Female Youth in Contemporary Egypt : Post-Islamism and a New Politics of Visibility

Based on interview material, observations and content analysis, this book captures the everyday life structures of a cohort of Muslim/ex-Islamist female youth in Egypt who have joined or established new networks that share the common interest of doing ‘good’ to the society based on their religious worldviews, representing a broader societal movement. __Female Youth in Contemporary Egypt__ posits that despite the fact that the 2011 Egyptian uprisings did not necessarily materialize with the political effects anticipated by some of its activists, it seems to have led to the formation of a new generation of active youth with a distinct worldview. Four broad and intertwined theoretical considerations have been taken into account. First, the book delineates the emergence and continuous development of post- (and sometimes non-) bourgeois public spheres in Arabo-Islamic contexts and conceptualizes multiple publics of overlapping Islamic structures rather than one Islamic public. Second, it offers an empirical as well as a conceptual understanding of the positioning of religion as public/private. Third, it presents a critique of Islamist thought conducive to the rise of post-Islamism; and fourth it offers a critique of feminist thought to throw light on novel forms of Muslim women's discourses and activism in line with post-Islamist worldviews. This book will be of interest to scholars in Middle Eastern Studies, women’s studies, and political studies. Cover Endorsements Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Introduction Toward a New Understanding of Post-Islamism 'Female' 'Post-Islamist' 'Youth' Critique of the Habermasian Public Sphere Conventional Forms of Islamist Activism Book Approach Structure of the Book Notes 1. A Historical Analysis of Islamism and the Shift to Post-Islamism Islam and Its Dual Nature Islam between the Universal and the Local Islam between Traditionalism and Modernity The Da'wa (Call) to Islam Charity and Islamic Social Institutions Islam between the Sacred and the Secular The Islamic and the Secular in Pre-modern Islamic Societies The Transformation of Islamic/Secular Formation in Modern Islamic Societies Historical Relationship between the Islamic and the Secular in Egypt The Rise of Islamism Transformation within Islamism The Advent of Post-Islamism Post-Islamism and the 2011 Arab Uprisings Egypt as a Case Study Islamization of the Egyptian Society The 2011 Egyptian Uprisings and Islamist Trajectories The Turn to Post-Islamism in Egypt Young Muslim Women and the Move from Islamism to Post-Islamism Notes 2. Framing the Post-Islamist Woman Question What Is Post-Islamism? Religious Muslim, Islamist or Post-Islamist? Notion of Post-Islamism as Reconciling a Number of Duals Traditionalism and Modernity The Sacred and the Secular Religiosity and Rights Why Post-Islamism? Is It the Idea of Wasaṭiyya (Moderate Islam)? Worldview Not Ideology Open/Closed Societies Role of a Good Company Da'wa Performing Da'wa Curriculum and Qualifications Attitudes toward New Preachers How to Perform Da'wa Da'wa to Children Notes 3. Post-Islamist Women in the Public Sphere The Notion of the Public Habermasian Notion of the Public Sphere Critique of the Habermasian Notion of the Public Sphere Exclusion of Publics Public/Private Dichotomy Role of Religion in the Public/Private Debate Islamism and the Public Sphere Post-Islamism and the Public Sphere Women's Participation as Islamist and Post-Islamist in the Public Sphere Veiling and the Public-Private Debate The Role of 'Change' in the Conceptualization of the Public Space/Sphere The Square (maydān) and the Mosque in Arabo-Islamic Contexts The Online Sphere Notes 4. Visibility of Post-Islamist Female Youth Introduction Visibility as a Social Category Veil and Visibility Visibility as Seeing and Being Seen Visibility and Mobility Visibility as 'Feminists' Seven Post-Islamist Entities Salafio Costa and the Disintegration of the Public Sphere Misr al-Qawiyya Party and the Mixing of Roles Serenity Society and the Reconciliation of Duals Gender Segregation among Active Muslims No Claiming of Religious Knowledge Super Muslims and the Bi-directional Da'wa Being Youthful and Religious Resala AUC Organization and Da'wa through Charity Bedaya Organization and the Collaboration between Entities as Open Societies The Rahalah Organization for Sustainable Development (mu'assasat raḥḥāla li-l-tanmiya al-mustadāma) and the Interplay between Religiosity and Responsibility Active Muslims or Active Citizens? Charity Dressing within Entities Gender Mixing within Entities Gender Equity Not Equality Visibility of Post-Islamist Entities as 'Political' Notes Conclusion Plurality of Publics Religion as Public/Private Critique of Islamist Thought Critique of Feminist Thought A New Understanding of Post-Islamism Role of New Media Egyptian Uprisings Concluding Remarks Notes References Lectures and Seminars Interviews Online Sources Index "Based on interview material, observations and content analysis, this book captures the everyday life structures of a cohort of Muslim/ex-Islamist female youth in Egypt who have joined or established new networks that share the common interest of doing 'good' to the society based on their religious worldviews, representing a broader societal movement. Female Youth in Contemporary Egypt posits that despite the fact that the 2011 Egyptian uprisings did not necessarily materialize with the political effects anticipated by some of its activists, it seems to have led to the formation of a new generation of active youth with a distinct worldview. Four broad and intertwined theoretical considerations have been taken into account. First, the book delineates the emergence and continuous development of post- (and sometimes non-) bourgeois public spheres in Arabo-Islamic contexts and conceptualizes multiple publics of overlapping Islamic structures rather than one Islamic public. Second, it offers an empirical as well as a conceptual understanding of the positioning of religion as public/private. Third, it presents a critique of Islamist thought conducive to the rise of post-Islamism; and fourth it offers a critique of feminist thought to throw light on novel forms of Muslim women's discourses and activism in line with post-Islamist worldviews. This book will be of interest to scholars in Middle Eastern Studies, women's studies, and political studies"-- Provided by publisher