A Quiet Revolution (55 page)
Read A Quiet Revolution Online
Authors: Leila Ahmed
Tags: #Religion, #Islam, #History, #Social Science, #Customs & Traditions, #Women's Studies
Cited in Yvonne Haddad, “The Post-
9
/
11
Hijab as Icon,”
Sociology of Religion68
, no.
33
(
2007
):
253
–
67
,
255
.Haddad, “Post-
9
/
11
Hijab as Icon,”
255
.As Paula Zahn noted when she interviewed Nelofer Pazira, the star of
Kanda- har,
when the film debuted the previous year it had been “largely ignored,” and now “the war in Afghanistan had stirred new interest.” Paula Zahn and Nelofer Pazira, “‘Kanda- har’ Mirrors Real Life Experience of Female Star,” CNN Transcripts, April
23
,
2010
.For an interesting analysis of
Return to Kandahar,
see Usamah Ansari, “Should I Go and Pull Her Burqa Off ?” in
Critical Studies in Media Communication
25
, no.
1
(March
2008
):
48
–
67
.Polly Toynbee, “Was it Worth It?”
Guardian,
November
13
,
2002
.Lila Abu Lughod, “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological
Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others,”
American Anthropologist
104
, no.
3
(
2002
).Saba Mahmood, “Feminism, Democracy, and Empire: Islam and the War on Terror,” in
Women’s Studies on the Edge,
ed. Joan Wallach Scott (Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press,
2008
).Kate Legge, “Hoaxer So Hard to Read,”
Weekend Australian,
July
31
,
2004
.Mahmood, “Feminism, Democracy, and Empire,”
83
.Hamid Dabashi, “Native Informers and the Making of the American Empire,”
Al-Ahram Weekly,
June
1
–
7
,
2006
, no.
797
. http://weekly.ahram,org.eg/
2006
. Accessed February
20
,
2010
.Mahmood, “Feminism, Democracy, and Empire,”
85
,
93
,
98
.Mahmood, “Feminism, Democracy, and Empire,”
86
–
87
. See also, for instance, Lila Abu Lughod, “The Active Social Life of ‘Muslim Women’s Rights’: A Plea for Ethnography, Not Polemic, with Cases from Egypt and Palestine,”
Journal of Middle East- ern Women’s Studies
6
, no,
1
(Winter
2010
).Mahmood, “Feminism, Democracy, and Empire,”
88
–
89
.See my
Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots of a Modern Debate
(New Haven: Yale University Press,
1992
), chapter
8
.Mahmood, “Feminism, Democracy, and Empire,”
100
.Abu Lughod, “Active Social Life of ‘Muslim Women’s Rights,’”
17
.Mahmood, “Feminism, Democracy, and Empire,”
82
.
Chapter
10
. ISNA and the Women of ISNA
I attended several Islamic conventions in
2002
, the first post-
9
/
11
year, eager to ob- serve how Muslim American organizations would respond to the times. These included the
11
th annual convention of the American Muslim Council (AMC—an organization that is now defunct), “American Muslims: Part of America,” June
27
–
30
, Alexandria, Virginia; the convention held jointly by the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) and the Muslim American Society (MAS), “Islam in North America: Challenges, Hopes, and Responsibil- ities,” July
5
–
7
, Baltimore; and ISNA’s
39
th annual convention, “Islam: A Call for Peace and Justice,” August
30
–September
2
, Washington, D.C. Only one of the Islamic conferences I attended that year, held in March—and thus before the Yasin controversy had erupted—had not included him on its program. This conference was ISNA’s “Community De- velopment Conference,” which included the discussion “Muslims Against Domestic Vio- lence: Conflict Resolution Training Program, Marriage Counseling Training Seminar, Islamic Perspectives on Counseling, Imam Training Program,” March
29
–
31
, Chicago.Richard Bradley,
Harvard Rules: The Struggle for the Soul of the World’s MostPowerful University
(New York: HarperCollins,
2005
),
162
.Bradley,
Harvard Rules,
158
–
63
.Quotations and material in this paragraph are, in order, from Bradley,
Harvard Rules,
164
; Ann H. Kofol, “Yasin Delivers Heavily Debated ‘Jihad’ Speech,”
Harvard Crimson,
June
28
,
2002
; and Bradley,
Harvard Rules,
163
.Zayed Yasin, “Of Faith and Citizenship,” Senior English Address,
2002
. Reprinted from
Harvard Magazine,
July–August
2002
; Harvard Archives, General In- formation on Harvard Commencement and Class Day in
2002
(Commencement Box
2002
).
Kofol, “Yasin Delivers Heavily Debated ‘Jihad’ Speech.”
Robert S. Mueller gave the Friday Luncheon Address at AMC’s Convention. See Program, “AMC’s
11
th National Convention, American Muslims: Part of America,” June
27
–
30
,
2002
. See also
AMC Report
11
, no.
2
(Summer
2002
):
1
. Karen Hughes’s visit was reported in the press; see, for instance, Laurie Goodstein, “From State Dept., Advice for Muslim Convention,”
New York Times,
September
3
,
2005
. Hughes’s presence was also widely announced during the
2005
ISNA convention.Versions of this phrase occurred numerous times in the course of these confer- ences. It figured too, for example, in the “Message from the Convention Chair,” of the ICNA-MAS Convention that year, printed on the inside page of the program. “During the current times of tests and tribulations,” the message from Naeem Saroya, chairper- son, read, “we Muslims have to play an important role in removing the oppression, the corruption and the other evil elements from our society and our home, America, to make it a better and a safer place for many generations to come.” ICNA-MSA Program Guide, July
5
–
7
,
2002
.Sulayman Nyang, speaking at the ICNA-MAS Annual Convention
2002
, mynotes. notes. above.
Mumtaz Ahmed, speaking at the ICNA-MAS Annual Convention
2002
, myNyang, conclusion of his talk at ICNA-MAS Annual Convention
2002
, citedISNA Annual Convention
2002
, my notes.ISNA Annual Convention
2007
, my notes.An article reporting on the conference noted that “for the first time two non-
Muslim women were invited as the guest speakers, which is something of a new tradition for conservative groups such as ICNA and MAS.” “ICNA and MAS: Moving Kinship Closer,”
Islamic Horizons,
September–October
1423
/
2002
,
16
.The programs of the conventions list Stanley Cohen and Karen Armstrong at
the AMC’s Annual Convention,
2002
, Grayland Hagler, Welton Gaddy, Yvonne Haddad, and Ralph Nader at the ICNA-MAS Annual Convention,
2002
, and James Zogby, Hilary Shelton, and David Bonior at ISNA’s Annual Convention,
2002
.Material in this and the following paragraph are from “ICNA and MAS: Mov- ing Kinship Closer” and from my notes of this conference.
Amy Goodman and Robert Fisk were at the ISNA Convention of
2006
, andRichard Killmer, Herrick-Stare, and Cole were at the ISNA Annual Convention of
2007
. See programs. See also Tom Curry, “Two Faith-Based Lobbyists Work the Capitol, a Quaker Urges Patriot Act Limits; a Conservative Christian Works for Restrictions on Abortion,” msnbc.com, March
24
,
2005
. Accessed July
25
,
2009
.Quotations in this and the following paragraph are from my notes of the ISNA Convention
2007
.
“Remarks to Islamic Society of North America,”
44
th Annual Convention, Chicago, August
31
,
2007
, by Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, president, Union of Reform Judaism. From a copy of his speech forwarded to me by Debra Eichenbaum, Program Associate for the Commission of Religious Affairs, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.Arthur Waskow, “Judeo-Christo-Fascism Awareness Week Comes to Ameri-
can Campuses!” October,
10
,
2007
, Shalom Center. http://www.theshalomcenter.org/node/
1305
. Accessed April
24
,
2010
. See also, for instance, “Widespread Denunciation of ‘Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week,’” in Jews on First! http://jewsonfirst.org/
07
c/islamo_fascism.html. Accessed July
26
,
2009
.House Judiciary Committee Hearing, “Muslim American Civil Rights: Citi- zens’ Hearing on the Status of Civil Rights and Liberties After the September
11
Attacks,” C-Span, October
13
,
2004
. http://www.cspanarchives.org/library/index.php?main_page=product_video_info&products_id=
183921
–
1
&showVid=true. Accessed August
2
,
2009
.From Haddad’s talk at ICNA Annual Convention
2002
, my notes.See ISNA Convention Program
2002
,
55
.ISNA Annual Convention
2002
, my notes.I heard this comment at ISNA’s “Community Development Conference, Mus- lims Against Domestic Violence: Conflict Resolution Training Program, Marriage Coun- seling Training Seminar, Islamic Perspectives on Counseling, Imam Training Program,” March
29
–
31
,
2002
, Chicago, my notes.ISNA Annual Convention
2002
, my notes.A report issued in
2001
, for example, noted that in
2001
,
66
percent of mosques had women praying behind a curtain or partition or in another room. In
1994
, only
52
percent of mosques had maintained such separation, and thus the “practice of having women pray behind a curtain or in another room is becoming more widespread,” the re- port noted. Ihsan Bagby, Paul M. Perl, and Bryan T. Froehle,
The Mosque in America: A National Portrait,
Mosque Study Project (Washington, D.C.: Council on American- Islamic Relations,
2001
),
11
.“Islam, Activism, and Social Justice,” Panel, ISNA Annual Convention
2005
,my notes. See also podcast of this panel at http://ihsan-net.blogspot.com/
2005
/
09
/islamAsra Q. Nomani, “Time for Muslim Organizations to Campaign for Women’s Rights in Mosques,” Muslim WakeUp! September
8
,
2004
. A statement at the end of ar- ticle notes: “This article was adapted from a presentation given by Ms. Nomani on Sep- tember
4
,
2004
, at the Annual Convention of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).” www.muslimwakeup.com/mainarchive/
2004
. Accessed July
13
,
2008
.Sabreen Akhtar, “An Example to Live By: Asra Nomani at the ISNA Conven- tion,”
Muslim Wakeup!
September
8
,
2004
. http://www.muslimwakeup.com/mainarchive“Women Friendly Mosques and Community Centers: Working Together to
Reclaim Our Heritage” (n.d.). The booklet lists the following organizations as support- ing it: Council on American Islamic relations—Canada; Islamic Circle of North Amer- ica; Islamic Society of North America; Muslim Alliance in North America; Muslim Association of Canada; MSA-National. http://www.islamawareness.net/Mosque/Women
AndMosquesBooklet.pdf. Accessed April
26
,
2010
. I first received an email announce- ment of its distribution in June
2005
.
“Women Friendly Mosques,”
3
–
4
.Hadia Mubarak, “My Hijab Is for Me and for God,” Newsweek.washington post.com: “On Faith: A Conversation on Religion with Jon Meacham and Sally Quinn.” Posted July
27
,
2007
. http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/hadia_ mubarak/
2007
/
07
/women_are_more_than_just_mens.html? Accessed April
26
,
2010
.Mubarak, “My Hijab Is for Me and for God.”
/pages/Matrimonial.aspx. Accessed January
16
,
2010
.Ahmed Nassef, “Mike Knight Speaking at ISNA!” Muslim WakeUp! Sep- tember
4
,
2004
. http://web.archive.org/web/
20040909100829
/www.muslimwakeup.com/archives/
00184
. Accessed July
13
,
2008
.Umbreen Shah, “ISNA Thugs,” Muslim WakeUp! September
7
,
2005
. Accessed July
13
,
2008
.Michael Muhammad Knight, “Wresting with Muzzamil: The
2003
ISNA Con- vention,” Muslim WakeUp! September
6
,
2003
. http://www.muslimwakeup.com/main archive/
000195
.html. Accessed June
6
,
2008
.See Carnegie Papers, “Women in Islamist Movements: Towards an Islamist Model of Women’s Activism,” Omayma Abdellatif [
sic
] and Marina Ottaway, Carnegie Middle East Center, no.
2
, June
2007
. See also Carnegie Papers, “In the Shadow of the Brothers the Women of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood,” Omayma Abdel-Latif [
sic
], Carnegie Middle East Center, no.
13
, October
2008
.In Morocco, Nadia Yassine is the very visible spokeswoman for the Justice and Spirituality Party founded by her father. Nevertheless, she holds no position of official leadership in the party other than as leader of the women’s division. See Euben and Zaman,
Princeton Readings,
303
. Yassine’s prominence exemplifies another pattern by which women have risen to power in Islamic societies: as the wives or daughters ofprominent men. Such was the path followed by Benazir Bhutto, daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, former prime minister of Pakistan, who herself became prime minister, and by Megawati Sukarnoputri, daughter of President Sukarno of Indonesia and later president of the country herself. Evidently then, within secular political parties, in contrast to Is- lamist organizations (in the Sunni world at any rate), women were able to formally take on positions of leadership.
Matthai Chakko Kuruvila, “Woman Leads a Wave of Change for U.S. Muslims,”
San Francisco Chronicle,
November
24
,
2006
. http://articles.sfgate.com/
2006
–
11
–
24
/news/
17319351
_
1
_ingrid-mattson-american-muslims-muslim-chaplains/
2
. Accessed April
26
,
2010
.
Kuruvila, “Woman Leads a Wave of Change.”
Personal conversations with women at ISNA conventions in
1999
and
2001
. Also personal observations at the ISNA March
2002
conference on domestic violence. Also, for women serving as volunteers and their serving on boards, see Bagby et al.,
Mosque in America.John Perry Barlow, “Africa Rising,”
Wired,
January
1, 1998
. http://www.wired.c
om. Accessed June
4, 2008
. Andrea Useem describes McGee as “co-founder of Muslim Family Services, a social service organization serving the Muslim community in the greater Columbus, Ohio, area. She has worked with domestic violence survivors for many years and has advised the Islamic Society of North America on the issue.” Useem, “Does the Qur’an Tolerate Domestic Abuse?” Beliefnet.com. http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Islam/
2007
/
07
/Does-The-Quran-Tolerate-Domestic-Abuse.aspx. Accessed June
2
,
2008
.Bonita McGee, Presentation, Islamic Society of North America Community Development Conference, March
29
–
31
,
2002
, Chicago, my notes.Delinda C. Hanley, “In Memoriam: Dr. Sharifa Alkhateeb (
1946
–
2004
),”Washington Report on Middle East Affairs,
December
2004
,
51
. http://washington-report.org/archives/December_
2004
/
0412051
.html. Accessed March
25
,
2008
.Matt Schudel, “Sharifa Alkhateeb Dies; U.S. Muslim Scholar,”
Washington Post,
October
27
,
2004
. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac
2
/wp-dyn/A
766
–
2004
Oct
26?language=printer. Accessed April
26
,
2010
.Suzannah Evans, “Sharifa Alkhateeb, Muslim Activist, Dies; Ashburn Resident Had Educated Americans about Muslim Life for Decades,”
Ashburn Connection,
No- vember
5
,
2004
. http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=
245938
& paper=
67
&cat=
104
. Accessed April
26
,
2010
.Jennifer Bayot, “Sharifa Alkhateeb, Feminist Within Islam, Dies at
58
,”
New York Times,
November
4
,
2004
.Schudel, “Sharifa Alkhateeb Dies.”
“Remembering Sharifa Alkhateeb: A Tribute Page from the Pluralism Project,” Pluralism Project at Harvard University.
http://www.pluralism.org/wn/sharifa. Accessed June
6
,
2008
.Maha B. Alkhateeb and Salma Elkadi Abugideiri,
Diverse Perspectives on Do-mestic Violence in Muslim Communities
(N.p.: Peaceful Families Project,
2007
).Khadija Haffajee, “Rawahil,” in
Muslim Women Activists in North America Speaking for Ourselves,
ed. Katherine Bullock (Austin: University of Texas Press,
2005
),