Book Name: The Veil and the Male Elite
Author: Fatima Mernissi
It took me more than one month to finish the book.
The book is a very deep one, with alot of dense ideas that needs slow and careful reading in order to digest them fairly (specially for some one who is a beginner in philosophy like me).
There is no doubt that the critical methodology of the writer is very appealing and deserves alot of appreciation. The writer tries to re-read the Islamic heritage of knowledge fourteen centuries later in a feminist critical eye. She tries to re-read in specific the concept of 'Hijab' and tries to connect it to different incarnations of power relationships in different forms, like men-women relationships, matrimonial provisions, the role of military victories in the life of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and the provisions and history of slavery and the slaves of both genders.
It is worth mentioning that the writer shows alot of bias towards every thing feminine, and against every thing in favor of males. However, this is understandable from a passionate ideologist that believes in her cause, and that is driven to counter the male bias.
Another bias that I saw in the book was against Omar, may Allah be pleased with him. The writer seemed very passionate to assign him as the head of the male resistance to the Prophet peace and blessings be upon him's egalitarian project, although history mentions alot of examples that show how Omar was respectful of women and did not look at them with the eye of the male power monopolist. During his reign, he has appointed a female companion, Al Shifa'a bint Abdellah, as the market supervisor, or what was known as 'Qadi Al Hisbah'. Also, a famous incident mentions a man approaching Omar as a Caliph in order to complain about his wife's constant screaming at him, to find that the Caliph's wife shouts at him with the same high voice. However, Omar justifies this on her behalf by saying that in return of all of the effort she does to serve him she has the right to be overlooked when she screams some times.
This is the only book I have read for Fatima Mernissi, and to be honest, the titles of some of her other books do not seem very appealing to me.
However, regarding this book in specific, I highly recommend it for intelligent religious mind that can find the balance between their critical minds and their commitment to what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants from us.
The book is a very deep one, with alot of dense ideas that needs slow and careful reading in order to digest them fairly (specially for some one who is a beginner in philosophy like me).
There is no doubt that the critical methodology of the writer is very appealing and deserves alot of appreciation. The writer tries to re-read the Islamic heritage of knowledge fourteen centuries later in a feminist critical eye. She tries to re-read in specific the concept of 'Hijab' and tries to connect it to different incarnations of power relationships in different forms, like men-women relationships, matrimonial provisions, the role of military victories in the life of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and the provisions and history of slavery and the slaves of both genders.
It is worth mentioning that the writer shows alot of bias towards every thing feminine, and against every thing in favor of males. However, this is understandable from a passionate ideologist that believes in her cause, and that is driven to counter the male bias.
Another bias that I saw in the book was against Omar, may Allah be pleased with him. The writer seemed very passionate to assign him as the head of the male resistance to the Prophet peace and blessings be upon him's egalitarian project, although history mentions alot of examples that show how Omar was respectful of women and did not look at them with the eye of the male power monopolist. During his reign, he has appointed a female companion, Al Shifa'a bint Abdellah, as the market supervisor, or what was known as 'Qadi Al Hisbah'. Also, a famous incident mentions a man approaching Omar as a Caliph in order to complain about his wife's constant screaming at him, to find that the Caliph's wife shouts at him with the same high voice. However, Omar justifies this on her behalf by saying that in return of all of the effort she does to serve him she has the right to be overlooked when she screams some times.
This is the only book I have read for Fatima Mernissi, and to be honest, the titles of some of her other books do not seem very appealing to me.
However, regarding this book in specific, I highly recommend it for intelligent religious mind that can find the balance between their critical minds and their commitment to what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants from us.
:-) Well, I hope I have " an intelligent religious mind", but it's not Muslim and male and female have always been considered equal here and took on both religious and political positions. So there is no theological issue with that. So I'll have to leave this particular discussion up to the Islamics.
ReplyDeleteLol
DeleteWhatever you want to discuss here you are welcome. I do not feel that you are the kind of people that need to be reminded that 'as long as they say it niceley and without offending, they can say it'.
I know and should admit that the western world hqs exceeded us in this field (only? :-p) but I see it as a result of cultural reasons, not religious AT ALL.
As I see it, Islam is a feminist system, but a prefectly moderate one. I understand the layers of culture and biased history that an external person has to remove until they can see what is the real essence of Islam. That's why I do not blame any non-Muslim for not seeing what we mean when we praise the extent to which Islam is feminist.
I see that you comment on several blogs that are written by eifher Muslims or non-Muslims living in Arabia.
Gradually you will grab the concept and you will start to see the difference. It just needs time.
I bet you ;-)
Thanks. I'm not really talking about " Western" culture. Even the " free" So-called American culture has a long way to go and has only recently really begun to deal with gender inequality in a real sense.
ReplyDeleteI was talking more, perhaps you knew, of the tribal culture we know around here. The settlers actually smashed that. Some say they learned from it, too, but it seems to have taken them a long time.
I'm not one to think any culture is perfect, but this one definitely honored women.
There are too many cultures in the Middle East and the rest of the Muslim-dominant world,both pre- and post-Islam,for me to make a good assessment of what went or goes on in them. I don't have a knee-jerk reaction to Islam regarding women.
(It was the Christians who were the oppressors here and who raped and killed. They were brutal. Many of them are still willfully ignorant. But there is good in any group.
I do understand the basics of Islam...but not the essence,probably ..lol! That only a Muslim can do....due to studies in school. I didn't want to be as ignorant as many of the Amelikanus regarding everybody else in the world).
The cultural issues you speak of seem to be a big problem between Muslims as well, as you point out. There are a few I know who seem to be " tired of that stuff". Even a few Arab-Americans are " tired of that stuff". Lol!
(Islam in America is its own subject, I think.)
Then there is the issue of looking at any religion or culture through your own filter and totally misunderstanding what is going on. Happens here all the time. Often things aren't at all what they seem to the outside observer.
That's a bunch of interesting points.
DeleteThe mobile is not the best way to discuss this :-D
Will get back to discuss once I settle myself down to a PC!
Ok.... so now I see what you mean. One should admit that, in certain aspects, tribal traditions have alot more maturity than in industrialized societies. May be that's because the industrialization always has its print on the societies in the shape of not allowing for spiritual and social growth. It forces people to dedicate their energy and attention to the technical and industrial process. In tribal communities which seem to preserve their own culture, individuals are encouraged to grow on the spiritual and the social sides. A woman is seen in they eye of the society, not the eye of the 'machine'.
DeleteAlso, if you notice that, 'oppression' in all of its forms -oppression of women being on of them- can be seen in expansionist cultures. Even if you look at the Arab culture pre-Islam and in the early years of Islam, by the way, you will notice that it used to have a some what different attitude towards women, specially the society of "Madina", and that's one point the author mentions in the book (the difference between Mecca society and Madina society). The tendency to oppress women appeared when the Muslims started to expand. The European Church is the same. Once it started having ambitions of expansion, these sorts of oppression towards women appeared. In colonial America as well. In the Turkish (Ottoman) empire as well. Whereas in tribes like yours, who lived peacefully in their lands, the oppression tendencies did not appear. I can say the same about Circassian culture. They were not expansionists, and they honored women. I am not saying that it is a causal relationship, I am only saying that one can see some sort of a correlation between the two issues.
So you are telling me some Arab-Americans are (tired of that stuff)? LoL
Well, I am sure they do have a point of view in this. For us, non-Arab Muslims, the issue is that alot of aspects of the Arab culture were presented to us as a part of Islam. We were put under the impression that going through these Arab cultural practices would give us reward from Allah, which is not necessarily the case (I mean, sure, Allah subhanahu wa taala rewards based on our intentions, but still!). These practices have put a huge barrier between non-Arab Muslims and Islam. It is as if committing to Islam requires one to denounce his own identity. This leads alot of people to remain so stay on the edges of Islam... you know, do their simple warships, but are terrified to be counted "religious" because this seems to require cutting the strings attaching them to who they really are.
When one takes into consideration that Arabs can still Arabs and enjoy their identity while at the same being perfect Muslims, to the extent that "Islam" and "pan-Arabism" seem to be considered as one, the game does not look fair!
I am SURE that no one can easily judge the other people's culture. Specially from the perspective of one's own culture. I wholeheartedly agree. That's why I am very enthusiastic to the idea of a special version of Islam for every nation so that they are all similar in the core, but variable in the practices to suite every culture.
And I really like how you put some considerable effort in thinking about these issues and interacting and discussing :-)
DeleteIndigenous peoples tend to share the same issues. My family has been working on this for decades. I have to do a lot of reading that sometimes takes on a global perspective. There has been some concern over the situation with " indigenous Islamic faith systems" being endangered as well. Islamic communities that had worked out their existence and co-existence with other groups in their environment over hundreds of years are being disrupted by outside forces,according to observers. Plus, as I have explained to others, one of my children was chosen to participate in an international environmental student group dealing with the health of the world ocean. Students from the Middle East make up a good part of it and many of them had never met an aboriginal from here before. (Now all the girls love her and all the boys are in love with her, so when you talked about Arab boys asking after you I had to laugh out loud...my daughter can relate).;-) I guess it was good I took those courses way back when I was in school so some things aren't completely strange to me.
ReplyDeleteYes, in fact. Most of indigenous peoples share the same concerns. So true.
DeleteAnd I seem to feel that regardless of what an indigenous culture looks like, it can be so easily understood by another indigenous culture no matter how different it was :-)
Look how I have never dealt with an aboriginal American before, and you never dealt with a Circassian before... the two cultures are VERY different. But look how many issues regarding each other we could relate to! :-)