An Islam of Her Own: Reconsidering Religion and Secularism in Women’s Islamic Movements

I felt like I was reading someone's dissertation the whole time, important subject but terrible writing; wish someone else had written this book!

Dr. Hafez has achieved a number of important distinctions with her newest book "An Islam of Her Own" She has crafted a quite compelling narrative that is layered with highly innovative and profoundly sound thinking. Hafez offers both scholar and lay reader alike a deeply moving presentation of the remarkable Egyptian women profiled in the book. The women portrayed are articulate, subtly powerful, and at once pious, as they move seamlessly between their religious and secular selves. We are offered an insider's perspective as they invest their every effort for society's betterment with a clear and pragmatic worldview that belies any outdated theory around the existence of firm frontiers between the religious and the secular. This work becomes a must read for anyone with a serious interest in Islam's role in contemporary societies.

Is it helpful to pit women engaged in religious activism against 'secularism'? Sherine Hafez argues that to do so would be to miss the important ways that Egyptian religious activists have negotiated multiple desires that transcend this dichotomy. There is no interior, traditional space of "religion" here that clashes with the exigencies of the secular nation-state; people are living in these hybrid spaces without thinking of them as "contradictions" or "concessions" to their faith. And women who are doing so are making very interesting claims about what women can and should do to improve their communities.

This book illustrates how desires of individuals, as demonstrated in activism of religion and secularism are not opposing opposites, as is often portrayed, especially as Islam is viewed in the politics of the world today. Hafez has many years of study and participation with Islamic women's groups and in-depth case studies, and contextualizes her subjects of the Gam'iyah Al Hilal in the history of Egypt, and as they travel to villages to assist poor women. It is highly recommended for students as well as others wishing to understand the Middle East.

Yes, It is a good book but someone who write on the pages - I can see their handwriting, scribbles with their handwriting and underlines. I know it is cheap but I have no choice.