Partners of Zaynab
Partners of Zaynab

Author: Diane D’Souza

Publisher: Univ of South Carolina Press

Published: 2014-09-03

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 1611173787

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How do pious Shia Muslim women nurture and sustain their religious lives? How do their experiences and beliefs differ from or overlap with those of men? What do gender-based religious roles and interactions reveal about the Shia Muslim faith? In Partners of Zaynab, Diane D'Souza presents a rich ethnography of urban Shia women in India, exploring women's devotional lives through the lens of religious narrative, sacred space, ritual performance, leadership, and iconic symbols. Religious scholars have tended to devalue women's religious expressions, confining them to the periphery of a male-centered ritual world. This viewpoint often assumes that women's ritual behaviors are the unsophisticated product of limited education and experience and even a less developed female nature. By illuminating vibrant female narratives within Shia religious teachings, the fascinating history of a shrine led by women, the contemporary lives of dynamic female preachers, and women's popular prayers and rituals of petition, Partners of Zaynab demonstrates that the religious lives of women are not a flawed approximation of male-defined norms and behaviors, but a vigorous, authentic affirmation of faith within the religious mainstream. D'Souza questions the distinction between normative and popular religious behavior, arguing that such a categorization not only isolates and devalues female ritual expressions, but also weakens our understanding of religion as a whole. Partners of Zaynab offers a compelling glimpse of Muslim faith and practice and a more complete understanding of the interplay of gender within Shia Islam.

The Art of Resistance in Islam
The Art of Resistance in Islam

Author: Yafa Shanneik

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2022-01-20

Total Pages: 271

ISBN-13: 1316516490

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Examining different forms of resistance among Shi'i women in the Middle East and Europe, this book studies the performance of sectarian and gender power relations as expressed in Shi'i ritual practices. It provides a new transnational approach to researching gender agency in contemporary Islamic movements in both the Middle East and Europe.

Muhammad: A Very Short Introduction
Muhammad: A Very Short Introduction

Author: Jonathan A.C. Brown

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2011-03-24

Total Pages: 161

ISBN-13: 0199559287

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Drawing on traditional Muslim sources, Michael Cook describes Muhammad's life and teaching. He also attempts to stand back from this traditional picture to show how far it is historically justified.

Return to Ruin
Return to Ruin

Author: Zainab Saleh

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 2020-10-06

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 1503614123

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This volume of exiles’ accounts “[uses] the stories as springboards to discussing Iraqi history, politicization, and diasporic experiences in depth” (International Journal of Middle East Studies). With the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Iraqis abroad, hoping to return one day to a better Iraq, became uncertain exiles. Return to Ruin tells the human story of this exile in the context of decades of U.S. imperial interests in Iraq—from the U.S. backing of the 1963 Ba’th coup and support of Saddam Hussein’s regime in the 1980s, to the 1991 Gulf War and 2003 invasion and occupation. Zainab Saleh shares the experiences of Iraqis she met over fourteen years of fieldwork in Iraqi London—offering stories from an aging communist nostalgic for the streets she marched since childhood, a devout Shi’i dreaming of holy cities and family graves, and newly uprooted immigrants with fresh memories of loss, as well as her own. Focusing on debates among Iraqi exiles about what it means to be an Iraqi after years of displacement, Saleh weaves a narrative that draws attention to a once-dominant, vibrant Iraqi cultural landscape and social and political shifts among the diaspora after decades of authoritarianism, war, and occupation in Iraq. Through it all, this book illuminates how Iraqis continue to fashion a sense of belonging and imagine a future, built on the shards of these shattered memories.

The Career and Communities of Zaynab Fawwaz
The Career and Communities of Zaynab Fawwaz

Author: Marilyn Booth

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2021

Total Pages: 614

ISBN-13: 0192846191

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A study of the career and writings of Zaynab Fawwaz (c.1860-1914) an early feminist thinker and writer in Egypt. It focuses on her newspaper essays, novels, poetry, and her play which was the first to be published by a female author in Arabic.

Marrakesh and the Mountains
Marrakesh and the Mountains

Author: Abbey Stockstill

Publisher: Penn State Press

Published: 2024-01-24

Total Pages: 170

ISBN-13: 027109818X

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Over the course of the Almoravid (1040–1147) and Almohad (1121–1269) dynasties, medieval Marrakesh evolved from an informal military encampment into a thriving metropolis that attempted to translate a local and distinctly rural past into a broad, imperial architectural vernacular. In Marrakesh and the Mountains, Abbey Stockstill convincingly demonstrates that the city’s surrounding landscape provided the principal mode of negotiation between these identities. The contours of medieval Marrakesh were shaped in the twelfth-century transition between the two empires of Berber origin. These dynasties constructed their imperial authority through markedly different approaches to urban space, reflecting their respective concerns in communicating complex identities that fluctuated between paradigmatically Islamic and distinctly local. Using interdisciplinary methodologies to reconstruct this urban environment, Stockstill broadens the analysis of Marrakesh’s medieval architecture to explore the interrelated interactions among the city’s monuments and its highly resonant landscape. Marrakesh and the Mountains integrates Marrakesh into the context of urbanism in the wider Islamic world and grants the Almoravid and Almohad dynasties agency over the creation and instantiation of their imperial capital. Lushly illustrated and erudite, Marrakesh and the Mountains is a vital history of this storied Moroccan city. This is a must-have book for scholars specializing in the Almoravid and Almohad eras and a vital volume for students of medieval urbanism, Islamic architecture, and Mediterranean and African studies.

Twelve Infallible Men
Twelve Infallible Men

Author: Matthew Pierce

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2016-06-13

Total Pages: 267

ISBN-13: 0674737075

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A millennium ago, Baghdad was the capital of one of history’s greatest civilizations. A new Islamic era was under way. Yet despite the profound cultural achievements, many Muslims felt their society had gone astray. Shiˀa Muslims challenged the dominant narrative of Islamic success with stories of loss. Faithful Muslims have long debated whether Sunni caliphs or Shiˀa imams were the true heirs of the Prophet Muhammad. More influential has been the way Muslim communities remembered those disputes through stories that influenced how to think and feel about them, Matthew Pierce argues. Twelve Infallible Men focuses on the role of narratives of the imams in the development of a distinct Shiˀa identity. During the tenth century, at a critical juncture in Islamic history, a group of scholars began assembling definitive works containing accounts of the twelve imams’ lives. These collective biographies constructed a sacred history, portraying the imams as strong, beautiful, learned, and pious. Miracles surrounded their birth, and they became miracle workers in turn, but were nevertheless betrayed and martyred by enemies. These biographies inspired and entertained, but more importantly they offered a meaningful narrative of history for Muslims who revered the imams. The accounts invoked shared memories and shaped communal responses and ritual practices of grieving. Mourning the imams’ tragic fates helped nascent Shiˀa communities resist the pressure to forget their story. The biographies of the imams became a focal point of cultural memory, inspiring Shiˀa religious imagination for centuries to come.

Property of Ms. Zaynab
Property of Ms. Zaynab

Author: Vera Carlisle

Publisher: Pink Flamingo Media

Published: 2022-09-16

Total Pages: 51

ISBN-13: 1959117017

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In a moment of delicate intimacy, Shaunna Renton confesses to her husband Michael’s business associate, Ms. Zaynab, that he has been unfaithful to her. While the two women have grown close while they’ve been living in London, Shaunna is shocked by the woman’s immediate response. “Men can be dogs. Sometimes it is best to let them see your anger at their behaviour. Only then can they be trained to know their place… if I were in your shoes, I would start to regard him as a canine in need of training. Until just the mere thought of disobeying you fetches fear to his heart!” The betrayed Shaunna is shocked but nonetheless intrigued by the suggestion. Husband Michael will soon travel to the Middleeast in anticipation of overseeing Ms. Zaynab’s huge development in the region, but there is something far more sinister afoot. He may think he’ll be handling her development, however, it’s Ms. Zaynab who fully intends to oversee him…for life!

Female Personalities in the Qur'an and Sunna
Female Personalities in the Qur'an and Sunna

Author: Rawand Osman

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-10-03

Total Pages: 254

ISBN-13: 1317671503

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This book investigates the manner in which the Qur’an and sunna depict female personalities in their narrative literature. Providing a comprehensive study of all the female personalities mentioned in the Qur’an, the book is selective in the personalities of the sunna, examining the three prominent women of ahl al-bayt; Khadija, Fatima, and Zaynab. Analysing the major sources of Imami Shi‘i Islam, including the exegetical compilations of the eminent Shi‘i religious authorities of the classical and modern periods, as well as the authoritative books of Shi’i traditions, this book finds that the varieties of female personalities are portrayed as human beings on different stages of the spiritual spectrum. They display feminine qualities, which are often viewed positively and are sometimes commendable traits for men, at least as far as the spiritual domain is concerned. The theory, particularly regarding women’s humanity, is then tested against the depiction of womanhood in the hadith literature, with special emphasis on Nahj al-Balagha. Contributing a fresh perspective on classical materials, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Islamic Studies, Women’s Studies and Shi’i Studies.