Beyond the Veil: Male-female Dynamics in Muslim Society

Beyond the Veil: Male-female Dynamics in Muslim Society

by Fatima Mernissi (Author)

Synopsis

Sexual inequality is a prominent feature of both Western and Islamic societies, but underlying concepts of female sexuality in Christian and Muslim traditions are very different, and the pattern of heterosexual relation in Muslim societies is probably unique. Fatima Mernissi argues that the Islamic view of women as active sexual beings resulted in stricter regulation and control of women's sexuality, which Muslim theorists classically regarded as a threat to civilized society. The requisites of modernization, however, are incompatible with traditional Muslim structures, and the ensuing contradictions now pervade nearly all Muslim countries. Drawing on popular source materials, Mernissi explores the disorienting effects of modern life on male-female relations, looks at the male-female unit as a basic element of the structure of the Muslim system and shows us the sexual dynamics of the Muslim world.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 198
Edition: New edition
Publisher: Saqi Books
Published: 18 Feb 2003

ISBN 10: 0863564410
ISBN 13: 9780863564413

Media Reviews
'A fascinating book.' Scotland on Sunday 'This classic work not only describes life beneath the veil but analyses it ... from within.' Tribune
Author Bio
Fatima Mernissi was born in 1941 in Fez, Morocco, a centre of nationalist agitation at the time. She attended a school run by movement activists which accepted female students, and later studied political science in Rabat and sociology in the US. From 1973-80 she was Professor of Sociology at the University of Rabat, and has since been a member of the research centre of Mohammed V University there.