Muslim Women on the Move: Moroccan Women and French Women of Moroccan Origin Speak Out

by Doris Gray

Overview

Muslim Women on the Move offers a comparison of two Muslim populations that to date have not been compared in this way. Author Doris Gray compares the personal views of young educated women in Morocco with those of young educated women of Moroccan immigrant origins in France. She conducted extensive personal interviews, loosely structured around three main themes, over a period of three years in Morocco and in France. The three thematic groups are: conceptions of the religion of Islam, legal changes affecting women in Morocco and Muslim women in France, and personal and professional goals and challenges. This book challenges the conventional dichotomy between the Western and the Muslim world. Voices of a select group of individuals from each of these very different countries show that despite their different national circumstances, they have much more in common than is conventionally assumed. Gray summarizes individual perceptions and puts them into the larger context of Muslim women and their particular circumstances in the two Western Mediterranean countries. Muslim Women on the Move will interest students and scholars of Middle Eastern Studies, Women's Studies, French and Francophone Studies, Religious Studies, African Studies, Anthropology, and Anthropology of Religion.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739118047
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	12/12/2007
Pages:	218
Product dimensions:	6.41(w) x 9.43(h) x 0.86(d)

About the Author

Doris H. Gray is an independent scholar in Tallahassee, Florida.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Introduction
Part 2 Part I. Transgressing Boundaries
Chapter 3 The Kingdom of the West
Chapter 4 The Western Hexagon
Chapter 5 Measuring Opinions
Chapter 6 Women
Chapter 7 Topics of Conversation
Chapter 8 Public versus Private
Chapter 9 Confidence and Trust
Chapter 10 Friendship
Chapter 11 Behind the Veil
Chapter 12 Language
Chapter 13 Rendez-vous
Part 14 Part II. The Tar of My Country. . .
Chapter 15 Immigration
Chapter 16 The Beurs
Chapter 17 No Journey Home
Chapter 18 Emigration
Chapter 19 Change Is Slow
Chapter 20 Progressive Conservatives
Part 21 Part III. To God Belong the East and the West
Chapter 22 Women in Islam
Chapter 23 Women as Religious Leaders
Chapter 24 Sufism
Chapter 25 Islam in France
Chapter 26 Laïcité
Chapter 27 Morocco: Islam as a State Religion
Chapter 28 What Makes a Muslim a Muslim
Chapter 29 What Nakes for a Muslim
Chapter 30 Reading and Reciting the Qur'an
Chapter 31 Ramadan and Prayer
Chapter 32 International Exposure
Chapter 33 Peace versus Terrorism
Chapter 34 Choice
Part 35 Part IV. Law of God, Law of Man
Chapter 36 Sources of Islamic law
Chapter 37 Personal Status Code and the Role of Women
Chapter 38 Child Marriage and Concubines
Chapter 39 The Guardian (wali)
Chapter 40 Polygamy
Chapter 41 Upholding Tradition
Chapter 42 Law Reform
Chapter 43 West of East
Chapter 44 Rural-urban Divide
Chapter 45 Religious and Social Change
Chapter 46 A Step in the Right Direction
Chapter 47 Justice and Benevolence
Chapter 48 The Moroccan Woman
Chapter 49 Law, Culture and Religion
Chapter 50 France Unveiled
Chapter 51 The Cross and the Crescent
Chapter 52 Voices of the She Rebels
Chapter 53 Standardizing Laws
Part 54 Part V. A journey of a hundred years
Chapter 55 Challenges Not Problems
Chapter 56 Taking Up the Pen in France
Chapter 57. .. and in Morocco
Chapter 58 Key Issues
Chapter 59 Entering the Public Sphere
Chapter 60 Does my Opinion Matter?
Chapter 61 Social Class
Chapter 62 Muslim Women as World Leaders
Chapter 63 Living Alone
Chapter 64 Marriage
Chapter 65 Friends
Part 66 Part VI. Conclusions
Part 67 Appendices
Chapter 68 Glossary of Arabic Terms
Chapter 69 Glossary of French Terms
Chapter 70 List of Participants

Editorial Reviews

This comparative study allows a better understanding of a specific category of Muslim women and the exploration of the effect of migration on their lives and attitudes. It is also policy-relevant because it gives a voice to women who are often reduced to silence and a passive role in both Morocco and France, and who are the target of increasingly hostile policies in the latter country.

MESA Bulletin

This book provides an extremely valuable contribution to existing literature and debate not just on Morocco or on women in the Muslim World but also—more crucially—to the ongoing debate about relations between the Muslim world and the so-called 'West.' Through the views of her interviewees, Gray exposes textures, nuances and even some surprises, often missed or glossed over in most conventional treatments of these topics. Engagingly written, the text has an eye for personal details that enrich and give context to the broader narrative and arguments of the book. It is thoroughly recommended for anyone wanting to understand the dynamics of gender in the Muslim world and their place within wider ongoing debates occurring in Europe as well as North Africa and the Middle East about the role of Islam in society.

Michael J. Willis

This text has a great deal to offer to those wishing to understand global Islam. Recommended.

Choice Reviews

Doris Gray's dialogue with young educated women in Morocco and in France is a heartening example of critical intimacy. Her sensitive analyses of delicate and controversial issues demonstrate that scholarship is not incompatible with a patient and respectful search for a new definition of cultural identity. She shows us just how an individual associated with a given culture cannot not be portrayed as the representative of that culture.

Mireille Rosello

Gray continuously challenges the assumption that there is a clear dichotomy between the Western and the Muslim worlds....This is an apty-timed study....Muslim Women on the Move gives a voice to young, professional, and educated women in Morocco and of the Moroccan origin in France....This comparative study provides an intimate look at the personal experiences and opinions of women from two vey different countries.

International Journal on World Peace

Gray makes an important contribution to our understanding of how immigrants and their children conceptualize themselves in France....Gray's work demonstrates the effectiveness of comparative studies tracking Muslim women's experiences in Morocco and France while also setting a course for future research.

H-France Review

Doris Gray gives a voice to the voiceless, producing a timely book that by its scope and depth can serve as a model for other European countries facing the same issues discussed by French women of Moroccan origin.

Aida Bamia

Doris Gray's study shows that Muslim women in Morocco, like those of Moroccan origin in Europe, are far more independently-minded in their relationship with Islam than has often been thought. At a time when Islam's relationship with the West has never been of greater salience, finely nuanced and sophisticated research of this nature is of enormous value. It offers an insightful corrective to those who claim globalization is inexorably polarizing the world into a clash of civilizations.

Alec Hargreaves

This text has a great deal to offer to those wishing to understand global Islam. Recommended.

November 2008 Choice Reviews

Doris Gray's study shows that Muslim women in Morocco, like those of Moroccan origin in Europe, are far more independently-minded in their relationship with Islam than has often been thought. At a time when Islam's relationship with the West has never been of greater salience, finely nuanced and sophisticated research of this nature is of enormous value. It offers an insightful corrective to those who claim globalization is inexorably polarizing the world into a clash of civilizations.--Alec Hargreaves, Florida State University

Doris Gray's dialogue with young educated women in Morocco and in France is a heartening example of critical intimacy. Her sensitive analyses of delicate and controversial issues demonstrate that scholarship is not incompatible with a patient and respectful search for a new definition of cultural identity. She shows us just how an individual associated with a given culture cannot not be portrayed as the representative of that culture.--Mireille Rosello, University of Amsterdam

Doris Gray gives a voice to the voiceless, producing a timely book that by its scope and depth can serve as a model for other European countries facing the same issues discussed by French women of Moroccan origin.--Aida Bamia, NEAS Department

From the Publisher

Gray makes an important contribution to our understanding of how immigrants and their children conceptualize themselves in France....Gray's work demonstrates the effectiveness of comparative studies tracking Muslim women's experiences in Morocco and France while also setting a course for future research.

February 2009 H-France Review

Gray continuously challenges the assumption that there is a clear dichotomy between the Western and the Muslim worlds....This is an apty-timed study....Muslim Women on the Move gives a voice to young, professional, and educated women in Morocco and of the Moroccan origin in France....This comparative study provides an intimate look at the personal experiences and opinions of women from two vey different countries.

December 2008 International Journal on World Peace

This text has a great deal to offer to those wishing to understand global Islam. Recommended.

November 2008 Choice

This text has a great deal to offer to those wishing to understand global Islam. Recommended.

November 2008 CHOICE

Gray makes an important contribution to our understanding of how immigrants and their children conceptualize themselves in France....Gray's work demonstrates the effectiveness of comparative studies tracking Muslim women's experiences in Morocco and France while also setting a course for future research.

February 2009 H-France

Gray continuously challenges the assumption that there is a clear dichotomy between the Western and the Muslim worlds....This is an apty-timed study....Muslim Women on the Move gives a voice to young, professional, and educated women in Morocco and of the Moroccan origin in France....This comparative study provides an intimate look at the personal experiences and opinions of women from two vey different countries.

December 2008 International Journal On World Peace