ANTH 23 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Honor Killing, Hijab, Xinjiang
31st Jan Wednesday
ANTH 23
Muslim Americans and Islamophobia !
Fear of Islamic law: anti-foreign law legislation in the US.!
•People have a fear Islamic law will replace the Constitution (Sharia).!
•Fear that it is anti-democratic.
Culture Problems
•Using culture to explain 9/11, the Taliban, or women’s rights in Afghanistan misses the point !
•These are not products of a discrete foreign culture, but results of historical developments (Abu-
Lughod 784) !
•Islam is an expedient tool to unite people arbitrarily divided by colonial powers !
•Extreme interpretations of Islamic law thrive in resistance to capitalist and communist secularism!
-Often terrorism labeled as part of Islamic culture.!
-Culture is not a static thing, if you look at the history of islam and islamic culture, even those who
claim they are going back to the original state of islam, only claim to know what it is. !
-Association of islam with violent tactics etc !
-Islamic identity developed after the cold war with the cold war, the secular christians American and
western Europe and the atheist communist soviet union.!
-So Islam developed without falling into either. And a competition developed to see who is the most
muslim!
-People suspect loyalties!
What is the Sharia:
•Ambiguous text, no fixed source !
•Sources include: the Quran, Hadith (sometimes contradictory), Sunna (which muslim community you
belong to), Analogy !
-This is a problematic process so interpretations vary and there is no pope or other final authority,
thus shariah is a loose set of principles, not an actual legal code.
-Seen as a medieval, Draconian set of law.
-Islam developed in a state of warfare, so a democracy would not have worked.
-Sunna (the tradition of consultation) relies more on consultation and leans towards democracy.
Veils:
Veiling was common among wealthy Arab women, became required of Muhammad’s (PBUH) wives, and
is a symbol of devotion and modesty, but its role is debatable among Muslims.!
Came during a time, Muhammad (PBUH) and his wives were living in the mosque, so many men would
come in to talk to him and so it was done as a way to protect privacy and modesty as they were public
figures, also common among wives of the wealthy. So as Islam spread this became a norm. From an
American standpoint this is very exploitative. !
Burqa and Headscarves
• Conservative Islam holds that men and women inhabit separate spheres in public !
•Public places are seen as sites of corruption and filth, but covering up allows a woman to be in public
without soiling herself!
•Various coverings allow women greater mobility instead of being secluded at home!
•Many Muslim women choose to cover their heads as a sign of devotion and modesty, but others see
these practices as a cultural practice not required by Islam!
-Many say its a way to protect their modesty, !
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