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| ahmed leila: Women and Gender in Islam Leila Ahmed, 2021 A classic, pioneering account of the lives of women in Islamic history, republished for a new generation This pioneering study of the social and political lives of Muslim women has shaped a whole generation of scholarship. In it, Leila Ahmed explores the historical roots of contemporary debates, ambitiously surveying Islamic discourse on women from Arabia during the period in which Islam was founded to Iraq during the classical age to Egypt during the modern era. The book is now reissued as a Veritas paperback, with a new foreword by Kecia Ali situating the text in its scholarly context and explaining its enduring influence. “Ahmed’s book is a serious and independent-minded analysis of its subject, the best-informed, most sympathetic and reliable one that exists today.”—Edward W. Said “Destined to become a classic. . . . It gives [Muslim women] back our rightful place, at the center of our histories.”—Rana Kabbani, The Guardian |
| ahmed leila: A Quiet Revolution Leila Ahmed, 2011-04-29 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 todayIn 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. |
| ahmed leila: A Border Passage Leila Ahmed, 2012-04-24 An Egyptian woman's reflections on her changing homeland—updated with an afterword on the Arab Spring In language that vividly evokes the lush summers of Cairo and the stark beauty of the Arabian desert, Leila Ahmed movingly recounts her Egyptian childhood growing up in a rich tradition of Islamic women and describes how she eventually came to terms with her identity as a feminist living in America. As a young woman in Cairo in the forties and fifties, Ahmed witnessed some of the major transformations of this century—the end of British colonialism, the rise of Arab nationalism, and the breakdown of Egypt's once multireligious society. As today's Egypt continues to undergo revolutionary change, Ahmed's inspirational story remains as poignant and relevant as ever. |
| ahmed leila: Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know Samira Ahmed, 2020-04-07 Discover New York Times bestseller Samira Ahmed’s romantic, sweeping adventure through the streets of Paris told in alternating narratives that bridge centuries, continents, and the lives of two young Muslim women fighting to write their own stories. Smash the patriarchy. Eat all the pastries. It’s August in Paris and 17-year-old Khayyam Maquet—American, French, Indian, Muslim—is at a crossroads. This holiday with her parents should be a dream trip for the budding art historian. But her maybe-ex-boyfriend is ghosting her, she might have just blown her chance at getting into her dream college, and now all she really wants is to be back home in Chicago figuring out her messy life instead of brooding in the City of Light. Two hundred years before Khayyam’s summer of discontent, Leila is struggling to survive and keep her true love hidden from the Pasha who has “gifted” her with favored status in his harem. In the present day—and with the company of Alex, a très charmant teen descendant of Alexandre Dumas—Khayyam searches for a rumored lost painting, uncovering a connection between Leila and Alexandre Dumas, Eugène Delacroix, and Lord Byron that may have been erased from history. Echoing across centuries, Leila and Khayyam’s lives intertwine, and as one woman’s long-forgotten life is uncovered, another’s is transformed. |
| ahmed leila: Do Muslim Women Need Saving? Lila Abu-Lughod, 2013-11-12 Do Muslim Women Need Saving? is an indictment of a mindset that has justified all manner of foreign interference, including military invasion, in the name of rescuing women from Islam. It offers a detailed, moving portrait of the actual experiences of ordinary Muslim women, and of the contingencies with which they live. |
| ahmed leila: Baddawi Leila Abdelrazaq, 2014-03-04 Baddawi is the story of a young boy struggling to find his place in the world. Raised in a refugee camp called Baddawi in northern Lebanon, Ahmad is just one of the many thousands of refugee children born to Palestinians who fled their homeland after the war in 1948 established the state of Israel. In this visually arresting graphic novel, Leila Abdelrazaq explores her father's childhood in the 1960s and '70s from a boy's eye view as he witnesses the world crumbling around him and attempts to carry on, forging his own path in the midst of terrible uncertainty. |
| ahmed leila: Complaint! Sara Ahmed, 2021-09-24 Drawing on oral and written testimonies from academics and students who have made complaints about harassment, bullying, and unequal working conditions at universities, Sara Ahmed examines what we can learn about power from those who complain about abuses of power. |
| ahmed leila: A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini, 2008-09-18 A riveting and powerful story of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship and an indestructible love |
| ahmed leila: To America Stephen E. Ambrose, 2002-11-11 Completed shortly before Ambrose's untimely death, To America is a very personal look at our nation's history through the eyes of one of the twentieth century's most influential historians. Ambrose roams the country's history, praising the men and women who made it exceptional. He considers Jefferson and Washington, who were progressive thinkers (while living a contradiction as slaveholders), and celebrates Lincoln and Roosevelt. He recounts Andrew Jackson's stunning defeat of a superior British force in the battle of New Orleans with a ragtag army in the War of 1812. He brings to life Lewis and Clark's grueling journey across the wilderness and the building of the railroad that joined the nation coast to coast. Taking swings at political correctness, as well as his own early biases, Ambrose grapples with the country's historic sins of racism; its ill treatment of Native Americans; and its tragic errors such as the war in Vietnam, which he ardently opposed. He contrasts the modern presidencies of Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, and Johnson. He considers women's and civil rights, immigration, philanthropy, and nation building. Most powerfully, in this final volume, Ambrose offers an accolade to the historian's mighty calling. |
| ahmed leila: Muslim Women (RLE Women and Religion) Freda Hussain, 2020-07-26 The history of Islam and the changing role-performance of Muslim women, given the various interpretations of the belief system of Islam, are described. It is the contention of the authors that it is these various interpretations which have given rise to the conflict between the ideal and contextual realities. This book also includes papers which investigate the problems of feminism and employment for Muslim women, as well as the educational and legal aspects of their lives in contemporary Islamic society. First published in 1984. |
| ahmed leila: A Place for Us Patricia Grayhall, 2025-06-03 For fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid and Harper Bliss, a thrilling tale of two women who find each other irresistible but struggle for a second chance for love, redemption, and sanctuary when the world is against them. Jo, a driven environmental attorney based in Washington, DC, and Lauren, a spirited young woman from Britain on a journey of self-discovery, find themselves in a serendipitous encounter at a lively London pub in 1981. Their brief yet profound connection generates a whirlwind of emotions, but the vast ocean, Jo's career aspirations, and immigration hurdles thwart their burgeoning romance. Fast forward twenty-two years, and both Jo and Lauren are unhappy in their current relationships. Fate intervenes when Lauren and her partner travel from Europe to visit Jo in her San Francisco home. The reunion is electric, rekindling a storm of emotions that neither can suppress, despite their efforts to honor their existing commitments. Amid the majestic backdrops of Yosemite National Park and the Pacific Northwest, old passions can’t be denied, leading to dramatic confrontations and painful revelations. Jo and Lauren finally realize they must admit the truth: they are irresistibly drawn to each other. But there is no country in which they can legally live together. A Place for Us is a poignant narrative of profound emotional depth. Will this second chance lead to happiness, or will the same forces that once drove them apart prevail again? |
| ahmed leila: Feminist Theory Reader Carole Ruth McCann, Seung-Kyung Kim, 2010 Feminist Theory Reader, second edition, continues its unique approach of anthologizing the important works of feminist theory within a multiracial transnational framework. Classic works in feminist theory by scholars such as Simone De Beauvoir, Gloria Anzaldua, Judith Butler, belle hooks, Nancy Hartsock, Deniz Kandiyoti,and Chandra Talpade Mohanty appear alongside cutting-edge scholarship by Paula Moya, Aiwha Ong, Raewyn Connell, Suzanne Walters, Mrinalina Sinha, and Rhacel Parreas. The new edition significantly updates both the local and global perspectives that distinguished the first edition, incorporating themes and debates on the rise in the contemporary feminist scholarship. |
| ahmed leila: Arab, Muslim, Woman Lindsey Moore, 2008-05-14 This groundbreaking book analyzes a wide range of literary and visual texts, many of which have not received treatment elsewhere, and promotes an emergent canon of women's writing and film. |
| ahmed leila: A Land of Aching Hearts Leila Tarazi Fawaz, 2014-11-17 A century after the Great War, the experiences of civilians and soldiers in the Middle East during those years have faded from memory. A Land of Aching Hearts traverses ethnic, class, and national borders to recover the personal stories of those who endured this cataclysmic event, and their profound sense of sacrifices made in vain. |
| ahmed leila: The Fist of God Frederick Forsyth, 2015-03-18 From the bestselling author of The Day of the Jackal, international master of intrigue Frederick Forsyth, comes a thriller that brilliantly blends fact with fiction for one of this summer’s—or any season’s—most explosive reads! From the behind-the-scenes decision-making of the Allies to the secret meetings of Saddam Hussein’s war cabinet, from the brave American fliers running their dangerous missions over Iraq to the heroic young spy planted deep in the heart of Baghdad, Forsyth’s incomparable storytelling skill keeps the suspense at a breakneck pace. Somewhere in Baghdad is the mysterious “Jericho,” the traitor who is willing—for a price—to reveal what is going on in the high councils of the Iraqi dictator. But Saddam’s ultimate weapon has been kept secret even from his most trusted advisers, and the nightmare scenario that haunts General Schwarzkopf and his colleagues is suddenly imminent, unless somehow, the spy can locate that weapon—The Fist of God—in time. Peopled with vivid characters, brilliantly displaying Forsyth’s incomparable, knowledge of intelligence operations and tradecraft, moving back and forth between Washington and London, Baghdad and Kuwait, desert vastnesses and city bazaars, this breathtaking novel is an utterly convincing story of what may actually have happened behind the headlines. |
| ahmed leila: Community, Faith, and Resistance Sk Sagir Ali, 2024-11-28 This book looks at texts produced before and after 9/11 by novelists with Muslim backgrounds in Britain. It delves into the ways in which the politics of representation have changed in the wake of 9/11 and highlights the conflicts that arise in these coming-of-age narratives between the demands of a liberal individualist lifestyle and those of community, family, and faith. Drawing on the works of Salman Rushdie, Hanif Kureishi, Nadeem Aslam, Qaisra Shahraz, Leila Aboulela, Robin Yassin-Kassab, Zia Haider Rahman, and Ahdaf Soueif, Community, Faith, and Resistance discusses how these authors distinguish between Islam as a religion and Islam as a culture and negotiate complex themes of religion, representation, recognition, and secularism in their works. The volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers, particularly those focused on literature, politics, cultural studies, South Asian studies, Islamic studies, and decolonial studies, providing valuable insights and fostering deeper understanding in these disciplines. |
| ahmed leila: Paradise Beneath Her Feet Isobel Coleman, 2013-02-26 Now with a new Preface and Afterword by the author “Outstanding . . . [Isobel Coleman] takes us into remote villages and urban bureaucracies to find the brave men and women working to create change in the Middle East.”—Los Angeles Times In this timely and important book, Isobel Coleman shows how Muslim women and men across the Middle East are working within Islam to fight for women’s rights in a growing movement of Islamic feminism. Journeying through Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, Coleman introduces the reader to influential Islamic feminist thinkers and successful grassroots activists working to create economic, political, and educational opportunities for women. Their advocacy for women’s rights based on more progressive interpretations of Islam are critical to bridging the conflict between those championing reform and those seeking to oppress women in the name of religious tradition. Socially, culturally, economically, and politically, the future of the region depends on finding ways to accommodate human rights, and in particular women’s rights, with Islamic law. These reformers—and thousands of others—are the people leading the way forward. Featuring new material that addresses how the Arab uprisings and other recent events have affected the social and political landscape of the region, Paradise Beneath Her Feet offers a message of hope: Change is coming to the Middle East—and more often than not, it is being led by women. Praise for Paradise Beneath Her Feet “Clearly written, deeply moving, and wonderfully enlightening.”—Reza Aslan, author of No god but God “[An] engrossing portrait of real Muslim women that reveals how Islamic feminists . . . are working with and within the culture, rather than against it . . . to forge ‘a legitimate Islamic alternative to the current repressive system.’ Coleman doesn’t diminish the enormity of the struggle, but she argues convincingly that it might yet rewrite Islam’s future.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) “A nuanced view of Islam’s role in public life that is cautiously hopeful.”—The Economist “Eye-opening . . . Deeply religious, profoundly determined and modern in every way, these are twenty-first-century women bent on change. Hear them roar and see a future being born before our eyes.”—Booklist |
| ahmed leila: Muslims and Modernity Clinton Bennett, 2005-01-01 Voicing at least two Muslim opinions in each area of debate, this book challenges the idea that all Muslims think identically. While Muslims and Modernity is designed primarily for use an undergraduate textbook, reference to accessible Internet material, |
| ahmed leila: Believing Women in Islam Asma Barlas, 2019-02-28 Does Islam call for the oppression of women? The subjugation of women in many Muslim countries is often used as evidence of this, while many Muslims read the Qur'an in ways that seem to justify sexual oppression and inequality. In this paradigm-shifting book, Asma Barlas argues that, far from supporting male privilege, the Qur'an actually affirms the complete equality of the sexes. Offering a historical analysis of religious authority and knowledge, Barlas shows how, for centuries, Muslims have read patriarchy into the Qur'an to justify existing religious and social structures. In this seminal volume, she takes readers into the heart of Islamic teachings on women, gender and patriarchy, offering an egalitarian reading of Islam's most sacred scripture. This revised edition includes two new chapters, a new preface, and updates throughout. |
| ahmed leila: Using Life Ahmed Naji, 2017-11-14 Upon its initial release in Arabic in the fall of 2014, Using Life received acclaim in Egypt and the wider Arab world. But in 2016, Ahmed Naji was sentenced to two years in prison after a reader complained that an excerpt published in a literary journal harmed public morality. His imprisonment marks the first time in modern Egypt that an author has been jailed for a work of literature. Writers and literary organizations around the world rallied to support Naji, and he was released in December 2016. His original conviction was overturned in May 2017 but, at the time of printing, he is awaiting retrial and banned from leaving Egypt. Set in modern-day Cairo, Using Life follows a young filmmaker, Bassam Bahgat, after a secret society hires him to create a series of documentary films about the urban planning and architecture of Cairo. The plot in which Bassam finds himself ensnared unfolds in the novel's unique mix of text and black-and-white illustrations. The Society of Urbanists, Bassam discovers, is responsible for centuries of world-wide conspiracies that have shaped political regimes, geographical boundaries, reigning ideologies, and religions. It is responsible for today's Cairo, and for everywhere else, too. Yet its methods are subtle and indirect: it operates primarily through manipulating urban architecture, rather than brute force. As Bassam immerses himself in the Society and its shadowy figures, he finds Cairo on the brink of a planned apocalypse, designed to wipe out the whole city and rebuild anew. |
| ahmed leila: Secular Muslim Feminism Hind Elhinnawy, 2024-12-26 For over a century, Muslim women have championed their own brand of feminism, rooted in human rights principles and a deep understanding of their diverse cultural contexts. Yet, secular Muslim feminism remains shrouded in misunderstanding and contention. This book boldly confronts the complexities and controversies surrounding this contested concept, offering a nuanced exploration of its potential to bridge divides and empower women. The book challenges the simplistic portrayals of Muslim women, dismantling the harmful narratives of oppression and victimhood propagated by both Western and Islamist agendas. It critiques the selective glorification of religious agency by some feminists, recognizing how this can inadvertently reinforce patriarchal ideologies. Additionally, it exposes the hijacking of the secular Muslim feminist movement by the far-right, disguised as advocates for women's rights but fueled by anti-Muslim sentiments. Drawing on over two decades of personal observations and interactions with diverse organizations in the Middle East and Europe, the book delves into the heart of secular Muslim feminism, dissecting its nuances and potential to reconcile divergent perspectives. It amplifies these voices, challenging the misrepresentation and limitations imposed by external agendas. Secular Muslim Feminism emerges as a bold and transformative force, redefining the boundaries of equality and empowering women to shape their destinies. It offers a nuanced and critical framework for understanding the complex realities of Muslim women's lives, paving the way for a more just and equitable future. |
| ahmed leila: Speaking of Faith Krista Tippett, 2008-01-29 A thought-provoking, original appraisal of the meaning of religion by the host of public radio's On Being Krista Tippett, widely becoming known as the Bill Moyers of radio, is one of the country's most intelligent and insightful commentators on religion, ethics, and the human spirit. With this book, she draws on her own life story and her intimate conversations with both ordinary and famous figures, including Elie Wiesel, Karen Armstrong, and Thich Nhat Hanh, to explore complex subjects like science, love, virtue, and violence within the context of spirituality and everyday life. Her way of speaking about the mysteries of life-and of listening with care to those who endeavor to understand those mysteries--is nothing short of revolutionary. |
| ahmed leila: Minaret Leila Aboulela, 2007-12-01 “A beautiful, daring, challenging novel” of a young Muslim immigrant—from the author of the New York Times Notable Book, The Translator (The Guardian). Leila Aboulela’s American debut is a provocative, timely, and engaging novel about a young Muslim woman—once privileged and secular in her native land and now impoverished in London—gradually embracing her orthodox faith. With her Muslim hijab and down-turned gaze, Najwa is invisible to most eyes, especially to the rich families whose houses she cleans in London. Twenty years ago, Najwa, then at university in Khartoum, would never have imagined that one day she would be a maid. An upperclass Westernized Sudanese, her dreams were to marry well and raise a family. But a coup forces the young woman and her family into political exile in London. Soon orphaned, she finds solace and companionship within the Muslim community. Then Najwa meets Tamer, the intense, lonely younger brother of her employer. They find a common bond in faith and slowly, silently, begin to fall in love. Written with directness and force, Minaret is a lyric and insightful novel about Islam and an alluring glimpse into a culture Westerners are only just beginning to understand. “Lit up by a highly unusual sensibility and world view, so rarefied and uncompromising that it is likely to throw the reader out of kilter . . . Her delicacy of touch is to be complimented.” —Chandrahas Choudhury, San Francisco Chronicle |
| ahmed leila: Reshaping the Holy Elora Shehabuddin, 2008-07-28 Through extensive field research, Elora Shehabuddin explores the profound implications of women's political and social mobilization for reshaping Islam. Specifically, she examines the lives of Muslim women in Bangladesh who have become increasingly mobilized by the activities of predominantly secular NGOs, yet who desire to retain, reclaim, and reshape-rather than reject-their faith. In their employment and in their interactions with the legal system, the state, NGOs, and political and religious groups, women are changing state practices, views of women in the public sphere, and the nature of lived Islam itself. In contrast to most work on Islam and Muslims, which has focused on the Middle East and has privileged the study of religious and legal texts, this book redirects our attention to South Asia, home to one of the largest Muslim populations in the world, and emphasizes the actual experiences of Muslims. Women and gender, as well as Bangladesh's formally democratic context, are central to this inquiry and analysis. |
| ahmed leila: Islam in Contemporary Literature John C. Hawley, 2021-04-06 Suitable for the classroom but completely accessible to the general reader, this volume presents many of the most interesting authors writing today from an Islamic background—Kamel Daoud, Yasmine el Rashidi, Hisham Matar, Tahar Djaout, Mohsin Hamid, Hanif Kureishi, Edward Said, Driss Chaibi, Kamila Shamsie, Tahar ben Jelloun, Leila Aboulela, Abdellah Taïa, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Hisham Matar, Eboo Patel, Reza Aslan, and Tamim Ansary, among others—who embody the various strains of Islamic interpretation and conflict. This study discusses an ongoing Reformation in Islam, focusing on the Arab Spring, the role of women and sexuality, the “clash of civilizations,” assimilation and cosmopolitanism, jihad, pluralism across cultures, free speech and apostasy. In an atmosphere of political and religious awakening, these authors search for a voice for individual rights while nations seek to restore a “disrupted destiny.” Questions of “de-Arabization” of the religion, ecumenicism, comparative modernities, and the role of literature thread themselves throughout the chapters of the book. |
| ahmed leila: The Buried Peter Hessler, 2019-05-21 An intimate account of the Arab Spring, and Egypt’s past and present, seen through the eyes of a wide range of Egyptians: political operators, archaeologists and garbage collectors; women, the queer community and migrants. |
| ahmed leila: Islam in Historical Perspective Alexander Knysh, 2024-09-30 Islam in Historical Perspective is a general introduction to Islam and the history of Muslim societies. Richly illustrated by quotations and images from Muslim scripture, historical chronicles, artistic works, and theological and juridical treatises, it invites the reader to examine this evidence and to form a comprehensive understanding of Islam’s evolution from its inception in Arabia to the present day. Combining chronological and thematic principles, this book examines Muslims’ political and intellectual struggles over the meaning and practical implications of their faith. Treating Islam as a language that various factions and generations of Muslims have used to express their grievances, aspirations, and personal experiences and preferences, the book shows the religion’s remarkable potency as a social, political, and cultural force and source of identity. It also describes and analyses Muslim devotional practices, emotional responses to the revelation, artistic and intellectual creativity, and patterns of everyday existence. The goal of this book is to help the reader to develop personal empathy for the subject by showing the relevance of the dilemmas faced by Muslims in different epochs and geographical locations to the burning issues of today’s world. A thorough analysis of pivotal events, trends, and personalities of Islamic history is accompanied by witness accounts showing how they were perceived by Muslims themselves. This new edition features a thoroughly revised text, updated bibliography, new illustrations, study questions and chapter summaries, and is an outstanding resource for students of Islam and Muslim civilization. |
| ahmed leila: Handbook on Gender in Asia Shirlena Huang, Kanchana N. Ruwanpura, 2020-07-31 The Handbook on Gender in Asia critically examines, through a gender perspective, five broad themes of significance to Asia: the ‘Theory and Practice’ of researching in Asia; ‘Gender, Ageing and Health’; ‘Gender and Labour’; ‘Gendered Migrations and Mobilities’; and ‘Gender at the Margins’. With each chapter providing an overview of the key intellectual developments on the issue under discussion, as well as empirical examples to examine how the Asian case sheds light on these debates, this collection will be an invaluable reference for scholars of gender and Asia. |
| ahmed leila: Women and Gender in the Qur'an Celene Ibrahim, 2020 Stories related to gendered social relations permeate the Qur'an, and nearly three hundred verses involve specific women or girls. These stories weave together theology and ethics to reinforce central Qur'anic ideas regarding submission to God and moral accountability. Women and Gender in the Qur'an outlines how women and girls - old, young, barren, fertile, chaste, profligate, reproachable, and saintly-enter Qur'anic sacred history and advance the Qur'an's overarching didactic aims. |
| ahmed leila: Questioning the ‘Muslim Woman’ Nida Kirmani, 2016-03-16 The marginalisation of Muslims in India has recently been the subject of heated public debate. In these discussions, however, Muslim women are often either overlooked or treated as a homogenous group with a common set of interests. Focusing on the narratives of women living in a predominantly Muslim colony in South Delhi, this book attempts to demonstrate the complexity of their lives and the multiple levels of insecurity they face. Unlike other studies on Indian Muslims that focus on Islam as a defining factor, this book highlights the ways in which religious identity intersects with other identities including class/status, regional affiliation and gender. The author also sheds light on the impact of such events as the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992 and the subsequent riots, the Gujarat communal carnage in 2002, and the anti-Sikh violence in New Delhi in 1984, along with the rise of Hindutva, and growing Islamophobia experienced worldwide in the post-9/11 period — on the articulation of identities at the local level and increasing religion-based spatial segregation in Indian cities. The study highlights how these incidents combine in different ways to increase the sense of marginalisation experienced by Muslims at the level of the locality. Understanding the need to look beyond preconceived religious categories, this book will serve as essential reading for those interested in sociology, anthropology, gender, religious and urban studies, as well as policymakers and organisations concerned with issues related to religious minorities in India. |
| ahmed leila: Secularizing Islamists? Humeira Iqtidar, 2011-02-15 Secularizing Islamists? provides an in-depth analysis of two Islamist parties in Pakistan, the highly influential Jama‘at-e-Islami and the more militant Jama‘at-ud-Da‘wa, widely blamed for the November 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai, India. Basing her findings on thirteen months of ethnographic work with the two parties in Lahore, Humeira Iqtidar proposes that these Islamists are involuntarily facilitating secularization within Muslim societies, even as they vehemently oppose secularism. This book offers a fine-grained account of the workings of both parties that challenges received ideas about the relationship between the ideology of secularism and the processes of secularization. Iqtidar particularly illuminates the impact of women on Pakistani Islamism, while arguing that these Islamist groups are inadvertently supporting secularization by forcing a critical engagement with the place of religion in public and private life. She highlights the role that competition among Islamists and the focus on the state as the center of their activity plays in assisting secularization. The result is a significant contribution to our understanding of emerging trends in Muslim politics. |
| ahmed leila: Gender and Succession in Medieval and Early Modern Islam Alyssa Gabbay, 2020-03-19 In Gender and Succession in Medieval and Early Modern Islam: Bilateral Descent and the Legacy of Fatima, Alyssa Gabbay examines episodes in pre-modern Islamic history in which individuals or societies recognized descent from both men and women. Fatima, daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, features prominently in this study, for her example constituted a striking precedent for acknowledging bilateral descent in both Sunni and Shi'i societies, with all of its ramifications for female inheritance, succession and identity. Covering a broad geographical and chronological swath, Gender and Succession in Medieval and Early Modern Islam presents alternative perspectives to patriarchal narratives, and breaks new ground in its focus upon how people conceived of family structures and bloodlines. In so doing, it builds upon a tradition of studies seeking to dispel monolithic understandings of Islam and Gender. |
| ahmed leila: Women and Islam Zayn R. Kassam, 2010-10-21 This balanced exploration provides the basis for an energetic engagement with what it means to be a Muslim woman in a globalized world. The expert essays in Women and Islam are designed to stimulate discussion and help readers achieve a more sober understanding of the lives of Muslim women around the world. They explore the issues Muslim women face as they fight for gender justice and meet the challenges of living in a globalized, post-9/11 world—whether in Iran or France, Ethiopia, or the United States. Each chapter examines a different part of the globe, exploring issues arising from cultural and religious codes, as well as from internal and global politics, economics, education, and the law. Readers will glimpse the many and diverse ways in which Muslim women are actively involved in addressing the conditions embedded in their discrete environments and taking up the opportunities afforded to them, adopting strategies ranging from the political to the legal, from the theatrical to the religious. |
| ahmed leila: The Palgrave Handbook of Islam in Africa Fallou Ngom, Mustapha H. Kurfi, Toyin Falola, 2020-09-26 This handbook generates new insights that enrich our understanding of the history of Islam in Africa and the diverse experiences and expressions of the faith on the continent. The chapters in the volume cover key themes that reflect the preoccupations and realities of many African Muslims. They provide readers access to a comprehensive treatment of the past and current traditions of Muslims in Africa, offering insights on different forms of Islamization that have taken place in several regions, local responses to Islamization, Islam in colonial and post-colonial Africa, and the varied forms of Jihād movements that have occurred on the continent. The handbook provides updated knowledge on various social, cultural, linguistic, political, artistic, educational, and intellectual aspects of the encounter between Islam and African societies reflected in the lived experiences of African Muslims and the corpus of African Islamic texts. |
| ahmed leila: Muslim Narratives and the Discourse of English Amin Malak, 2004-12-16 Examines novels and short stories by Muslim authors who write in English. |
| ahmed leila: Islamophobia and the Novel Peter Morey, 2018-08-14 In an era of rampant Islamophobia, what do literary representations of Muslims and anti-Muslim bigotry tell us about changing concepts of cultural difference? In Islamophobia and the Novel, Peter Morey analyzes how recent works of fiction have framed and responded to the rise of anti-Muslim prejudice, showing how their portrayals of Muslims both reflect and refute the ideological preoccupations of media and politicians in the post-9/11 West. Islamophobia and the Novel discusses novels embodying a range of positions—from the avowedly secular to the religious, and from texts that appear to underwrite Western assumptions of cultural superiority to those that recognize and critique neoimperial impulses. Morey offers nuanced readings of works by John Updike, Ian McEwan, Hanif Kureishi, Monica Ali, Mohsin Hamid, John le Carré, Khaled Hosseini, Azar Nafisi, and other writers, emphasizing the demands of the literary marketplace for representations of Muslims. He explores how depictions of Muslim experience have challenged liberal assumptions regarding the novel’s potential for empathy and its ability to encompass a variety of voices. Morey argues for a greater degree of critical self-consciousness in our understanding of writing by and about Muslims, in contrast to both exclusionary nationalism and the fetishization of difference. Contemporary literature’s capacity to unveil the conflicted nature of anti-Muslim bigotry expands our range of resources to combat Islamophobia. This, in turn, might contribute to Islamophobia’s eventual dismantling. |
| ahmed leila: Muslims on the Margins Katrina Daly Thompson, 2023-04-11 Offers vivid stories of nonconformist Muslim communities The turn of the twenty-first century ushered in a wave of progressive Muslims, whose modern interpretations and practices transformed the public’s perception of who could follow the teachings of Islam. Muslims on the Margins tells the story of their even more radical descendants: nonconformists who have reinterpreted their religion and created space for queer, trans, and nonbinary identities within Islam. Katrina Daly Thompson draws extensively from conversations and interviews conducted both in person in North America and online in several international communities. Writing in a compelling narrative style that centers the real experiences and diverse perspectives of nonconformist Muslims, Thompson illustrates how these radical Muslims are forming a community dedicated to creative reinterpretations of their religion, critical questioning of established norms, expansive inclusion of those who are queer in various ways, and the creation of different religious futures. Muslims on the Margins is a powerful account of how Muslims are forging new traditions and setting precedents for a more inclusive community— one that is engaged with tradition, but not beholden to it. |
| ahmed leila: Staging Muslims in Britain Önder Çakırtaş, 2024-12-24 This scholarly volume delves into the manner in which British Muslims articulate their cultural, social and religious identities through theatrical productions in 21st-century Britain and examines their portrayal within these performances. The study investigates the factors influencing the emergence and evolution of Islamic theatre in Britain, providing an in-depth analysis of plays by British playwrights of both Muslim and non-Muslim origins that have shaped the trajectory of British Islamic theatre from the late 20th century to the present. Önder Çakırtaş critically examines how British playwrights, predominantly of Muslim origin but also including some of non-Muslim origin, depict Muslim identity and culture from their unique perspectives, particularly in the context of post-9/11 society. Adopting a comprehensive approach to Islamic playwriting and performance, this book highlights the accomplishments and contributions of contemporary British playwrights, primarily from Muslim backgrounds. This study will be of significant interest to scholars and students in theatre studies, as well as related disciplines such as Islamic studies, sociology and political science. |
| ahmed leila: Companion Encyclopedia of Middle Eastern and North African Film Oliver Leaman, 2003-12-16 This unique volume illuminates a fascinating area of cinema. Each chapter covers the history and major issues of film within that area, as well as providing bibliographies of the leading films, directors and actors. |
| ahmed leila: Women in Islam Terence Lovat, 2012-06-12 The role of women in Islamic societies, not to mention in the religion itself, is a defining issue. It is also one that remains resistant to universal dogma, with a wide range of responses to women’s social roles across the Islamic world. Reflecting this heterogeneity, the editor of this volume has assembled the latest research on the issue, which combines contemporary with historical data. The material comes from around the world as well as from Muslim and non-Muslim researchers. It takes in work from majority Muslim nations such as Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Palestine, Tunisia and Turkey, as well as countries with troubled interfaith relations such as India and Israel. Nations with minority Muslim populations such as France, the UK, Canada and Australia, are also represented. The work also features varying Islamic sub-groups such as the two main ones, Sunni and Shi’a, as well as less well known populations such as the Ismaili Muslims. In each case, the work is underpinned by the very latest socio-theological insights and empirical data. |
Ahmad - Wikipedia
Ahmad (Arabic: أحمد, romanized: ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name …
Ahmed Name Meaning, Origin, Hi…
Aug 26, 2024 · Ahmed is a name of Arabic origin that means ‘greatly praised’ …
Ahmed - Name Meaning, Origin, Po…
Ahmed is a variant transliteration of the Islamic prophet Muhammad’s …
Ahmed: Name Meaning, Popularit…
Jun 9, 2025 · What is the meaning of the name Ahmed? The name …
Ahmed - Name Meaning, What doe…
What does Ahmed mean? A hmed as a boys' name is pronounced AH-med. It …
Ahmad - Wikipedia
Ahmad (Arabic: أحمد, romanized: ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other English spellings of the name include Ahmed. It is also used as a …
Ahmed Name Meaning, Origin, History, And Popularity
Aug 26, 2024 · Ahmed is a name of Arabic origin that means ‘greatly praised’ or ‘commendable.’ It is a variation of the popular name Ahmad. Other common variations of the name include …
Ahmed - Name Meaning, Origin, Popularity, and Related Names
Ahmed is a variant transliteration of the Islamic prophet Muhammad’s name. The name has its origins in a prophecy attributed to Jesus in the Quran in Surah 61: As-Saff (The Ranks). …
Ahmed: Name Meaning, Popularity and Info on BabyNames.com
Jun 9, 2025 · What is the meaning of the name Ahmed? The name Ahmed is primarily a male name of Arabic origin that means Praiseworthy, Commendable. An alternative name of …
Ahmed - Name Meaning, What does Ahmed mean? - Think Baby Names
What does Ahmed mean? A hmed as a boys' name is pronounced AH-med. It is of Arabic origin, and the meaning of Ahmed is "highly praised or one who constantly thanks God". One of the …
Meaning, origin and history of the name Ahmed
Oct 6, 2024 · This was the name of three Ottoman sultans.
Ahmed Name Meaning, Origins & Popularity - Forebears
Learn the fascinating origin of the Ahmed name; its meaning & distribution.
Ahmed Name Meaning - Ahmed Origin, Popularity & History
Ahmed is a Muslim boy name of Arabic origin, which means 'Praise Worthy, Noble, Commendable, Name Of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).' The lucky number of the Ahmed name …
What Does Ahmed Mean? | Praiseworthy - namejug.com
Ahmed is of Arabic origin, derived from the root word 'ḥ-m-d' which means 'to thank' or 'to praise'. It is closely related to the name Muhammad and carries spiritual significance for Muslims.
Ahmed - Islamic Boy Name Meaning and Pronunciation - Ask Oracle
Ahmed is a Islamic Boy Name pronounced as AH-med and means highly praised, praiseworthy. The name Ahmed has Arabic origins, deriving from the root word 'ḥ-m-d' which means 'to …
