This dissertation, "Muslim Women's contribution to the reconstruction of the South African Society through entrepreneurial and religious efforts", is to place on the South African agenda an understanding and appreciation of unsung heroines. Changes at grassroots level by a marginalised group always have profound impact on society. What is it to be a woman, committed to a way of life, engaged in transmitting a set of values related thereto, empowering other women and living as a minority in a patriarchal society that is undergoing rapid socio-political transformation and being an integral part of it? As Muslim women, the ummah (Muslim community) is directed by male interpretations of the Islamic text. What are women's responses to a worldview imposed on them? All these are different challenges, each in itself a marginalized component. The aim is to identify Muslim women and their contribution through da'wah to the reconstruction of the South African society within these challenges. The research participants are not Islamic scholars; their methodologies are not traditional and narrow but embedded in the humanistic ideals and ethics of the Qur'an and the authentic Sunnah. Their da'wah work includes instilling self worth, spiritual and family values, socio-economic intervention and economic empowerment. Their contributions have been significant and profound in a nascent democracy. To get a "glimpse" into their lives and arduous activities it was necessary to hear their voices; to let them speak. Qualitative research methodology through narratives and life history in context was used. Allah did not create one voice for humankind but many voices for one humankind and through diversity expects people to exercise their freedom to live in unity. One can see, feel and verify this as it resonates through the work of each daiyah. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2009. / Title from title page (Digital Archive@GSU, viewed July 12, 2010) Michael Herb, committee chair; William Downs, Scott Graves, Charles Hankla, committee members. Includes bibliographical references (p. 60-63).

This thesis is an exploratory qualitative case study of Western Muslim women‟s religious experiences in Scotland. It situates piety as an object of research and was based on two and a half years of extensive participant observations and conversations with thirty Muslim women aged between 20 and 50 from diverse backgrounds, who regularly took part in religious circles where knowledge and practices of Islam are exchanged, learnt, authenticated, questioned and disseminated among the participants. It incorporated historical research methods such as library research method and interviews with the local Muslims in an attempt to research the history of Muslims‟ settlement, the establishment of mosques in Scotland and the emergence of Muslim women‟s religious gatherings in the localities. This study posed following questions: (a) How did the Muslim women individually and collectively cultivate piety? (b)What were the factors that led the women to return to their faith and attain piety? (c) What are the religious sources they used to nurture their piety? And (d) How did they approach the sources and deal with everyday situations in their surroundings as faithful and pious western Muslim women? This study has argued that piety is not a hidden characteristic in one person but it is observable through various expressions. For examples, through their collective participations in the piety circles and Islamic classes and the contributions they made for themselves, their family and the Muslim communities after they got inspired, learnt and motivated from their religious circles and members. The presence of structured organisations of Muslim women religious circles represents the presence of Muslim women‟s autonomous religious movement and their involvement in the transmission of Islamic knowledge at an informal level. It was through discussions about Islamic texts such as the texts of the Quran and Hadith during their gatherings, that the women found their own religious autonomy and the realisation that Islam serves as a liberating tool in many ways in their lives.

This thesis is a comparative study of three spiritual female models recognized in the Islamic tradition: Maryam, the mother of `Isa, Khadija, the Prophet Muh&dotbelow;ammad's first wife, and Fat&dotbelow;ima, the Prophet's daughter. Although comparisons between these three women occur frequently in the Islamic literature of different periods, this research focuses on two works of the famous exegete and historian Abu Ja`far al-T&dotbelow;abari (d. 310/923), i.e., Jami` al-Bayan `an Ta'wil al-Qur'an and Ta'rikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk . In the light of textual analysis of al-T&dotbelow;abari's depiction of these three women, it appears that their images contribute towards the formation of an ideal type of the believing Muslim woman. Maryam, Khadija and Fat&dotbelow;ima are consistently characterized by their obedience, motherhood and purity. This thesis analyzes al-T&dotbelow;abari's comments on, and understanding of, each of these virtues. It also argues that the comparison between these three women, as found in al-T&dotbelow;abari's works, serves a wider religious purpose. Paradoxically, Khadija's and Fat&dotbelow;ima's comparison with Maryam allowed the early exegetes to establish Islam's continuity with respect to the existing monotheistic religions and, at the same time, to affirm its superiority over them.

Undergraduate honors paper--Mount Holyoke College, 2005. Special Program in Islamic Studies. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-103).

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Washington State University, May 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on June 17, 2009). "Department of Anthropology." Includes bibliographical references (p. 267-281).

Thesis (D. Ed.)--Ball State University, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Nov. 11, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. [172]-179).