The Headscarf Controversy
All topics-
Feminism, Colonialism and Islamophobia
Treacherous Sympathy with Muslim Women
Ever since the attacks of 9/11, feminists in the West have increasingly used the theme of the oppression of women in Islam as justification for war and domination. This strategy of using this rhetoric of "saving the women" in the name of "civilization" is an old ploy used many times in the past by Western imperialists, writes Leila Ahmed
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Who Is Hidden beneath the Burqa?
An Appeal to the West
Sahar Khalifeh is considered one of the most prominent Palestinian writers. In this essay, she argues that Western imperialism is indirectly responsible for the return of mandatory veiling for women in the Islamic world
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Oriental Clichés in Literary Publishing
A Dalek in a Burqa
No matter what the content of the book – covers of Arab female authors's published in Europe and the US will always be graced with a veiled woman. In this article, Jordania-British author Fadia Faqir relates her experiences and curious findings
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Women and Islam in Indonesia
Reformers, Resisters and Devotees
Women's agency is central to all aspects of Islamic life in Indonesia, yet female Muslim activists face opposition from fundamentalist exegetes. In her article says Susan Blackburn shows the diverse female faces of Indonesian Islam
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The German Islam Scholar Lamya Kaddor
Why I as a Muslim Woman Don't Wear a Headscarf
Does the Koran really demand that women wear headscarves? Or is it mainly older men who claim they can decide how women should dress – with no theological foundation whatsoever? For the Islam scholar Lamya Kaddor, there is no question about it: the headscarf is obsolete
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Islam and Democracy in Turkey
A Headscarf Affair, a Women's Affair?
In Turkey, the recent parliamentary vote put an end to the headscarf ban, but not to the public controversy that has severely divided and deeply polarized Turkish society since the post-1980 period. Nilüfer Göle assesses the situation