Teaching and Learning Guide for: Hijab and the Abrahamic Traditions

Abstract

Introduction Most research on the veil or hijab focuses on post 911 or post colonial understandings of the veil as a political or religious symbols. The study of hijab from a comparative lens is unique as it demystifies these symbols as well as adds specificity to this misunderstood practice. Veiling practices are contingent in history, race, class and even marital status. This research is important as it adds to the bodies of work in religion, sociology and gender that seek to understand modesty norms or Muslim women. Author recommends Mule, Pat and Diane Barthel. 1992. ‘The Return to the Veil: Individual Autonomy vs. Social Esteem.’Sociological Forum 7 (2): 323–332. This article examines the practice of veiling among Egyptian women in the 1980s. It emphasizes how Egyptian women turn to the veil as a tool of power in a patriarchal society, rather than view the view as oppressive. The veil enables Egyptian women power in the sense that it allows for respect in a patriarchal society while allowing them more work and educational opportunities in the public sphere. Read, Jen’nan Ghazal and John P. Bartkowski. 2000. ‘To Veil or Not to Veil? A Case Study of Identity Negotiation among Muslim Women Living in Austin, Texas.’Gender & Society 4: 395–417. This article is important for anyone interested in the sociological study of religion, gender or the body. Read and Bartowski’s study is based on interview data with Arab American women living in Austin, Texas. They spoke with veiled and unveiled women. The article also presents a concise and comprehensive overview of the debate surrounding the veil in the Muslim world. Daly, M. Catherine. 1999. ‘The Paarda Expression of Hejaab among Afghan Women’ in Religion, Dress and the Body, ed. Linda Arthur. New York: New York University Press. This edited volume presents a comparative and multi-disciplinary approach to the study of the hijab and modesty norms. In particular, it highlights how strands of Christianity, Judaism and Islam use modesty norms as a mechanism of control in their traditions. In particular, this volume includes Catherine Daly’s chapter on the expression of Hijab among Afghan women in non-Muslim societies. Overall, this volume is significant because it presents an important volume based on qualitative and ethnographic studies that is able to contextualize and explores to links between religion, culture, society and modesty norms. Mernissi. Fatima. 1991. The Veil and the Male Elite. A Feminist Interpretation of Women’s Rights in Islam. Mass.: Addison- Wesley. An essential book if one is interested in the historical origins of veiling and Islam in the Middle East. Mernissi’s work was seen as the first acknowledged feminist critique of the hijab. Mernissi’s theories are Bullock 2003, Katherine. Rethinking Muslim Women and the Veil: Challenging Historical and Modern Stereotypes. Herndon, VA: The International Institute of Islamic Thought. Published by an Islamic think tank, this book challenges feminist and western critiques and includes a chapter that challenges Fatima Merinissi’s analysis of the veil. Bullock uses historical, theological, and anthropological methodology to make this argument. She includes interview with 15 Canadian Muslim women. In particular, Bullock explores how the veil is liberating by rather than oppressive specifically in a capitalist culture. Online materials http://www.veiledvoices.com/ This is one of the more comprehensive websites with additional readings and video suggestions on Islam and the veil. http://www.soundvision.com/ Sound Vision is not only an Islamic corporation but also an educational site for Islamic materials, books, and videos. Films and videos Wearing Hijab: Uncovering the Myths of Islam in the United States (34 min) Six women from different ethnic/racial backgrounds in the United States discuss their decision to wear hijab. This video also has a teaching site: http://ffh.films.com/id/6290/Wearing_Hijab_Uncovering_the_Myths_of_Islam_in_the_United_States.htm. Unveiled: Muslim Women Talk about Hijab (36 min) Made by a filmmaker in the Arab world, this documentary discusses feminism, modesty and changes in the Arab world regarding Hijab. This documentary presents the debates in the Arab and Muslim world surrounding hijab. Study guide is also available at http://der.org/films/unveiled.html Hijab: An Act of Faith (30 min) This documentary explores the religious reasons that Muslim women choose to wear the hijab with an emphasis on modesty. It includes interviews with many prominent Muslim women including Dr Ingrid Mattson, the first female president of the Islamic Society of North America. Under One Sky: Arab Women in North America Talk About the Hijab (44 min) This documentary includes both historical overview of the representation of Arab women and interviews with Arab American women in the United States. It explores stereotypes and myths about Arab Women as well as presents a detailed discussion on hijab. Sample syllabus Gender and society (excerpt from my syllabus) Description of course This course examines the processes and institutions through which gender is constructed and operates in society. It analyzes how gender serves to organize everyday life as well as how such institutions as work, education and marriage take their form according to historically variable contexts of gender relations. Gender will be considered in a cross-cultural context, as well as in interaction with race/ethnicity, religion and class. Students will employ a variety of theoretical perspectives to examine these relationships. This course will also help you develop a sociological understanding of gender, and expand the ability to think critically. Course outline and reading assignments Week 8 (October 19–23) Gender, Religion and Feminism ‘It’s Our Church, Too,’ pp. 227 ‘Setting the Problem, Laying the Ground,’ pp. 239 PDF Handouts: ‘Catholic Women Negotiate Feminism: A Research Note’: http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/3712339.pdf ‘Sifting Through Tradition: The Creation of Jewish Feminist Identities’: http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/1387930.pdf Read p. 1–50 of the Taqwacores for Thursday Week 9 (October 26th-October 31) Gender & Religion (alternative ideas in Islam and Christianity) Read p. 51–100 of the Taqwacores for Tuesday, October 27th ‘Introduction: The Debate over Homosexual Ordination: Subcultural Identity Theory in American Religious Organizations’ Wellman, Review of Religious Research, 1999: Week 10 (November 2nd-7th) Gender, Religion and Modesty Norms (Islam and Judaism) Ternikar, Farha. Hijab and the Abrahamic Traditions: A Comparative Analysis of the Muslim Veil, Sociology Compass, 2009 ‘To Veil or Not to Veil’ Jenan Read. Gender and Society, 2003: http://www.jstor.org/page/termsConfirm.jsp?redirectUri=/stable/pdfplus/190135.pdf ‘Religious Socialization and Female Subjectivity: Religious-Zionist Adolescent Girls in Israel’. Rapoport, Garb, and Penso. Sociology of Education, 1995: http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/2112763.pdf Focus questions Feminists have often critiqued the practice of Muslim women wearing the veil. Can a woman wear the veil, and still be a feminist? Why or why not? 1 Compare and contrast veiling practices among Muslim women and modesty practices among Orthodox Jewish girls. How are they similar and how are they different. How can modesty practices in both societies be seen as empowering, and or oppressive? 2 Why do Muslim women veil? Explain personal, religious, social or political motivations for wearing the veil. Seminar/Project ideas 1 This activity uncovers students’ misunderstandings regarding hijab and modesty norms. Students take a quiz on how they understand the bikini vs. the burka before beginning the unit on gender and modesty norms. The professor can then use the survey answers as springboards for weekly discussions on topics covered in the course. As the students read through the assigned readings, the students usually discover that they held many misconceptions regarding hijab, veil and how religion shapes modesty norms. 2 Have students complete a free-writing (or journal) assignment on how they understand modesty. In particular, I use this assignment as an in-class writing opportunity. I give them the following probing questions: (a) Explain what modesty means to you. Give concrete examples. (b) How are your modesty norms shaped by gender, class, ethnicity or religion?