Muslim Women in Contemporary North America: Controversies, Clichés, and Conversations

Abstract

"Exploring controversies and challenging clichés, Muslim Women in Contemporary North America is a provocative study of how strongly held and divergent opinions, values and beliefs, as well as misconceptions, overgeneralizations, and political agendas pertaining to Muslim women in the region, enter the public frame of reference. Interrogating contested topics in a series of case studies from both Canada and the United States, this book probes below the surface in pursuit of deeper understanding and more productive dialogue. Chapters analyse controversies over "clash" literature, dissident reformists, female religious leadership, veils, and the nature of emancipation in a compelling examination of the ways in which "Muslim", "American" and "Canadian" identities and values are being defined, differentiated, and projected. By pinpointing both sources of dissonance and unexpected patterns of resonance among complex, composite, and at times overlapping identity constellations, this book uncovers the impact of controversies on broader cultural negotiations in the United States and Canada. Transforming controversy and cliché into genuine conversation, Muslim Women in Contemporary North America is an invaluable resource for scholars and students in the fields of Islamic and Muslim Studies, Gender Studies, International Relations, Political Science, and Sociology"--