Muslim Women on the Move offers a comparison of two Muslim populations that to date have not been compared in this way. Author Doris Gray compares the personal views of young educated women in Morocco with those of young educated women of Moroccan immigrant origins in France. She conducted extensive personal interviews, loosely structured around three main themes, over a period of three years in Morocco and in France. The three thematic groups are: conceptions of the religion of Islam, legal changes affecting women in Morocco and Muslim women in France, and personal and professional goals and challenges. This book challenges the conventional dichotomy between the Western and the Muslim world. Voices of a select group of individuals from each of these very different countries show that despite their different national circumstances, they have much more in common than is conventionally assumed. Gray summarizes individual perceptions and puts them into the larger context of Muslim women and their particular circumstances in the two Western Mediterranean countries. Muslim Women on the Move will interest students and scholars of Middle Eastern Studies, Women's Studies, French and Francophone Studies, Religious Studies, African Studies, Anthropology, and Anthropology of Religion.
Doris H. Gray is an independent scholar in Tallahassee, Florida.
Table of Contents
Part 1 IntroductionPart 2 Part I. Transgressing BoundariesChapter 3 The Kingdom of the WestChapter 4 The Western HexagonChapter 5 Measuring OpinionsChapter 6 WomenChapter 7 Topics of ConversationChapter 8 Public versus PrivateChapter 9 Confidence and TrustChapter 10 FriendshipChapter 11 Behind the VeilChapter 12 LanguageChapter 13 Rendez-vousPart 14 Part II. The Tar of My Country. . .Chapter 15 ImmigrationChapter 16 The BeursChapter 17 No Journey HomeChapter 18 EmigrationChapter 19 Change Is SlowChapter 20 Progressive ConservativesPart 21 Part III. To God Belong the East and the WestChapter 22 Women in IslamChapter 23 Women as Religious LeadersChapter 24 SufismChapter 25 Islam in FranceChapter 26 LaïcitéChapter 27 Morocco: Islam as a State ReligionChapter 28 What Makes a Muslim a MuslimChapter 29 What Nakes for a MuslimChapter 30 Reading and Reciting the Qur'anChapter 31 Ramadan and PrayerChapter 32 International ExposureChapter 33 Peace versus TerrorismChapter 34 ChoicePart 35 Part IV. Law of God, Law of ManChapter 36 Sources of Islamic lawChapter 37 Personal Status Code and the Role of WomenChapter 38 Child Marriage and ConcubinesChapter 39 The Guardian (wali)Chapter 40 PolygamyChapter 41 Upholding TraditionChapter 42 Law ReformChapter 43 West of EastChapter 44 Rural-urban DivideChapter 45 Religious and Social ChangeChapter 46 A Step in the Right DirectionChapter 47 Justice and BenevolenceChapter 48 The Moroccan WomanChapter 49 Law, Culture and ReligionChapter 50 France UnveiledChapter 51 The Cross and the CrescentChapter 52 Voices of the She RebelsChapter 53 Standardizing LawsPart 54 Part V. A journey of a hundred yearsChapter 55 Challenges Not ProblemsChapter 56 Taking Up the Pen in FranceChapter 57. .. and in MoroccoChapter 58 Key IssuesChapter 59 Entering the Public SphereChapter 60 Does my Opinion Matter?Chapter 61 Social ClassChapter 62 Muslim Women as World LeadersChapter 63 Living AloneChapter 64 MarriageChapter 65 FriendsPart 66 Part VI. ConclusionsPart 67 AppendicesChapter 68 Glossary of Arabic TermsChapter 69 Glossary of French TermsChapter 70 List of Participants