, and their exclusionary effects is playing out in a number of Western democracies, including Canada, the country with which the author is most familiar. Because
of this widespread dissemination of values and their framing as representative of who ‘we’ are, there is a pressing need to consider the potentially alienating effects of a specific manifestation of ‘living together’ and an alternative model of ‘living well together’. (author's abstract)
Schlagwörter:Frankreich; France; Gesetzgebung; legislation; Gesetz; act; Religiosität; religiousness; Religionsgemeinschaft; religious community; Religionspolitik; religious policy; Islam; Islam; kulturelle Identität; cultural identity; soziale Norm; social norm; Wertkonflikt; conflict of values; Exklusion; exclusion; Vorurteil; prejudice; Stereotyp; stereotype; woman; Muslim; Muslim; Kleidung; clothing; Menschenrechte; human rights; soziale Integration; social integration
SSOAR Kategorie:Religionssoziologie, politische Willensbildung, politische Soziologie, politische Kultur
Islamism, Secularism and the Woman Question in the Aftermath of the Arab Spring: Evidence from the Arab Barometer
Autor/in:
Fox, Ashley M.; Abdelkarim Alzwawi, Sana; Refki, Dina
Quelle: Politics and Governance, 4 (2016) 4, S 40-57
Inhalt: "The uprisings that led to regime change during the early period of the Arab Spring were initially inclusive and pluralistic in nature, with men and women from every political and religious orientation engaging actively in political activities on the street and in virtual spaces. While there was an opening of political space for women and the inclusion of demands of marginalized groups in the activists' agenda, the struggle to reimagine national identities that balance Islamic roots and secular yearnings is still ongoing in many countries in the region. This paper seeks to deepen understanding of the extent to which the pluralistic sentiments and openness to accepting the rights women have persisted following the uprising. We aim to examine changes in attitudes towards women's equality in countries that underwent regime change through popular uprisings during revolutionary upheavals of the Arab Spring and in countries where regimes have remained unchanged. Using available data from consecutive rounds of the Arab Barometer survey, we examine changes in attitudes in nine countries with two rounds of Arab Barometer during and post Arab Spring (Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia, Algeria, Lebanon, Sudan, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine). We find that support for 'Muslim feminism' (an interpretation of gender equality grounded in Islam) has increased over the period and particularly in Arab Spring countries, while support for 'secular feminism' has declined. In most countries examined, relatively high degrees of support for gender equality co-exist with a preference for Islamic interpretations of personal status codes pertaining to women. We discuss the implications of these findings for academics and activists concerned with women's rights in the Middle East North Africa (MENA)." (author's abstract)
Schlagwörter:Nordafrika; North Africa; arabische Länder; Arab countries; Nahost; Middle East; politischer Wandel; political change; politische Partizipation; political participation; Islamismus; islamism; Säkularisierung; secularization; woman; Menschenrechte; human rights; Feminismus; feminism; Muslim; Muslim; Gleichstellung; affirmative action; Einstellung; attitude; gender-specific factors; Einstellungsänderung; attitude change; Islam; Islam; Religiosität; religiousness; Arab democratic exceptionalism; Arab Spring
SSOAR Kategorie:Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung, politische Willensbildung, politische Soziologie, politische Kultur, Religionssoziologie
Quelle: GENDER - Zeitschrift für Geschlecht, Kultur und Gesellschaft, 2 (2010) 1, S 47-64
Inhalt: "Der Beitrag identifiziert verschiedene Diskurse innerhalb des islamischen Feminismus. Es wird gefragt, ob islamischer Feminismus dazu beiträgt, Frauenrechte zu stärken, und inwieweit er Frauen einen Zugang zur öffentlichen Sphäre und Autonomie in der privaten Sphäre ermöglicht. Es wird gezeigt, dass der islamische Feminismus einen positiven Einfluss auf die Förderung von Frauenrechten hat, und zwar nicht nur innerhalb islamischer Diskurse, sondern auch in nationalen und internationalen Institutionen. Dennoch trägt der islamisch-feministische Diskurs auch eine mögliche Gefahr für den Status von Frauen in muslimischen Gesellschaften in sich, da religiös motivierte Argumente gegen die UN-Konvention für Frauenrechte vorgebracht werden, sobald diese zum islamischen Recht der Scharia im Widerspruch steht." (Autorenreferat)
Inhalt: "This article identifies different discourses within Islamic Feminism. The question is whether it contributes to the improvement of women's rights, and in how far it enables women to attain access to public space and autonomy in the private sphere. It will be argued that Islamic Feminism has a positive influence on the promotion of women's rights, not only within Islamic discourses and movements, but also in national and international institutions. However, the Islamic-feminist discourse also carries a potential danger for the status of women in Muslim societies, since religious arguments are being directed against the UN Convention for Women's Rights insofar as it contradicts the Islamic Sharia." (author's abstract)