Stereotypes have a way of veiling the truth about people and their potential. A panel of writers at the Virginia Festival of the Book this morning aims to put “I Dream of Jeannie” back in the bottle and offer a more realistic view of Muslim women.
Popular culture and media tend to classify Muslim women in one of two categories — “the oppressed, silent figure, and the temptress, the exotic figure,” said Hanadi Al-Samman, who is writing “Anxiety of Erasure: Trauma, Authorship and the Diaspora in Arab Women’s Writings.”
“We’re not the bellydancers, but we’re not the silent, oppressed women, either. We’d like to say we’re neither, so there’s no need to demonize them or put them on a pedestal.”
Al-Samman, who is assistant professor in the Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Virginia, will be moderating the panel at 9 this morning at City Council Chambers.
Joining her will be Naeema Abdel Gawad, a Fulbright scholar in residence at Mary Baldwin College; Farzaneh Milani, who teaches Persian Literature and Studies in Women and Gender at UVa; Anne K. Rasmussen, a professor, scholar and musician at the College of William & Mary; and Abdulaziz Sachedina, author of “Islam and the Challenge of Human Rights,” who has studied Islamic law, ethics and theology for two decades.
Sponsored by the Ali Vural Ak Center for Global Islamic Studies at George Mason University, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, the event is designed to show audience members a more complete, accurate picture of today’s Muslim woman.
“We would like to liberate this woman from these two dichotomies,” Al-Samman said. “She is a full, well-rounded woman, like in any culture.”
Each panelist will make a 15-minute presentation, and there will be time for discussion, Al-Samman said.
Milani will speak on “Prisoners Awaiting Liberation: Images of Muslim Women?” Rasmussen’s topic is “The Female Voice and the Work of Quranic Recitation in Indonesia.” “Muslim Women in Democracy” is Sachedina’s segment. And Abdel Gawad will present “Egyptian Muslim Women: Beyond Standardization and Codification.”
Two other events on today’s festival schedule will explore the ways Muslims are perceived in the United States and around the world.
“Muslims in the United States,” at 2 this afternoon at the UVa Bookstore, features Akbar Ahmed, author of “Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam.” Ahmed has studied extensively the relationships between Muslim Americans and their countrymen of other backgrounds.
At 5 p.m., “Beyond Golden Age and Decline: Muslim Societies and Global Modernity, 1300-1900” will be at CitySpace. Richard Bulliet, Giancarlo Casale, Nelly Hanna and George Saliba will participate.
Plan your festival visit by visiting www.vabook.org.
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