This volume counters the prevailing views and stereotypes of Muslim women - usually projected primarily through male interpretations - by presenting a cross-cultural perspective of their experiences and choices in contemporary Muslim communities. The main theme running through these papers is the manner in which Muslim women consciously, as well as unconsciously, manipulate religious belief to negotiate their gender roles within the situational context of their lives.

Muslim societies - as well as Western perceptions of them - tend to be projected primarily through male perspectives. Our notion of the lives of women in these societies is far hazier and even more coloured by stereotypes than those of Muslim men. This volume intends to counter the prevailing views of Muslim women by presenting a cross-cultural perspective of their experiences and choices in contemporary Muslim communities, based on recent and hitherto unpublished research. The main theme running through these papers is the manner in which Muslim women consciously as well as unconsciously manipulate religious belief to negotiate their gender role within the situational context of their lives.

This book examines the way in which Middle Eastern women were regarded by European travellers of the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Much of the writing is concerned with the secrets of the harem. There was much romantic speculation about the lives of the women, but it was also felt that their lot was to be pitied when compared to that of European women. The author of this book argues that such an opinion was based on a hypocritical set of assumptions about European women.