Muslim Chic

An upcoming article talks about lenses used to describe the lives of Muslim women (via Law and Humanities Blog): "Popular narratives produced from the west, particularly since 9/11, perpetuate negative stereotypes about Middle Eastern Muslim women. Native writers settled in the west also dish out heart-rending tales of women's oppression in fundamentalist Islamic societies, targeting a western audience long fed on tales of Islam's intolerance towards women. These 'New Orientalist' narratives, portraying Muslim women as hapless victims of Islamic fundamentalism, only serve to reinforce the stereotypes entrenched in popular western imagination. With Azar Nafisi's Reading Lolita in Tehran as a…

West Broward High School girls show support for Muslim teammate – South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com. Most of them will never know what it’s like to be taunted for their faith. They’ll likely never be bullied or physically attacked for what they wear or have racial epithets thrown their way.  But on Thursday afternoon, some members of the West Broward High flag football team took a stand and got a small taste of how difficult life can sometimes be for one of their own.  Before taking the field for their regular-season finale at McArthur High, many of the Bobcats voluntarily donned a…

Are brothels and bikinis signs of progress for Arab women? – CSMonitor.com. Western media have too often measured emerging democracies by the yardstick of “sex, drugs, and rock and roll.” A recent article in The New York Times, “Next Question for Tunisia: The Role of Islam in Politics,” appears to offer the additional standards of “brothels,” “beer,” and “bikinis.”