American Occidentalism and the Agential Muslim Woman

Citation:

Allison, Katherine. 2013. “American Occidentalism and the Agential Muslim Woman.” Review of International Studies 39 (3): 665–84.

Author: Katherine Allison

Abstract:

Through the War on Terror the United States developed a seemingly enlightened understanding of Muslim women. In contrast to Orientalised representations of Muslim women's passivity and victimisation within brutal Islamic cultures these emerging representations posit Muslim women in terms of their modernity and liberation. The emergence of this new Muslim woman illuminates an attempt to secure an Occidental self through the negotiation of conflicting impulses towards Islam. Islam is recognised as the repository from which the US enemy other emerges yet the WoT also reflects a particular desire for a cosmopolitan inclusivity. The presence of the Muslim woman acts to assuage these tensions. Her oppression confirms the barbarity of the enemy yet the combination of her intrinsic agency and religiosity posits her as an acceptable Islamic other whose presence confirms the pluralistic tolerance of the US and the universal validity of its project.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Feminisms, Gender, Women, Femininity/ies Regions: Asia, Middle East, South Asia Countries: Afghanistan

Year: 2012