This work examines the relationship between multiculturalism, feminism and violence against women within the context of Muslim women in Scotland.  It problematises multiculturalism and feminism by critiquing the difficulties which arise when multiculturalism is unqualified and feminism is constructed from white middle-class Western liberal values.  This illuminates the interstices created in binary thinking by employing intersectional and interdisciplinary methodologies.  The work uses categories which relate to women’s social and political status, such as human rights, citizenship, immigrants status, refugee, asylum-seeker and ‘paperless’ as they apply to women in the study.  These categories are then used to interpret violence against women as it is, or may be experienced by Muslim women in Scotland. The aim is to develop critical multiculturalism and pluralize the category ‘woman’ in order to move beyond binary notions of difference and sameness, employing intersectional approaches in a move towards a more fluid and holistic understanding of identity.  The limitations of gender as a category of analysis and the importance of ethnicity, religious affiliation, class, dis/ability, maternal status and generation in the construction of identity, changes in life-cycles and geographic location, make the appeal of an intersectional approach and methods explicit.  This is because intersectional approaches recognise that in order to create as inclusive a view as possible, there are categories which could be equally relevant.  To create responsive, flexible and cost-effective social policies there are a number of disciplines and themes to be traversed and the work moves between religious studies, gender studies, globalisation and social policy in order to contribute to the development of new, inclusive methods and theories regarding critical multiculturalism and Muslim women in Scotland.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Aberdeen University, 2009. / Title from web page (viewed on June 11, 2009). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--West Virginia University, 2006. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 69 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 64-68).