The Feminism Of Muslim Americans Essay

There are many political, religious, and cultural factors that shape the lives of Islamic women many of them are completely different than factors in the lives of American women. Islam is one of the world’s fastest growing religions; however, Brooks argues that “Islam’s holiest texts have been misused to justify the repression of women, and how male pride and power have warped the original message of this once liberating faith.” The book also shows these factors have slowly been taking away women’s rights, rather than furthering them.

If the author wanted to learn more about Muslim women, she should have sought them out and spent time with them — those who wear hijabs as well as those who don’t. Then, instead of speaking on behalf of Muslim women’s “unheard voice” by talking about her own hijab experiment (“My hijab silenced, but simultaneously, my hijab brought unforgettable words”), she should have asked them to share their own experiences as Muslim women. Then they would have a voice.

Based on the way Yasmeen dresses, in traditional, Muslim hijab and black, Islamic dress, the knowledge she is different than the dominant, American cultural and religious norms follows her everywhere (p. 76). In middle school, her fellow students called her “Terrorist” and

“The Hijab limits me from doing certain things. When I have the Hijab on…as a Muslim woman, I consider myself basically representing the whole community” (Ruby 29). Aspects like this set this woman apart from her peers because she is now labeled as just one thing, a Muslim, when in fact she is much more than that. Women who wear the Hijab, Muhajibah, living in the western world, I believe, have it harder than they do living back home. Here, they are subject to a lot more attention when not necessary such as weird looks walking down the street and subject to stereotypes ie. being a terrorist. Islamic women are not the only ones being oppressed by their choice of clothing; in fact every woman around the world is target towards oppression. Islamic women are just targeted more than women of other religions. This is because of the strict faith that they endure from the Qu’ran telling them that they need to dress a certain way. However, it has been debated that the Qu’ran actually doesn’t mention anything about a women needing to wear a Hijab to be a good Muslim. (Kawaji)

Today, Islam is seen as a violent religion, the mention of Muslims anywhere strike fear into people. But yet there are more Muslim doctors, writers, engineers, scientist, thriving in first world countries than anyone else. Muslim people lack the ability to have their own identity due to the medias interpretation of them. It’s even more for Muslim women because they will forever be painted as Oppressed. In American Muslim Women by Jamillah Karim, the author gathers information about barriers Muslim women face living in Chicago and Atlanta, either through segregations, discrimination, and gender roles. The author mentions how people of the same ethnic background tend to stay together, instead of branching outside or their race, and how Muslim women are treated like underdogs when they interact with Muslim men in the mosque, at work, and etc. People that normally identify with the same race, religion, and ethnicity tend to stay together. This reading discussed “boundaries” that women face in the mosque and how they are bound to the back, while men are privileged with front row seats, closer to the Unman. The reason could be that these women that

The issue of women in Islam is highly controversial. As a Muslim American living in the United States many times I get judged about my religion. People think that because I am a Muslim woman in America I am being restricted from many things and can’t be like every other woman in America. Islam has many similarities with other religion and it does have its differences. Being raised as a Muslim woman in America has made me the strong and independent woman I am today. I am going to be talking about my own religion that I’m well knowledgeable of. What the media shows and how people talk badly about the religion is truly ruining the religion and its true beauty. Woman in Islam are not being oppressed for anything there’s true beauty behind this

In recent years, America’s attention has been gripped by stories of women who have escaped from the Middle East. Each has a unique story, but they all have the same themes of oppression, abuse, and domination. Americans rushed onto the scene ready to “save” Middle Eastern women and many of the activists are now been highly praised for the influence they made in the region. Others, however, have come to question whether the Muslim women in the Middle East really needed the U.S. to rescue them from Islam. *Insert Thesis*

“An Introduction to Muslim Women’s Rights.” Windows of Faith: Muslim Women Scholar-activists in North America. Gisela Webb ed. (Syracuse: Syracuse UP, 2000).

These days everybody gets criticized by someone. It is either by a friend, a relative, or a stranger. People commonly get judged by the clothes you wear, the car you drive, accessories you have, and even the place you live in. Currently, in the United States, Muslims are being criticized for the things they wear—especially women. Most Muslim women, who live in the United States, wear scarves, also known as hijabs. Hijabs are supposed to cover the head and neck and only show the woman’s face. People conclude that the Muslim women are terrorists and try to avoid them. Today, people associate Muslims with terrorism because the terror attacks in the U.S. are mostly committed by Islam extremists; therefore, people believe all Muslim women are terrorists,

the government and media. I believe that people running this country are Anti Islamic due to there view on things. Also this is a Zionist country, which is another reason that makes the media discriminate against the Muslim’s, due to the conflict with Palestine and other Muslim countries. The media has always portrayed Islam in a negative way. The reason the media is biased when it comes to Islam because they hate the Islamic structure and the beliefs. The majority of media conglomerate ownership is of people who

There is not much information on when Muslims first arrived in America, but there has been evidence that some of the slaves were Muslim, but didn’t have the ability to practice their religion freely, they also tried to accommodate their faith with Christianity, but others were converted. It was about twenty percent of the slaves in the US were Muslim. One of the first known Muslims in the United States, was a slave from Morocco, named Estevanico, who was shipwrecked with Spanish Explorers near the where the city Galveston, Texas is. After that there weren’t many Muslims coming into the United States until the twentieth century. This is shown by the evidence that one of the first mosques was built in North Dakota in 1929, and while the mosque was demolished a Muslim cemetery still stands near the spot of that mosque. Islam started in the 7th century with a prophet named Muhammad. It is an Abrahamic religion, like Judaism and Christianity, but Muslims believe that Islam is a step further than the other two religions.

Muslim women have been the centre of intercession being utilized as proofs of 'cultural backwardness'. Intervention in Muslim communities by focusing on women as a vehicle for social change has a long history.44 In Europe, the contention over the hijab has been especially extreme with the most grounded rejection happening in France where hijab as a religious image is illegal in state organizations, particularly schools.45.46 Nevertheless, enactments denying female circumcision and arranged/forced marriage have been seen as Muslim practices needing direction, despite the fact that there is no reference to culture in these laws. The attention on Muslim women viably uses them as a measure of Muslim incorporation. The headscarf is by a wide margin

An individual’s identity can differ depending on several different physical and biological factors including sexuality, gender, age and class. Throughout Ruby Tabassum’s article entitled Listening to the Voices of Hijab, identity is related to gender in a number of ways. I have decided to discuss this specific article because the idea of how femininity is portrayed is a significant aspect of Canadian culture nowadays. I am also interested in focusing on how the identities of Muslim women are recognized in society and how individuals interpret the meaning behind wearing the hijab. Throughout this article, I have distinguished several different reasons for wearing

Although Western feminism started in the 1900s, yet, it didn’t reach the Islamic world until most recently, a couple of hundred years later than the West. Despite the fact that both of the feminism movements come from totally different back grounds, and they are affected by different history and culture, still, both of them aimed for women’s best interests. Muslim women were profoundly feeling aggrieved by the discrimination they have against them. They stereotypical reputation about them in the West, and their presentation in the Western media didn’t help either. They started and supported a new fight to regain themselves the equal status they were granted by Islam centuries ago. Muslim women didn’t like to be looked at as being backward and oppressed by men in a male-dominant world. According to the feminist historian Margot Badran, “Islamic feminism is a feminist discourse and practice articulated within an Islamic paradigm. Islamic feminism, which derives its understanding and mandate from the Qur 'an, seeks rights and justice for women, and for men, in the totality of their existence.” (Badran, 2001)

          The role of woman, her position and status in society, and her nature have been issues of debate and discussion informed by religion, tradition and culture, misogyny, feminism and - many times - downright ignorance and bigotry.