Faegheh Shirazi

Young Muslim women on the face veil (niqab): A tool of resistance in Europe but rejected in the United States

In order to understand Muslim women’s views on veiling in the West, one must take into account historical and socio-political factors such as a country’s colonial/national history, the nature of its immigration regime, the demographic composition of immigrant groups, and how the nation operationalizes concepts such as secularism and citizenship. While academic literature and media reports on young Muslim women in Europe indicate that wearing the niqab or face veil is often viewed as an act of rebellion or a form of personal/political/religious identity, our in-depth interviews of young Muslim women in the United States reveal a different story. While half the participants in this study wore a headscarf or hijab, not one of them said they were interested in wearing the niqab. Instead, they believed the niqab was unnecessary in the American context. However, an overwhelming majority upheld the right of a woman to wear a niqab if she wanted to do so. Two American Muslim women narrated why they gave up wearing the niqab after wearing it for a short time.

Hybrid identities: American Muslim women speak

Drawing upon postcolonial theorizing on diasporic positionalities and Homi Bhabhas theorization on ‘third space’ and hybridity, this study shows how young American Muslim women engage in their own interpretations of Islam based on their individual needs and situations. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with 26 respondents in Ohio and Texas in order to gain insights into the identities of American Muslim women with immigrant backgrounds. Respondents emphasized their own ‘research’ on Islam as an important foundation of their faith. The narratives of the American Muslim women showed that they subverted and transgressed dominant meanings, while negotiating new ones through their everyday lived experiences. However, without indulging in an uncritical celebration of interstitial spaces, this study also strives to highlight the power relations implicit in the performances of complex, hybrid identities in the post-9/11 American context.

The “Invention” of Lesbian Acts in Iran: Interpretative Moves, Hidden Assumptions, and Emerging Categories of Sexuality

This article describes and explains the current official status of lesbianism in Iran. Our central question is why the installation of an Islamic government in Iran resulted in extreme regulations of sexuality. The authors argue that rather than a clear adoption of “Islamic teaching on lesbianism,” the current regime of sexuality was “invented” through a series of interpretative moves, adoption of hidden assumptions, and creation of sexual categories. This article is organized into two sections. The first sets the scene of official sexuality in Iran through a summary of (1) the sections of the Iranian Penal code dealing with same-sex acts and (2) government support for sexual reassignment surgeries. The second section traces the “invention” of a dominant post-revolutionary Iranian view of Islam and sexuality through identifying a number of specific interpretive moves this view builds on.

Thesofreh: Comfort and community among women in Iran1

In the Iranian culture, sofreh is a generic term for a cloth on which food is served; the Iranian counterpart to “set the table” would translate “spread the sofreh.” It has other literal and metaphorical meanings; for example, sofreh-e mehmani andakhtan refers to a party in which a meal is served to invited guests, and sofreh-e del (spread of the heart) means confiding one’s innermost thoughts and feelings. Sofreh-e nazri refers to the sofreh used for a ceremonial votive meal (ghaza-e nazri) given to honor a saint or pray for a certain outcome. It is this meaning that I will focus on in this paper. In this sense, the word “sofreh” is often used as shorthand to refer not only to the cloth but all the preparations, practices, dishes, and rituals involved in this kind of religious banquet, and I will use this short form throughout the paper. Food rituals that play a significant role in ceremonies can reveal much about the society in which the rites are performed. Sofrehs play an important role in calendrical and votive ceremonies of the Iranian peoples, in Shi’i Muslim communities and in orthodox Zoroastrian, Jewish, and diaspora communities as well. This study will describe several sofrehs as celebrated by Shi’i in Iran and will explain how this ritual serves to strengthen social and religious ties between communities, especially among women.

Halal and Religious Tourism Development in Mashhad, Iran

Mashhad is not only a megacity for religious tourism (nationally and internationally), but also a major source of revenue for the government of Iran. Mashhads potential to become a more economically lucrative city for the halalconscious tourist has sparked expansive development by the Islamic Republic of Iran. The government in its halalization of the city is investing money into a wide array of tourist-related establishments in order to become members of a global halal-certified business community and to take advantage of the rapidly growing religious tourism industry. To issue halal certifications, in 2014 the Iranian government established the Halal National & Regional Research Center as a new division in the Agriculture Research Institute. From an economic perspective, this is a sound investment for the Iranian government with a prospect of lucrative economic rewards. Halal certification in Iran is also a timely project since, according to recent studies, halal tourism is among the fastest and more lucrative form of travel among Muslim travelers. Mashhad has without doubt the potential of becoming one of the most significant Shi`i halal pilgrimage destinations in the world. With already over 2 million visitors annually coming to this city, the halal certification makes it even more attractive for international Muslim halal-conscious tourists. This paper also discusses the expansion and improvements in infrastructure, which includes park maintenance, public art projects and many other beautification projects in Mashhad to attract tourists in even greater numbers not only for religious purposes but also to enjoy the city itself and all it has to offer.

Women’s Sexuality: the Safavid Legacy

Literature from the Safavid era suggests that issues of female fertility, sterility, and sexuality were controlled by a well-entrenched patriarchy. Muslim women placed trust in the learned hakim or male “healers”believing that they were following religious doctrine established by the Prophet himself. Consequently, women who could neither read nor interpret the Qu`ran deferred to the hakim, participating in elaborate ritualistic practices to promote fertility and to win their husbands’ affection. Some would suggest that this collective dependency on and submission to patriarchal control– sealed during the Safavid era–springs from a historical trinity comprised of the Prophet Mohammad, his son-in-law Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, and Majlesi, the 16 century Shi`i alim.