Reading: Suha Sabbagh, "The Debate on Arab Women" (hand-out), and Yvonne Haddad and Jane Smith, "Women in Islam: the Mother of All Battles" (e-res).

Instructions: read the assignment for class. In class, you will work in groups, and come up with answers to the questions below. Each group will have a note taker who will write up the group's discussion and answers to the questions. We will then come together as a whole and share the different groups' answers. I will collect the groups' notes.

I. "The Debate on Arab Women"

• Why is the topic of this article---the dissonances between how Arab women (and men) view the issue of women and gender in the Arab world and how Westerners view this subject---a crucial one? (What is its importance?) Why do Westerners focus on negative stereotypes, and why do they consider Western women superior to Arab women?

• What is the gist of Sabbagh's criticism of Westerners' attitudes about Arab women? Why do Arab women resent being depicted as "chattel" and part of a "culture of misery"?

• How does Sabbagh depict family relations in the Arab world? Why does the family remain "at the center of Arab society"? How does this affect women? How do family relations in Arab society compare to those in our own, in your opinion, and what are the different effects on women as a group and as individuals?

• What are some of the stereotypes of Arab women? How do Arab women see themselves, and how do Westerners? How and why does Sabbagh criticize Westerners' focus on issues such as veiling, honor killings, and female circumcision? Why do Westerners focus on these issues?

• How would you answer Sabbagh's question (on p. xix) "why is it that there aren't more articles about the problems that really concern Arab women, such as education, work, and problems involving personal rights?"

• What are some of the misconceptions Westerners have about Arab society and culture?

• How should Westerners concerned with women's issues relate to Arab women?

II. "Women in Islam: the Mother of All Battles

• The authors state towards the end of the article (on p. 148), "Islamists...posit a view of women that is demonstrably different from both the traditional view of women's inferiority, insignificance, and inability to function on their own propagated by some in earlier centuries, and from the imported ideologies of the West that are perceived to threaten the fabric of both family and society."  What do they mean?

• What is the appeal of Islamism to women?

• What are some of the Islamist women's criticisms of Western women? How would you assess these or respond to them?

• What is Islamist women's position regarding the issue of equality (with men)?

• How do Islamist women view the issue of Islamic dress? How is this different from Westerners' views? Why has Islamic dress become more popular recently?

• How do Islamists view women's role in the family? What are some of the different strands of thought on this issue within Islamist discourse? (How do some Islamists differ from others)?