In post 9/11 America, the topic of a Muslim woman’s status in regards to Islam and their choice of dress has received much attention in politics and Western media. Beginning with Samuel Huntington’s controversial thesis on civilization clash, Huntington suggested that there were distinct cultural differences between the core values of the West and those of Islam. “Individually almost none of these factors was unique to the West. The combination of them was, however, and this is what gave the West its distinctive quality.” To him, the separation of church and state, democracy and liberation were the defining features of Western civilization. This theory presented the notion of a singular Islamic culture and generated the modern-day homogenous
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The pomposity of the belief that intervention is the key to salvation instigated a shift in political depiction of Muslim women on both a national and international spectrum. The indication that it is the West’s responsibility to protect the orient women stems from orientalist values and strengthens the “sense of [Western] superiority”. It is this savior thinking that Lila Abu-Lughod critiques as other women experience many of the issues these women faced across the world. The male-dominated Orientalism, initially termed by Said, is put into question as women become more involved in its …show more content…
Those who donned a headscarf often found themselves caught within the bias against Islam and womanhood. With the rise of Islamophobia, the notion that Muslim women are controlled by their male counterparts and oppressed by the veil became prevalent in America. From this, the term “veil” became synonymous with stagnant and suppressive gender expectations. Recalling colonialist imageries of Muslim cultures, the “veil” presents a homogenous way of thinking about the distinguishing styles of garb. The negative connotations neglect to take in the complex history and diverse reasons behind the practice. This can array from religious piety to modesty to protection to fashion. Yet these purposes are abandoned and replaced by interpretations based off western understandings of female equality and liberation. In Imagine Arab Womanhood, Amira Jarmakani analyzes orientalist depiction of Arab womanhood in the US within the context of modernization and colonization in hopes of discovering the reasons behind why it remains prevalent in Western culture. Mentioned in chapter 4: Veiled Intentions, Jarmakani addresses the cultural mythology of the veil through critique of Annie Leibovitz’s collection of photographs titled Women. The image chosen to characterize Arab womanhood outwardly corresponded to western stereotypes:
The pomposity of the belief that intervention is the key to salvation instigated a shift in political depiction of Muslim women on both a national and international spectrum. The indication that it is the West’s responsibility to protect the orient women stems from orientalist values and strengthens the “sense of [Western] superiority”. It is this savior thinking that Lila Abu-Lughod critiques as other women experience many of the issues these women faced across the world. The male-dominated Orientalism, initially termed by Said, is put into question as women become more involved in its …show more content…
Those who donned a headscarf often found themselves caught within the bias against Islam and womanhood. With the rise of Islamophobia, the notion that Muslim women are controlled by their male counterparts and oppressed by the veil became prevalent in America. From this, the term “veil” became synonymous with stagnant and suppressive gender expectations. Recalling colonialist imageries of Muslim cultures, the “veil” presents a homogenous way of thinking about the distinguishing styles of garb. The negative connotations neglect to take in the complex history and diverse reasons behind the practice. This can array from religious piety to modesty to protection to fashion. Yet these purposes are abandoned and replaced by interpretations based off western understandings of female equality and liberation. In Imagine Arab Womanhood, Amira Jarmakani analyzes orientalist depiction of Arab womanhood in the US within the context of modernization and colonization in hopes of discovering the reasons behind why it remains prevalent in Western culture. Mentioned in chapter 4: Veiled Intentions, Jarmakani addresses the cultural mythology of the veil through critique of Annie Leibovitz’s collection of photographs titled Women. The image chosen to characterize Arab womanhood outwardly corresponded to western stereotypes: