On Shifting Ground: Muslim Women in the Global Era - Revised Edition

"Thoughtful, highly relevant, and frequently brilliant essays on the contemporary ideas, organization, activities, and agency of Muslim women" (Nikki Keddie, author ofWomen in the Middle East: Past and Present). The world has drastically changed in recent years due to armed conflict, economic issues, and cultural revolutions both positive and negative. Nowhere have those changes been felt more than in the Middle East and Muslim worlds. And no one within those worlds has been more affected than women, who face new and vital questions. Has Arab Spring made life better for Muslim women? Has new media empowered feminists or is it simply a tool of the opposition? Will the newfound freedoms of Middle Eastern women grow or be taken away by yet more oppressive regimes? This "provocative volume" has been updated with a new introduction and two new essays, offering insider views on how Muslim women are navigating technology, social media, public space, the tension between secularism and fundamentalism, and the benefits and responsibilities of citizenship (Nikki Keddie, Professor Emerita of Middle Eastern and Iranian History, UCLA).

Table of Contents:
Introduction for the New Edition I. Women and the Transformation of Public Space Defying Marginality: Young Women 's Politics and Social Media in the Middle East Lobule Hanna Skalli The Satellite, the Prince, and Shaherazad: Women as Communicators in Digital Islam Fatema Mernissi On- and Off-Camera in Egyptian Soap Operas: Women, Television, and the Public Sphere Lila Abu-Lughod Singing a New Song: Bonding and Breaking With the Past Sherifa Zuhur Wings of Freedom: Iranian Women, Identity, and Cyberspace Fereshteh Nouraie-Simone The Challenge of Globalization in Saudi Arabia Mai Yamani II. Gender, Communication, and Religion Globalizing Equality: Muslim Women, Theology, and Feminism Asma Barlas Feminist Theory, Agency, and the Liberatory Subject Saba Mahmood The Veil Debate—Again Leila Ahmed Between Religion and Secularism: Islamist Women of Hamas Islah Jad III. Women and Citizenship in an Information Society The Prospects for Democracy: Women Reformists in the Iranian Parliament Elaheh Koolaee Women and Civil Society in Iran Mehrangiz Kar Sisters in Islam and the Struggle for Women’s Rights Zainah Anwar Women and the Dynamics of Transnational Networks Meena Sharify-Funk Shirin Ebadi: A Perspective on Women’s Rights in the Context of Human Rights Fereshteh Nouraie-Simone

About the Author :
Fereshteh Nouraie-Simone is a historian at the American University School of International Service. She teaches courses on gender and social change in the Middle East, Iran, and the history of US-Iran relations.

Review :
“This provocative volume will inform scholars, teachers and students about contemporary trends in Muslim societies…Those interested in new developments in gender studies and the study of women and Islam will appreciate this useful volume.” – Lois Beck, Professor of Anthropology, Washington University, author of The Qashqa’i of Iran “Featured are such relevant topics as women’s roles in reinterpreting Islam, the importance of understanding both religious and secular women’s ideas and practices, the growth and growing importance of women’s transnational ties and the importance for women of television and the internet. I recommend it to everyone to everyone interested in expanding and deepening their understanding of women in the Muslim world today.” –Nikki Keddie, Professor Emerita of Middle Eastern and Iranian History, University of California, Los Angeles