10. Islamic Studies

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the methods and sources for research on women, gender, sexuality, and Islamic cultures in the interdisciplinary field of Islamic studies. The study of Islam and Muslim peoples and cultures has, by interdisciplinary relations, joined methods and theories applied in Religious studies with those of the social sciences and humanities. One of the most important developments within Islamic studies in the past two decades is the study of dāʿiyāt (women preachers) in various Muslim cultures. The study of ritual objects has become one of the prominent venues in teaching Islamic Studies as well as a great medium for the teaching and study of Muslim women's practices and rituals. Velvet Jihad claims to be a response to the resurgence of fundamentalist Islamism, but it does more by engaging in a mildly comparative view of other forms of fundamentalisms, including secular ones. Keywords: Islamic studies; Muslim women's practices; Muslim women's rituals; ritual objects; Velvet Jihad