A pesquisa proposta aqui tem como objeto de estudo o feminismo islâmico, movimento político-religioso de luta contra a opressão e a dominação sobre a população de mulheres, presente em países muçulmanos e em diásporas muçulmanas. Concebido aqui lato sensu como uma atuação feminista associada à reinterpretação das fontes religiosas do Islã, baseado nos conceitos islâmicos de ijtihad (interpretação racional das fontes religiosas) e de tafsir (comentários sobre o Alcorão), para repensar a posição da mulher na sociedade muçulmana. A hipótese que conduz a presente investigação é a de que o feminismo islâmico pode ser pensado a partir de três eixos constitutivos, interligados entre si: 1) a separação em duas vertentes, de um lado, um ativismo religioso, auto-definido como jihad de gênero, cujas reivindicações parecem sobrepor o Islã aos direitos das mulheres, e, de outro, um ativismo político, definido como defensor dos direitos humanos internacionais, cujas reivindicações são no sentido de aplicar ao Islã os direitos das mulheres; 2) a ideia de continuidade, no sentido de eliminar qualquer visão maniqueísta sobre as duas tendências, estabelecendo aqui um contínuo entre elas em que suas narrativas e atuações circulam de um extremo ao outro, de um lado dos extremos, aproximam-se de uma narrativa islamista e de, outro lado dos extremos, aproximamse de parâmetros discursivos do feminismo secular; e, 3) as forças em disputa, atualmente há três principais forças em disputa no âmbito dos movimentos sociais de mulheres em países muçulmanos e diásporas, considerando a realidade fora dos conflitos armados: os movimentos feministas seculares, o movimento islamista de mulheres (esses dois tipos de movimentos com origens nos anos 20, no Egito) e o feminismo islâmico (de origem, nos anos 80, desterritorializada e transnacional). Este estudo parte de dois pressupostos: primeiro, o de que os movimentos feministas em países muçulmanos não estão isolados do contexto internacional, os seus desenvolvimentos acompanham as tensões dos movimentos feministas internacionais, sendo expressões da internacionalização dos movimentos feministas seculares e, depois, de hibridações culturais e movimentos identitários pós-coloniais; e, segundo, o de que o feminismo islâmico, com as suas características específicas político-religiosas, tencionado entre o reformismo e o conservadorismo, é em sua essência um movimento relativista religioso, ao se dirigir exclusivamente às mulheres muçulmanas. Assim, o objetivo principal desta pesquisa é o de compreender quais as contribuições desse feminismo islâmico para a transformação da vida da mulher muçulmana, considerando duas questões centrais: a) como se pode compreender a relação do feminismo islâmico com os movimentos islamistas? e b) em que medida o caráter religioso do feminismo islâmico pode ser o limitador (ou extensor) de seu caráter feminista? Para tal, será feita uma abordagem dos seguintes recortes temáticos, que inicialmente parecem abarcar grande parte dos aspectos mais evidentes do objeto de estudo, na perspectiva proposta aqui: 1) o feminismo secular de origem ocidental e seus desdobramentos no mundo muçulmano, entre a secularização e a reislamização; 2) as afinidades passadas e presentes do feminismo islâmico com a ideologia, o movimento e o modelo islamista; e 3) o grau de persuasão em que o feminismo islâmico pode estar intervindo na consciência e na prática social, considerando suas contradições. / The subject of study of this paper, Islamic feminism, is a political-religious movement struggling against the oppression and domination of the population of women in Muslim countries and in Muslim diasporas. It is understood here, in the wider sense, as a feminist movement associated with the reinterpretation of the religious sources of Islam, based on the Islamic concepts of ijtihad (rational interpretation of religious sources) and tafsir (interpretations of the Koran), to rethink the position of women in Muslim society. The hypothesis underpinning the present study is that Islamic feminism can be thought of as having three interconnected constituent axes: 1) a separation in two distinct tendencies; on the one hand, religious activism, self-defined as a \"gender jihad\", whose grievances seem to superimpose Islam on women\'s rights, and, on the other hand, political activism, defined as defending international human rights, whose demands seek to apply Islam to women\'s rights; 2) the idea of continuity, in the sense of eliminating any Manichean view of the two aforementioned tendencies, establishing a continuum between the two in which their narratives and actions move from one extreme to the other; at one extreme, approaching an Islamist narrative and, at the other extreme, the discursive parameters of secular feminism; and 3) the forces in disputes; of which we can discern three current main forces in dispute within the social movements of women in Muslim countries and diasporas, taking into consideration the reality outside of the armed conflicts: Secular Feminist movements, the Islamist women\'s movement (these two movements have their origins in Egypt in the 1920s) and Islamic feminism (originating in the 1980s and characterized as de-territorialized and transnational). This study is based on two assumptions: first, that feminist movements in Muslim countries are not isolated from the international context, their developments accompany the struggles of the international feminist movements, being expressions of the internationalization of secular feminist movements and, later, of cultural hybridizations and post-colonial identity movements; and, second, that Islamic feminism, with its specific religious-political characteristics, exists in a state of tension between reformism and conservatism, and is essentially a relativistic religious movement, in that it is addressed exclusively to Muslim women. Thus, the main objective of this paper is to understand the role of Islamic feminism in the transformation of the lives of Muslim women, taking into consideration two central questions: a) how can we understand the relation between Islamic feminism and Islamist movements? and b) to what extent can the religious elements of Islamic feminism be the constraint (or expansion) of its feminist characteristics? To this end, we will address the following themes, which initially seem to cover a large part of the most obvious aspects of the object of study, within the perspective proposed here: 1) secular feminism of \"Western origin\" and its developments in the Muslim world, between secularization and re-Islamization; 2) the past and present affinities of Islamic feminism with Islamist ideology, the Islamist movement and its model; and (3) the degree of influence that Islamic feminism may have on social consciousness and practices, taking into account its contradictions.

Contributing to the literature on the Muslim experience post-9/11, the purpose of this study was to engage with a group that is often talked about, but not with: Muslim youth. Using an integrative anti-racist and anti-colonial approach with an emphasis on a spiritual way of knowing, this study gives voice to young Muslim activists in Toronto who have made the choice to “do something”. The study aims to understand what motivates these young activists, particularly in the context of post-9/11 Islamophobia, with the goal being to challenge stereotypical perceptions of Muslims, while contributing to the body of knowledge that aims to disrupt dominant notions of what “Canadian” identity is. The following analysis helps answer this question, which includes the role of spirituality, the attachment to Canadian identity and the desire to educate. Key challenges and what these youth prescribe for Canada’s future are also discussed.

Contributing to the literature on the Muslim experience post-9/11, the purpose of this study was to engage with a group that is often talked about, but not with: Muslim youth. Using an integrative anti-racist and anti-colonial approach with an emphasis on a spiritual way of knowing, this study gives voice to young Muslim activists in Toronto who have made the choice to “do something”. The study aims to understand what motivates these young activists, particularly in the context of post-9/11 Islamophobia, with the goal being to challenge stereotypical perceptions of Muslims, while contributing to the body of knowledge that aims to disrupt dominant notions of what “Canadian” identity is. The following analysis helps answer this question, which includes the role of spirituality, the attachment to Canadian identity and the desire to educate. Key challenges and what these youth prescribe for Canada’s future are also discussed.

This thesis will study the development of the Palestinian women's movement in the West Bank and Gaza Strip from the Mandate period (1920) to the outbreak of the Al Aqsa Intifada (2000). This work will attempt to outline the evolution of this movement and the impact of two factors that have significantly affected the form and course of its development; the first of which and the principal force is Palestinian Nationalism; the second is Islamism. / Nationalism and Islamism are presented here as two formations that functioned separately and in conjunction to present impediments to the ability of an independent Palestinian women's movement to develop and implement a social feminist agenda aimed at establishing gender equality and ensuring women's legal and political rights within Palestinian society.

Relationships between „madams‟ and „maids‟ have been the subject of various South African works, detailing the lives of domestic workers and their daily struggles. This study however aims to turn the focus on the madam and questions the complex intimacy at work between her and her maid. It is this intricate association between „madam‟ and „maid,‟ as well as the context of the home, which creates a site for a unique personal relationship that extends beyond the constraints of the working contract. In order to investigate this relationship, I explore the preconceived notions Muslim madams of North Beach have when recruiting the ideal domestic worker as well as the way everyday life between madams and maids shapes their relationship. In demonstrating the types of relationships and levels of intimacy between them, this thesis focuses on three aspects of everyday life between Muslim madams and maid. Firstly, I explore the „home‟ as a contradictory location – being both a private space for the employer and a workspace for the maid, paying particular attention to the creation of boundaries and negotiations of space within the home. The second key aspect I examine is the extent to which religion influences the relationship between madam and maid. Religion is a thread running through this thesis as a determining factor in the recruitment of a domestic worker and a way in which space is produced. Thirdly, I discuss the sharing of gender between madam and maid and the question of „sisterhood‟ between them. These are underlying elements of the types of relationships between madam and maid which, I argue are characterised by levels of cultivated intimacy. The project is based on the qualitative results gathered from 20 in-depth interviews with Muslim madams, two focus groups and five key informant interviews with domestic workers. My thesis contributes to the existing research exploring the relationships between madams and maids and opens further avenues for research. It demonstrates that there are key elements besides race and class that shape the relationships between madam and maid, which contribute to levels of cultivated intimacy between them. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sci.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

Parler du corps féminin dans l'œuvre de Assia Djebar, tout en dépassant le clivage chair/âme ou corps/personnalité, signifie l'inscrire dans une vision unitaire, dans une durée et un espace élargis et totalisants. Ce corps est constamment en relation avec le milieu qui l'influence, ce qui conduit à un éclatement de son unité. Nous avons voulu insister sur sa continuité, sa résistance et même la survie de l'identité, malgré les facteurs ou les contextes qui l'ont mis à mal. Avant de conférer l'unité perdue au corps féminin, nous avons essayé de définir les termes clé de corps et de personnalité grâce aux sciences humaines, tout en tenant compte de leur spécificité liée à l'identité arabo-musulmane, aux particularités berbères et à l'influence française. Ce point de départ multiple nous a permis de ne pas tomber dans les catégorisations classiques, strictement sociales, de la femme algérienne. En voulant mettre en lumière l'unité fondamentale de cet être féminin, nous nous sommes intéressée tout d'abord à son aspect physique, le premier qui s'offre à notre vue et qui nous permet une description. Mais celui-ci dépasse les apparences car, prise en charge par le langage et l'imaginaire, il conduit à la manifestation de la dimension réflexive. Le personnage féminin djebarien passe du stade «avoir un corps» à celui d'«être un corps» doté de plusieurs dimensions, physique, psychique, intellectuelle, langagière et imaginaire (I). Mais cette image corporelle unie et heureuse est confrontée à des époques moins favorables qui sont apparues à cause de l'éloignement de la doctrine islamique initiale, telle qu'elle est présentée dans Loin de Médine, de la valorisation de certains concepts comme l'honneur, la pudeur, la honte. Confronté à l'autorité masculine qui s'exerce sur la femme algérienne dans tous les moments de la vie, et qui se traduit par l'enfermement, l'humiliation, l'assignation à certains rôles très bien définis (comme celui de mère et d'épouse), les ordres, les coups, les insultes, etc., ce corps féminin développe une «micropsychologie» (M. Maffesoli) qui se transmet de génération en génération et qui offre des réponses toutes faites à des situations diverses. Tous les gestes en sont imprégnés, mais cela n'empêche pas le réveil et le surgissement des traces cachées de la personnalité féminine dans des contextes très particuliers. Ces traces mettront en lumière la ruse, le défi et même la haine de la femme lancés à l'homme, désigné déjà dans l'imaginaire féminin algérien par le terme de «e'dou» (ennemi). Ces sentiments révèlent donc la résistance du corps féminin, faite à la fois d'une révolte muette, de cris ravalés, de murmures, d'une écoute attentive, d'un besoin de partager et de se soutenir (II). Nous avons donc devant nos yeux un corps morcelé, qui a oublié ses qualités à cause de l'intériorisation des prisons symboliques. Mais grâce à la solidarité féminine, à la valorisation de la maison vue comme espace cocon et des relations entre femmes, au retour à la langue première, les traces de liberté et de plénitude du passé éloigné sont réactualisées par les gestes et les paroles de certaines femmes libres. Celles-ci ouvrent la voie de la libération du corps féminin algérien qui réapprendra à regarder, à marcher dehors, à raconter ses souvenirs, à parler de lui et à apprécier la présence de l'homme aimé (III). L'analyse des parties corporelles visibles, de la posture féminine, des gestes dans lesquels la tradition s'est inscrite, des réactions qui dévoilent à la fois la dimension corporelle et psychique, des termes utilisés par Djebar pour parler de ses personnages féminins, nous a permis de dévoiler un corps féminin doté d'un cœur, de souvenirs, de sentiments, une personnalité et des rôles qui sortent du cadre imposé par la société. Ce corps féminin, capable de faire des gestes qui l'inscrivent dans la durée et dans l'espace reconquis, acquiert une parole performative qui le recrée et lui donne la possibilité de s'accomplir. / As suggested in the works of Assia Djebar about the body of the woman excluding the cleavage of the flesh and soul and of the body and personality means a vision of a united body encompasses a broad duration and space. This body is constantly connected to the environment that influences it. This has broken its unity up. The thesis puts the emphasis on its continuity, resistance and even the survival of its identity, despite the factors or contexts that have harmed it. Before giving back to the female body its lost unity, we identified the key terms of body and personality through the humanities, while taking into account the specifics of these terms related to the Arab-Muslim identity, to the Berber characteristics and to the French influence. With this starting point, we do not fall into the conventional and strictly social categorizations of the Algerian woman. In order to highlight the fundamental unity of the feminine being, we started with its physical dimension. This is the first aspect that we view and that we can describe. But it goes beyond the appearances since, supported by the language and the imagination, it drives a reflexive dimension. The Djebarien female character transitions from the stage "have a body" to the stage of "being a body" with several dimensions: physical, psychological, intellectual, linguistic and imaginary (I). But that image of unity and harmony is faced with less favorable pictures that appeared because Islam moved away from its original doctrine as presented in the book “Far from Medina”, and the valuation of certain concepts such as honor, modesty and shame. Faced with the male authority that is exercised on the Algerian female body in every moment of life, and which results in confinement, humiliation, arrest to some very well-defined roles (such as mother and wife), orders, beatings, insults, etc.., the female body develops a “micro psychology” (M. Maffesoli) that is transmitted from generation to generation and provides built-in answers to various situations. All actions are impregnated with these, but that doesn't stop preventing the emergence of hidden traces of the female personality in very specific contexts. These traces highlight the cunning, the challenge and even the hatred of women to men, designated in the Algerian female imaginary by the term "e'dou" (enemy). These feelings reveal the strength of the female body made of a silent revolt expressed or debased by shouts, murmurs, attentive listening, a need to share and support each other.(II) So we have in front of our eyes a fragmented body, which has forgotten its qualities due to the internalization of these symbolic prisons. But thanks to the female solidarity, the appreciation of the house as a place to cocoon, the relationships between women, and the return to the first language, the traces of the distant past are renewed by the actions and words of some free women. These pave the way for the release of the Algerian female body that will learn again to watch, to walk outside, to reminisce, to talk about itself and to appreciate the presence of the beloved man. (III) The analysis of body parts visible in our corpus, the feminine posture, the gestures in which the tradition is recorded, the reactions that reveal both the physical and psychic dimension, the terms used by Djebar to talk about his feminine characters, allowed us to reveal a female body with a heart, memories, feelings, personalities and roles that are outside the framework imposed by the society. The female body able to make gestures, which falls within the time and space reclaimed, acquires a performative speech which, in turn, recreates and provides it with the opportunity to perform, while maintaining contact with the origins and the "living word". So we see a body and an identity shifting, constantly trying to form and to write.

Esta tese apresenta elementos da simbólica religiosa islâmica, observados junto às comunidades muçulmanas das cidades de São Paulo e de São Bernardo do Campo, através da etnografia de suas festas - Desjejum e Sacrifício - e da oração obrigatória das sextas-feiras. Fundamenta-se, ainda, na análise de entrevistas, presenciais ou via Orkut e MSN, e na produção de vídeos e fotografias que interagem diretamente com o conteúdo aqui apresentado.Com apoio na teoria da performance, busca-se responder à seguinte questão: qual o sentido de ser muçulmano? Consideramos que o ethos muçulmano se expressa na recitação da palavra sagrada, sendo a noção de comportamento restaurado, proposta por Richard Schechner (1985), adequada à compreensão de uma religiosidade que se efetiva pela prática diária da oração, manifesta-se no comportamento e constitui performance. A Antropologia da Performance percorre a tese, especialmente como ferramenta de análise de diversas performances - dos muçulmanos (reversos ou de nascimento), do sheik e da própria pesquisadora -, em momentos de festas ou de oração. Nestes contextos foi possível apreender as redes que as constituem - o modo de ser \"correto\" e as formas negociadas de apropriação da religião -, estabelecendo-se, ainda, os significados do jejum do mês do Ramadã, da matança dos carneiros, da recitação do Alcorão, da construção do corpo feminino e da (re)elaboração dos sentidos que perpassam a religião.A conclusão a que chegamos, após nove anos de pesquisa (somando o período do mestrado com o doutorado), é de que, para o ser muçulmano, a vivência do Islã é uma entrega total a Deus, na qual se articulam, pela oração, não apenas as palavras, as ações e os gestos que a acompanham, mas também o corpo e os sentidos. Prostrar-se na oração é, sobretudo, um sinal de entrega, não só dos pensamentos, das palavras e do coração, mas do corpo e do espírito. / This thesis presents elements of Islamic religious symbolism observed among the Muslim communities of São Paulo and São Bernardo dos Campos. Research material is largely drawn from an ethnography of festivals - sacrifice and the breaking of fast - and Friday mandatory prayer. The thesis is also based upon the analysis of interviews, carried out in the presence of the researcher or by means of Orkut and MSN, and the production of videos and photographs that interact directly with the written text. In accordance with performance theory, an attempt is made to answer the following question: what is the meaning of being a muslim? We consider that the muslim ethos expresses itself in the recitation of the sacred word. The notion of restored behavior, proposed by Richard Schechner (1985), is particularly helpful for understanding a religious experience that becomes effective in daily prayer, and expresses itself through behavior, as performance. The Anthropology of Performance is used throughout the thesis, especially as a tool to analyze various performances - of muslims (by birth or conversion), of the sheik and of the researcher herself, during festivals and prayers. It was possible, in such contexts, to apprehend networks that constitute these performances - as expressions of \"appropriate\" behavior and negotiated forms of embodying religious experience. Also, it was possible to determine the manner in which meaning was attributed to Ramadan fasting, killing of lambs, Koranic recitations, and construction of the feminine body. Furthermore, attention is given to ways in which religious meaning is (re)elaborated.After nine years of research, at both master and doctoral levels, we have come to the conclusion that, for the Muslim, Islam involves an experience of complete surrender to God, as revealed in prayer, not only through words, actions, and gestures, but, also, through the very body and bodily senses. To prostrate oneself in prayer is a sign of surrender not only in word and thought, but, also, in body and soul.

Using selected stories by two North African women writers, Alifa Rifaat of Egypt and Assia Djebar of Algeria, this study, entitled ‘Islamic culture and the question of women’s human rights in North Africa: a study of short stories by Assia Djebar and Alifa Rifaat’, analyzes the creative representation of contemporary Muslim society and its treatment of women. The continued marginalization of women in Muslim societies has led to the rise of feminist movements in North Africa and the Middle East. Muslim women, like their Christian counterparts, have made a most remarkable appearance on the African literary scene by producing literature that interrogates a system in which women are denied the rights to life, equality and freedom, which are the inalienable rights of all Islamic adherents. Thus, North African women’s writing reveals a disparity between Islamic culture, which is based on the Qur’an and upholds equal rights for all believers, and Muslim culture, which denies women access to full rights. The writings of Alifa Rifaat and Assia Djebar espouse the need for a transformation of Muslim culture such that the practices of Muslims effectively harmonize with the teachings of the Qur’an. The stories selected for analysis illustrate that while Rifaat uses the conservatist approach or womanist thrust in her criticism of Muslim culture, Djebar adopts a more radical approach that is ultimately feminist. Nevertheless, both writers address similar issues affecting women in Muslim societies, such as forced or arranged marriages and the suppression of female sexuality. The first chapter situates the argument within gender discourse and the human rights framework, providing a critical appraisal of women in Islam from pre-Islamic times to modern days. To contextualize the literary scene, the second chapter positions Muslim women’s writing within the broad corpus of African feminisms, using the works of Nawal el-Saadawi, Mariama Bâ and Zaynab Alkali to chart the many challenges facing Muslim women today. Chapters Three and Four focus on the selected literature of the chosen writers, Alifa Rifaat and Assia Djebar, respectively, showing how each writer uses her art as an instrument to combat social injustices against women. The concluding chapter establishes the points of convergence and divergence between Rifaat and Djebar and, ultimately, draws attention to the dire need for all Muslims to respect the human rights of women. This study, therefore, blends literary interpretation with sociological findings to assess the extent of the failure of Muslims to endorse the principle of equality for all humans irrespective of race, class, or gender. Essentially, it seeks to raise consciousness on women’s rights in Islam. / Dissertation (MA (Pan African Literatures))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / English / MA / unrestricted

This thesis explores how Islamophobia is institutionalised in British universities. Focussing on Muslim students, this question is largely explored through empirical research using two case study universities. Each university was examined through key university functions; namely, 'ethnic' monitoring data under the Race Amendment (2000), union politics and welfare/observance provisions. The research involved semi-structured interviews with Muslim students who were in some way 'active' on campus, as well as university/union staff between 2004 and 2006. It also included some document analysis. It is argued that Islamophobia is institutionalised through its govermentalising function and is reflected in three key modes of 'managing' Muslim students; 'absence' (invisibility), 'presence' (hyper-visibility) and 'inclusion' (liberal multiculturalism). 'Absence' refers to the absence of Muslim students as a recognised collectivity within the formal structures of the university. Thus, it is argued, Muslim student concerns about racism fail to be formally registered and remain trivialised at anecdotal levels. 'Presence' refers to the hyper-visibility of Muslim students as a troublesome 'fundamentalist'/'extremist' cohort. This is exemplified through numerous historical and contemporary sector and state interventions, but also in student union politics. 'Inclusion' refers to liberal multicultural practices that regulate Muslim students. This is observed in equality practices (e.g. university provisions) in the university and the way they function to minoritise rather than equalise the status of Muslim students. What these modes of governance emphasise is the way Muslim students are the subject of and subjected to processes of racialised management, that is, regulation, discipline and normalisation. Each of these modes are explored through interviewee accounts/documents, and (in)formed by a recursive engagement with theories of racialised governmentality. It is argued that together, these modes of racialised governmentality signify the transgressive status of Muslims. They are also seen to reflect the broader political (in)visibility of Muslims in Britain and their awkward place within British multiculturalism. Influenced by 'de-colonial' thinking and activist-based research, the thesis has sought to develop a critique of dominant and racialised discourses about Muslim students in universities. This has involved the selective use of discursive techniques and a reflexive awareness of my own positioning with research. It has also involved cognizance of the way Muslim students and Muslim communities generally, have been perceived as 'suspect' and subject to increased securitisation. In the main however, the thesis has troubled the equality practices of universities and highlighted the way they are part of, not separate from, the problem of Islamophobia.

The purpose of this project is to gain a better understanding of gender segmentation strategy possibilities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The findings from this survey graphically illustrate and statistically demonstrate some critically important information about the consumer demographics, needs, and behaviors of the targeted female Saudi shopper.