Feminism in Islamic countries

Argument Feminism in Muslim countries is probably among the sharpest issues nowadays, as the spiritual tradition to be broken is time-honored and legally implement in the present day. Saba Mahmood, who originated from the state of this category, explores this situation from inside (Wadud, 2006) in her writings in general and her book Politics of Piety The Islamic Revival and the libber Subject in particular.The paper is intended to study her argument in details and provide a critical response. The Saba Mahmoods writing offers an interesting eyeshot on Islamic feminism the so-called pietism movement or Islamic revival. I would like to challenge this concept, as the term feminism lies in a different dimension from the mosque movement. First of all, feminism refers to the movement, established by women and aimed at achieving equality in all spheres of social lifetime cargoner, education, suffrage, marital life and so forth.This mean, fe young-begetting(prenominal)s seek to raise their social status and gain the right to manifest their views and engage into different activities on the same basis as males do. Mahmood unfairly call the female participants of the Islamic revival feminists, as this movement was primarily initiated by Muslim males, who wished to reinforce their dominative position at the time of globalization and step-by-step egalitarization in terms of gender.In addition, Islam is a masculine religion that seeks to curb womans entitlement even in the most primitive daily routines (like walking whole around the city), i. e. it restricts her emancipation thats why most feminists are known as secular. The Islamic revival is described in the following way Practically, this means instructing Muslims not only in the proper exerciseance of religious duties and acts of worship but, more importantly, in how to organize their daily conduct in accord with principles of Islamic piety and virtuous behavior (Mahmood, at press. princeton. edu, 2006, p. 5 ).These rules and daily activities must include one vital component females obedience and observance of conventional androcenrtic principles, widely rejected by contemporary feminists, as such prescriptions are unlikely to result in the establishment of gender equality. As one fag end understand, the participants of the Islamic revival pursue to great extent converse goals, pointing to the increase of overall piety in Egyptian society. Due to this substantial divergence in opinions and attitudes it would be incorrect to characterize the women, who actively engage into the piety movement, as feminists, despite their active social position.On the other hand, I agree with the notion of womens agency in Islamic countries, as numerous investigations have already proved that there are certain areas of life, which belong exceptionally to females Through a rich ethnography of womens cultic practices, Boddy proposes that in a society where the official ideology of Islam is dominated and c ontrolled by men, the zar practice might be understood as a space of subordinate discourse (Mahmood, at press.princeton. edu, 2006, p. 8). Mahmood therefore writes about the womens secreted resistance to androcentrism, but the notion of feminism refers to broad manifestation of such opposition. Another questionable notion that relates to feminism is positive freedom Positive freedom is understood as the capacity to realize an autonomous will, one by and large fashioned in accord with the dictates of universal reason.. (Mahmood, at press. princeton. edu, 2006, p. 12).The scholar suggests that positive freedom is a domineering concept in feminism, as true liberty can be brought about only by the ability to understand and realize ones own true will. On the other hand, this concept, in my, opinion, is valid only in European or Western-oriented countries, as Christianity as a religion and ideology supports such a deep and thorough front for ones self regardless of gender, i. e. Wester n religions are more egalitarian in this sense, comparing to Islam, which, in turn, assists only males in their self-discovery, whereas females are traditionally viewed as property in this doctrine.This means, Muslim females are not always able to realize their true will, as they have been brought up in the lifetime of complete obedience and inequality since their early childhood. Due to the incident that feminism in Islamic countries is currently being at relatively lower spot of development, it would be more appropriate to apply the principle of negative freedom, or absence of restraints and numerous taboos in such countries, as the elimi province of objective (social, political and heathenish) bounds is the first step to cognitive liberation.Another important message conveyed by the scholar is following if the ability to effect change in the world and in oneself is historically and culturally specific , then the meaning and sense of agency cannot be fixed in advance, but must emerge through an compendium of the particular concepts that enable specific modes of being, responsibility and efficacy (Mahmood, at press.princeton. edu, 2006, p. 15-16). This means, in order to initiate certain social change, it is particularly important to learn the cultural context within which the transformation will occur. In fact, cultural literacy and the ability to evaluate certain phenomena, which exist in certain culture from the position of this tradition, are important, as they allow preserving national identity.The only note to be done is that situational approach is relevant in any situation, so that sometimes it is necessary to perform radical intervention for instance, if certain (hypothetical) nation suddenly introduces a violent practice (legalization of homicide or infanticide), it would be unwise to conduct a scrupulous compend of the cultural context and the causes of such an inhumane innovation on the contrary, more conscientious nations should interfere into the situation and resolve it in consent with international legislation.Such cases of urgency should therefore be approached from more radical standpoint. Furthermore, Mahmood challenges the notion that the Islamic revival is a strategy, employer to resist the Westernization of the corresponding states While this interpretation is not entirely treat and captures an important aspect of Islamist movements, it nonetheless reduces their complexity to the trope of resistance (Mahmood, at press. princeton.edu, 2006, p. 15-16). The scholar does not adopt the term resistance , but the issue she discusses in her book, females participation in the piety restoration, can be characterized as the opposition to classical European and American feminism that seeks to separate social life from religious rituals (Madud, 2006) and create new (and, more importantly, extensive) opportunities for women in terms of career development and university education.On the contrary, the Islamic movement i s aimed at providing women with a narrow chance to access mosque not merely as parishioners, but also as preachers. Nevertheless, the foundation of the piety restoration and the issues in Western feminism can be approached independently , as local events, reflecting the peculiarities of certain nation.The author suggests that the piety movement has certain political functions The political efficacy of this these movements is, I would suggest, a function of the work they perform in the ethical realm (Mahmood, at press. princeton. edu, 2006, p. 37). In my opinion, Mahmood overstresses the importance of the mentioned movement in political discourse although it operates in the sphere of ethics and to great extent modifies the nations cognitive constructs and convictions, it is not directly involved into the current state of political affairs.Thus, the movement, being completely clerical, is not capable of intervening into the politics in the present day and due to the fact that Islamic countries are now influenced by numerous powers and their development is therefore dynamic and unpredictable, it will be achievable to assert the penetration of piety restoration into politics only after its members gain access to political power or achieve the introduction of piety policy at governmental level otherwise the efforts within the realm of ethics might appear in vain.The most doubtful argument of Mahmoods writing is her confidence in the broad perspectives of the Islamic revival due to the fact that women are nowadays entitled to serve in mosques (sacred places, or male domain) as preachers, they are likely to expand their political influence in the future. On the other hand, the nature of this revival points to the desirable abstention from politics, as the consummate(a) concept of female virtuousness to great extent excludes the womans participation in the affairs of the state.Clearly, the idea of neo-piety teaches females to behave in strict accordance with relig ious prescriptions and demonstrate modesty and humility, but these qualities are unlikely to enhance the persons access to power. Historically, women were allowed to serve as priestesses in ancient, but this fact gave them no benefits except prestige the situation seems to recur.To sum up, Saba Mahmood basically tries to link two incompatible issues feminism and the piousness renewal, which, as I deem, operate in completely different dimensions. In addition, the scholar suggests that the penetration into the religious system is the primary prerequisite for womens access to politics, yet it is still unclear in which way the movement will modify the existing ethical matrix so that it determines their political weight.Works cited Mahmood, S. Politics of Piety The Islamic Revival and the womens rightist Subject. Princeton Princeton University Press, 2005. Available online at http//press. princeton. edu/chapters/s7888. pdf, 2006 Wadud, A. Politics of Piety The Islamic Revival and the Feminist Subject (review). Journal of the American Academy of Religion, vol. 74 (3), September 2006 pp. 815-818