DESCRIPTION

"The book brilliantly illuminates the universality of the veil....[It] should be compulsory reading for policy-makers all over the world. Anyone interested in the human condition....can profi t from this scholarly yet jargon-free book." -Shyamala A. Narayan, Jamia Millia Islamia University

"A refreshingly three-dimensional portrait of the veil in history and in our contemporary world. This collection of essays turns the veil into a mirror, refl ecting back upon us our own presumptions and prejudices. You will learn something about yourself in these pages." -Asifa Quraishi

Veiling-of women, of men, and of sacred places and objects-has existed in countless cultures and religions from time immemorial. Today, veiling is a globally polarizing issue, a locus for the struggle between Islam and the West and between contemporary and traditional interpretations of Islam. This book explores and examines the cultures, politics, and histories of veiling. Twenty-one gifted writers and scholars here elucidate, challenge, and/or praise the practice of veiling. Expertly organized and introduced by Jennifer Heath, this book brings together a multiplicity of thought and experience to make readily accessible a diffi cult and controversial subject.

CONTRIBUTORS: Kecia Ali, Michelle Auerbach, Sarah C. Bell, Barbara Goldman Carrel, Eve Grubin, Roxanne Kamayani Gupta, Jana M. Hawley, Jasbir Jain, Mohja Kahf, Laurene Lafontaine, Shireen Malik, Maliha Masood, Marjane Satrapi, Aisha Shaheed, Rita Stephan, Pamela K. Taylor, Ashraf Zahedi, Dinah Zeiger, Sherifa Zuhur

320 pages, 6 x 9", 35 b/w photographs, 10 line illustrations
$55.00 cloth 978-0-520-25040-6
$21.95 paper 978-0-520-25518-0