December 7, 2006
SOF OnDemand: » Download (mp3, 53:18) ¦ » Listen Now (RealAudio, 53:00) ¦ » Podcast

Is there such a thing as the Muslim world? Is the "veil" a sign of submission or courage? Is our Western concern about women in Islam really a concern for the well-being of women? Our guest, Egyptian-American Leila Ahmed, challenges current thought on these and other questions.
Program Details
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» Resources
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» Krista's Journal
» Transcript
» Credits

To Hear and Read
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» Books + Music ¦ lists of recommended books and music from the program
SoundSeen: Audio Slideshow
The Veil as Resistance:
Muslim Women and Social Change in Egypt

Photo: Diana Matarview + listen | view only
Listen to photojournalist Diana Matar describe her exquisite series of images portraying a new generation of Muslim women in Cairo. These women are reclaiming and redefining the veil as a symbol of political dissent, piety, and fashion in contemporary Egypt.

Unheard Cuts
Arab Identity and British Colonialism
(10:24, RealAudio)
In this clip not included in the final broadcast, listen to Leila Ahmed discuss the creation of Arab identity as a legacy of British colonialism, and the similarities with the perception of Muslim identity in our age.

"The Discourse of the Veil"
Read a fascinating chapter from Leila Ahmed's ground-breaking work, Women and Gender in Islam: Historial Roots of a Modern Debate. Here she explores the long story of westerners' inclination to interpret the veil as a proof of an innate backwardness in Islam.
Voice on the Radio
Leila Ahmed Leila Ahmed
Ahmed is Victor S. Thomas Professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School and author of several books, including Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots of a Modern Debate and A Border Passage.

Lead Image
An Iraqi woman wears a headscarf, the hijab. (Photo: Ghaith Abdul-Ahad/Getty Images)
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