Women and Gender in Islam by Leila Ahmed

Women and Gender in Islam by Leila Ahmed

Are Islamic societies inherently oppressive to women? This text explores the historical roots concerning the debate about women and Islam, tracing the developments in Islamic discourses on women and gender from ancient world to the 20th century.

"Elegantly argued and intertwining at least three subjects of great contemporary interest — Islam, feminism and postcolonialism — it is certainly both timely and thought provoking"—Cornelia Sorabji, Times Higher Education Supplement

"[O]ne of the best studies of Islam’s discourse on gender—an aspect of Muslim culture many non-Muslims find particularly difficult to understand."—Hans Kundnani, Wall Street Journal

"Ahmed's rousing book is destined to become a classic. . . . It gives [Muslim women] back our rightful place, at the center of our histories."—Rana Kabbani, The Guardian

"A pathbreaking survey of Islamic discourse."—Publishers Weekly

"I would not hesitate to recommend this book as a good source of information."—Joyce Mokhesi-Parker, Africa World Review

"Clearly one of the book's enduring strengths is Leila Ahmed's genuine, as opposed to academic, concern (a distinction often lost on writers of Islam) that Muslim women, for too long the subject of inflated homilies or hollow gender confrontations, strike up their own debate—on grounds designed to suit rather than stifle."—Riffat Yusuf, Africa Events

"Leila Ahmed's beautiful style takes us back to antiquity and guides us through the ages; we are made to revisit the past through the eyes of a woman—an unusual and rather refreshing way to enquire into past societies. She possesses the skill and expertise to venture into such an arduous enterprise, her sharp mind allowing her to make perceptive remarks about Muslim men and the use and misuse of religion not just as a tool of social control, but also as a cultural system, as political discourse, a means of resistance at different historical junctures."—Dr. Rashida Hankin, Islamica

"[A] very thoughtful and very brave book. . . . Should be required reading not just for Muslim intellectuals and feminists, but also for those non-Muslims, particularly Western feminists and so-called experts, who scornfully dismiss Islam as 'sexist and bigoted.'"—Asian Times

"[An] exemplary case of in-depth historical survey. . . . Women's studies in general and Middle Eastern studies in particular are much enriched by [this] work, which should be included in the readings of all who wish to gain a sound understanding of Muslim women and politics in the Middle East."—Haleh Afshar, Third World Quarterly

"A meticulous historical analysis of the discourses on women and society in Islamic countries."—Ethnic and Racial Studies

"I read it in a sitting for the fascination and unexpectedness of the information."—Doris Lessing, Independent on Sunday

"This is a book that had to be written. This is a book that must be read. No other general survey of women and gender in Islam exists. I am deeply grateful to Leila Ahmed for giving us this book."—Catharine R. Stimpson

"This thoughtful and thought-provoking book should be required reading for anyone who is interested in the complexity of women's experience."—Elizabeth Fox-Genovese

"A signal contribution to the question of Islam and gender as well as a solid overview of the history of gender in the region. This is a highly original, well-researched book that explores a topic of great current interest in a responsible and enlightening fashion."—Judith Tucker

"A signal contribution to the question of Islam and gender as well as a solid overview of the history of gender in the region. This is a highly original, well-researched book that explores a topic of great current interest in a responsible and enlightening fashion."—Judith Tucker

"Ahmed's book is a serious and independent-minded analysis of its subject, the best-informed, most sympathetic and reliable one that exists today. It is most powerful and compelling in its absence of clichés and hedgings, and more than anyone before her Ahmed discusses women and gender in Islam as a lived and contested reality."—Edward W. Said

Leila Ahmed is professor of women’s studies and director of the Near Eastern Area Studies Program at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and faculty associate at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780300055832
ISBN 10	0300055838
Title	Women and Gender in Islam
Author	Leila Ahmed
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Yale University Press
Year published	1993-07-28
Number of pages	304
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.