The aim of this research is to investigate the extent to which human rights in Islam corresponds with the international schemes of human rights despite its "cultural particularities". This thesis investigates the right to freedom of faith in light of the main textual sources in Islamic Shariah focusing on the concept of apostasy. To put the study in context, the research traces the history of human rights in both the Islamic and Western perspectives.

This research study explored the meanings attributed by migrant Arab Muslim women to their experiences of childbirth in the UK. The objectives of the study were: • To explore migrant Arab Muslim women's experiences of maternity services in the UK. • To examine the traditional childbearing beliefs and practices of Arab Muslim society. • To suggest ways to provide culturally sensitive care for this group of women. An interpretive ontological-phenomenological perspective informed by the philosophical tenets of Heidegger (1927/1962) was used to examine the childbirth experiences of eight Arab Muslim women who had migrated to one multicultural city in the Midlands. Three in-depth semi structured audiotaped interviews were conducted with each woman; the first during the third trimester of pregnancy (28 weeks onwards), the second early in the postnatal period (1-2 weeks after birth) and the third one to three months later. Each interview was conducted in Arabic, then transcribed and translated into English. An adapted version of Smith’s model of interpretive phenomenological analysis (Smith 2003) together with the principles of Gadamer (1989) were used to analyse the interview data, aided by the use of the software package NVivo2. The analysis of the women’s experiences captures the significance of giving birth in a new cultural context, their perception of the positive and negative aspects of their maternity care and the importance of a culturally competent approach to midwifery practice. Six main themes emerged from analysis of the interviews: ‘displacement and reformation of the self’, ‘by the grace of God’, ‘the vulnerable women,’ ‘adaptation to the new culture,’ ‘dissonance between two maternity health systems’ and ‘the valuable experience’. These themes reflected the women’s lived experiences of their childbirth in the UK. The implications for communities, institutions, midwifery practice and further research are outlined. The study concludes that in providing culturally competent care, maternity caregivers should be aware of what might be significant in the religious and cultural understandings of Arab women but also avoid cultural stereotyping by maintaining an emphasis on individualised care.

Pesquisar sexualidade na religião é uma tarefa complexa. Por mais que exista uma tentativa de afastar a religião do debate sobre a sexualidade, é fato que há um importante entrelaçamento entre essas duas categorias. Em todas as sociedades definem-se as normas sexuais e delineiam-se quais seriam as transgressões, sendo a religião uma das instâncias de sua regulação. No caso do Islã, por estabelecer um código de conduta a ser seguido em todas as esferas da vida dos muçulmanos e das muçulmanas, inclusive no que diz respeito à vivência da sexualidade, sexo e prazer apresentam algumas especificidades. Para entender quais são as práticas, vivências e sentidos atribuídos à sexualidade neste campo, é preciso antes considerar as prescrições do que é lícito (halal) e ilícito (haram) de acordo com a religião, em seus próprios termos. A partir do diálogo com dez mulheres muçulmanas brasileiras revertidas e da inserção e circulação da pesquisadora em campo islâmico, serão tecidas reflexões sobre a concepção islâmica da sexualidade e suas implicações para o exercício da sexualidade feminina. A análise dos dados está apoiada nos referenciais teóricos advindos tanto da psicanálise como da antropologia. O trabalho apresenta que, apesar das prescrições existentes mesmo dentro da licitude do casamento, a prática sexual no Islã extrapola a finalidade reprodutiva: há um incentivo aos prazeres, colocando a satisfação sexual como um direito de ambos os cônjuges. Por um lado, torna-se crucial relativizar o clichê da mulher muçulmana sexualmente reprimida: diferentemente do que se pensa no senso comum, o sexo do ponto de vista islâmico não é tabu. Por outro lado, é preciso assumir que a sexualidade é uma arena em que o desejo convive e disputa com prazeres e perigos; facilidades e resistências; saberes e poderes / To research sexuality in religion is a complex task. While there is an attempt to alienate religion from the debate about sexuality, there is an important connection between these two categories. Sexual norms and their transgressions are defined in all societies and religion is one of the instances in which they are regulated. In the case of Islam, by establishing a code of conduct to be followed in all spheres of life of Muslims, including the experience of sexuality, sex and pleasure have some specificities. In order to understand the practices, experiences and senses attributed to sexuality in this field, one must first consider the prescriptions of what is lawful (halal) and unlawful (haram) according to religion, in its own terms. From the dialogue with ten Brazilian Muslim women reverted to Islam and the insertion and circulation of the researcher in the Islamic field, reflections will be outlined about the Islamic conception of sexuality and its implications for the exercise of female sexuality. The analysis of the data is supported by the theoretical references derived from both psychoanalysis and anthropology. This dissertation argues that despite the prescriptions even within the lawfulness of the marriage, sexual practice in Islam extrapolates the reproductive purpose: there is an incentive to pleasures, placing sexual satisfaction as a right of both spouses. It becomes crucial to relativize the cliché of sexually repressed Muslim women: unlike common sense, sex in Islam is not taboo. On the other hand, it is urgent to assume that sexuality is an arena in which desire coexists and disputes with pleasures and dangers; facilities and resistances; knowledge and power

From a Western perspective, North Americans and Western Europeans perceive Muslim women as being oppressed (Andrea 2009; Lutz 1997, 96; Ozyurt 2013). Led by this assumption, some view studying abroad as an international student as an experience that allows Muslim women the opportunity to "escape" this supposed oppression and to know "freedom" in the U.S. However, Muslim women's experiences are more dynamic and complex than this dualism suggests. In this thesis, I explore adaptation strategies of Muslim women international students, and how gender, race, and religion affect their experiences while abroad. Furthermore, I explore the women's use of emotion management as a means of navigating their experiences during their study abroad. Data consist of qualitative interviews with 11 Muslim women students from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Nigeria, Morocco, Oman, The Gambia, Kuwait, and India. Findings in this study are consistent with previous research of international students' challenges; Muslim women face difficulties with English language proficiency, new social network creation, transition to a student role, and management of finances during their study abroad. In addition, Muslim women international students actively synthesize traditional gender norms from their countries with new identity formations but also "police" others to ensure that they abide by traditional gender expectations. The Muslim women in this study learn and apply American racial schemas (Roth 2012) within a context of constructing the U.S. as a racial and religious paradise. Paradoxically, these women still feel the need to actively debunk negative stereotypes of Muslim communities. Yet, they still maintain connected with their home countries through daily religious involvement such as prayer and wearing the hijab.

<p>This is a sociological study of religion that examines how gender and female Muslim identity is expressed during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in the swedish paper <em>Dagens Nyheter</em> in the year 1951, 1989 and 2009. The aim is to see who creates the image of Islam and Muslims in general and in particular the image of the Muslim woman and whose Islam is given space in the article material. The picture has changed with the increase in immigration from Muslim countries and that we have gone from a modern to a late modern society in which other patterns shape our identity. The historical summary of the paper Dagens Nyheter illustrates how the Swedish society is formed in relation to Islam and Muslims. It provides a deeper understanding of the problems in the swedish multicultural society today.</p>

Thesis (B.A. Honors)--Georgia State University, 2006. / Title from title screen. Kathryn McClymond, thesis director. Electronic text (45 p.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed Apr. 25, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 44-45).

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on March 17, 2010). The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Thesis advisor: Dr. Barbara Martin. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

This is a sociological study of religion that examines how gender and female Muslim identity is expressed during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in the swedish paper Dagens Nyheter in the year 1951, 1989 and 2009. The aim is to see who creates the image of Islam and Muslims in general and in particular the image of the Muslim woman and whose Islam is given space in the article material. The picture has changed with the increase in immigration from Muslim countries and that we have gone from a modern to a late modern society in which other patterns shape our identity. The historical summary of the paper Dagens Nyheter illustrates how the Swedish society is formed in relation to Islam and Muslims. It provides a deeper understanding of the problems in the swedish multicultural society today.

This thesis traces the roots of women's honor killings in the tribal areas of Pakistan from the British rule in South Asia. The British colonial presence gave the tribal areas autonomy through landmark colonial legislations. The colonizers needed a harmonious relationship with tribal and rural notables in order to gain from the land. Thus, the British gave precedence to the tribal legal structure and as a result we see the beginnings of tribal autonomy in today's Pakistan. Women's honor was also dictated by tribal laws thus tribal councils dictated women's mobility and rights. / After the creation of Pakistan in 1947 much colonial legislation was preserved in the Constitution. The tribal areas maintained autonomy and their legal systems also gained legitimacy on a national level. Therefore, cases of women's honor killings were dealt with in the rural areas but moreover, were justified in Pakistani law as well. Thus this thesis seeks to trace this legacy to the modern period and look at the evolution of the relationship between tribal autonomy and women's rights in the context of the pre and post-independence periods.

This thesis explores the thought of a prominent Indian Muslim thinker, Asghar Ali Engineer, on liberation theology and the status of women in Islam. In his elaboration of liberation theology, Engineer demonstrates that from its inception, Islam has sided with the oppressed and the weak. If it is interpreted from its theological as well as sociological context, he argues, Islam makes it clear that it promotes justice and equality. The juxtaposition of theological and sociological perspectives is crucial to any understanding of Engineer's thought on liberation theology. Such perspectives also inform Engineer's view of the status of women in Islam. Our discussion is limited to two of the topics addressed by Engineer: polygamy and the veil. The key to understand these issues, Engineer maintains, is by distinguishing between the 'normative' and 'contextual' statements of the Qur'anic text. The point of this distinction is to differentiate between those principles of the Qur'an which are universal in nature, i.e. values, which transcend beyond time and space, and the contextual ones which are only valid in particular situations and circumstances. / In conclusion, Engineer's thought on liberation theology and women's issues are found to be liberal, critical and emancipative, successfully demonstrating that Islam sides with the weak and promotes justice and equality.