Veil and the Male Elite: A Feminist Interpretation of Women's Rights in Islam

Many of the designations used by Inanufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claill1.ed as tradelnarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Perseus Books was aware of a tradelnark claill1, the designations have been printed in initial capit~lletters. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mernissi, Fatin1.a. [Harell1 politique. English] The veil and the luale elite : a fenunist interpretation of wOlnen's rights in Islaln / Fatiu1.a Mernissi ; translated by Mary Jo Lakeland. p. Cll1.. Translation of: Le harell1. politique. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-201-52321-3 ISBN 0-201-63221-7 (pbk.) 1. WOlnen in the Hadith. 2. WOlnen in Islan1.. 3. Muhalunud, Prophet. d. 632-Views on WOlnen. BP135.8.W67M4713 1991 90-47404 297' .12408-dc20 elP Copyright © Editions Albin Michel S.A. 1987 English translation © Perseus Books Publishing, L.L.C. 1991 All rights reserved. No part of this publication Inay be reproduced, stored in a retrieval systeln, or transnutted, in any fornl or by any Ineans, electronic, ll1echanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written pennission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of fullerica. Published Sil11ultaneously in Canada.

Perseus Books is a l11elnber of the Perseus Books Group Cover design by Marge Anderson Set in 11/13-point Bel11bo by Hope Services (Abingdon) Ltd, Great Britain

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Contents Preface to the English Edition Acknowledgments Map of Arabia at the Time of the Hejira Introduction PART I

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Sacred Text as Political Weapon

The Muslim and Time 2 The Prophet and Hadith 3 A Tradition of Misogyny (1) 4 A Tradition of Misogyny (2) I

PART II

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Medina in Revolution: The Three Fateful Years

5 The Hijab, the Veil 6 The Prophet and Space 7 The Prophet and. Women 8 ~U mar and the Men of Medina 9 The Prophet as Military Leader 10 The Hijab Descends on Medina

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Conclusion Notes APPENDICES

Appendix I Sources Appendix 2 Chronology

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Index

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Preface to the English Edition

Is Islam opposed to women's rights? Let us take a look at the international situation, to see who is really against wom.en. Is it not odd that il1 this extraordinary decade, the 1990S, when the whole world is swept by the irresistible chant for human rights, sung by women and men, by children and grandparents, from all kinds of religious backgrounds and beliefs, in every language and dialect fron1 Beijing to the Americas, one finds only one religion identified as a stun1bling block on the road to true democracy? Islam alone is condemned by n1any Westerners as blocking the way to women's rights. And yet, though neither Christianity nor Judaism played an important role ill promoting equality of the sexes, n1illions of Jewish and Chistial1 women today enjoy a dual privilege - full hun1an rights on the one hand and access to an inspirational religious tradition on the other. As an Arab woman, particularly fascinated by the way people in the modern world manage and integrate their past, I am constalltly surprised when visiting Europe and the USA, who "sell" themselves as super-modern societies, to find how Judeo-Christian their cultural atmosphere really is. It may escape them, but to an outsider Europe and the USA are particularly rich in religious influences, in myths, tales, and traditions. So much so that I continually find myself asking questions such as "What do you mean by St George and the Dragon?" simply so that I can follow conversations. Westerners make unconscious religious references constantly in VI

Preface to the

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