A Quiet Revolution
The Veil's Resurgence, from the Middle East to America
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Yale University Press
Published:5th Jun '12
Should be back in stock very soon
A probing study of the veil's recent return—from one of the world's foremost authorities on Muslim women—that reaches surprising conclusions about contemporary Islam's place in the West today
In Cairo in the 1940s, Leila Ahmed was raised by a generation of women who never dressed in the veils and headscarves their mothers and grandmothers had worn. To them, these coverings seemed irrelevant to both modern life and Islamic piety. Today, however, the majority of Muslim women throughout the Islamic world again wear the veil. Why, Ahmed asks, did this change take root so swiftly, and what does this shift mean for women, Islam, and the West?
When she began her study, Ahmed assumed that the veil's return indicated a backward step for Muslim women worldwide. What she discovered, however, in the stories of British colonial officials, young Muslim feminists, Arab nationalists, pious Islamic daughters, American Muslim immigrants, violent jihadists, and peaceful Islamic activists, confounded her expectations. Ahmed observed that Islamism, with its commitments to activism in the service of the poor and in pursuit of social justice, is the strain of Islam most easily and naturally merging with western democracies' own tradition of activism in the cause of justice and social change. It is often Islamists, even more than secular Muslims, who are at the forefront of such contemporary activist struggles as civil rights and women's rights. Ahmed's surprising conclusions represent a near reversal of her thinking on this topic.
Richly insightful, intricately drawn, and passionately argued, this absorbing story of the veil's resurgence, from Egypt through Saudi Arabia and into the West, suggests a dramatically new portrait of contemporary Islam.
"Ms. Ahmed gives us a fascinating portrait of the Muslim Brotherhood, especially of its 'unsung mother,' Zainab al-Ghazali."—Mira Sethi, Wall Street Journal
"Ms. Ahmed's narrative deftly captures the mood of the [colonial] era, registering the range of ironies surrounding the status of the veil."—Mira Sethi, Wall Street Journal
". . . an acute study of how issues of political power and empire interact with women’s own claims to autonomy within families and communities. Ahmed beds her analysis into the wider political currents of Egypt without ever losing sight of women’s own interpretations of what they were doing and why."—Madeleine Bunting, The Guardian
"The portrait of post 9/11 Muslim America that Ahmed offers up in her book is strikingly hopeful, full of individuals, trends, and stories that make her case for this new era's promise."—Time Magazine
"The veil may be the most evocative symbol of Islam for many non-Muslim readers, and Ahmed’s treatment of the subject is wide-ranging, discursive, and utterly fascinating."—Library Journal, starred review
"A Quiet Revolution is an exceptional study of women in Islam. Their story is a remarkable one, and Leila Ahmed tells it with grace and understanding."—Joseph Preville, Time Out
"In the post-9/11 world, as a Leila Ahmed points out in this gripping yet erudite book, the veil worn by women in Western countries such as Britain and America has come to symbolise a range of public postures, from the resistance to Islamophobia or anti-Muslim prejudice experienced on the domestic front, to expressions of support for Muslim women in places such as Iraq, Bosnia, Somalia, or Palestine, exemplified by the group that calls itself ‘ Scarves for Solidarity.’ How is it, Ahmed asks, that a form of head-covering once seen as a symbol of patriarchal oppression can now be regarded as a call for justice?"—Malise Ruthven, Literary Review
Selected by the ALA for the Bridging Cultures Bookshelf on Muslim Journeys project
Winner of the 2013 Grawemeyer Award in Religion, given jointly by the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and the University of Louisville
"Leila Ahmed takes a subject that arouses great emotion, shows how the resurgence of veiling has come about, and explains with great clarity what it means. Ahmed's learned and engaging argument should make all readers examine their prejudices. This valuable and much needed introduction to major trends in the modern Muslim world leads to some novel and surprising conclusions. An important book, it should be required reading for journalists, educationalists, politicians and religious leaders."—Karen Armstrong, Author, A History of God
"Leila Ahmed 's views on women, Islam and Islamism are not only interesting but courageous and need to be read and debated. Her new book brings the critical historical perspective necessary to understand the deep and quiet revolution that is occurring among American Muslims."—Tariq Ramadan, University of Oxford
"A powerful and critically important analysis of the veil’s modern history and reemergence in our time. This is a history Leila Ahmed herself has lived through and witnessed, especially in North America. It is compelling reading for the many readers with questions about the veil and its meanings."—Diana Eck, author of A New Religious America
"What lies behind the phenomenon of Muslim women wearing 'Islamic dress?' Leila Ahmed provides an engaging tour through nationalism, socialism, Islam, and anti-imperialism in her beautifully written book, weaving together the themes of politics, dress, and women’s changing roles with her usual historical and literary skill. A fascinating read."—Jane Smith, Harvard University
ISBN: 9780300181432
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 544g
360 pages