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Handbook of Contemporary Islam and Muslim Lives pp 1–13Cite as

Muslim Women: Contemporary Debates

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Abstract

This chapter discusses contemporary debates around the topic of gender relations in Muslim societies with a focus on Muslim women. After a brief introduction and geographical orientation of the subject matter, we start the chapter with a description of theological debates around the role of women in Islam and Muslim understandings of sex and gender. We then shift our attention to contemporary practices and discuss socio-cultural debates around the (gendered) Muslim body and explain how and why they have been central in the instrumentalization of politics. Here we include the discursive and symbolic politics around veiling that have taken a prominent role in European debates around citizenship, integration, and belonging. Following from this, we deliberate the place of gender in political theology and conclude by engaging with the question of transnational feminism.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Western Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Farjana Mahbuba

  2. Department of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Sonja van Wichelen

Authors
  1. Farjana Mahbuba
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  2. Sonja van Wichelen
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Correspondence to Farjana Mahbuba .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Arizona State University , TEMPE, AZ, USA

    Mark Woodward

  2. Dept of Sociology and Anthropology, University of North Florida Dept of Sociology and Anthropology, Jacksonville, FL, USA

    Ronald Lukens-Bull

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Mahbuba, F., Wichelen, S.v. (2018). Muslim Women: Contemporary Debates. In: Woodward, M., Lukens-Bull, R. (eds) Handbook of Contemporary Islam and Muslim Lives. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73653-2_76-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73653-2_76-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-73653-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-73653-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities

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