Reporting Islam : Muslim women in the New York Times, 1979-2011

For those interns whose names may have been unintentionally missed, I apologize. The interns in the Joseph Lab typically worked six to eight hours a week, using ProQuest, to search for New York Times articles based on key terms and key decades that they were assigned. They met weekly and typically worked for a minimum of one academic year. A number of interns worked for two to three years on the project. They were required to write their own papers and present those papers in the University of California Davis Undergraduate Research Conference as well as in the Middle East/South Asia Studies Student ix Lastly, I would like specially to thank our I.B. Tauris editor Sophie Rudland. Sophie consistently reached out to me, patiently, for several years as the book was being finalized, keeping tabs on the progress, and repeatedly expressing her faith and interest in the project. That motivation is in no small measure responsible for the completion of this book. She was at every point encouraging and supportive. I.B. Tauris staff Yasmin Garcha guided us through production with gentle hands and spirit, along with Faye Robinson. I am most grateful to them all. Reporting Islam examines the coverage of Muslim women in the New York Times over a 30 year period, from 1980-2011. The analysis addresses the nature of the coverage; whether there are parallels in the depiction of Muslim women from the Middle East and South Asia and with the US government policies toward these countries; and the relationship between feminism in the US and the representation of Muslim women in the US. At a time when women often become the iconic representatives of their nations, their cultures and their religions, this book offers unique insight into how a dramatic period of contemporary history for the Middle East and South Asia was depicted by the leading print newspaper in the world. The coverage captures the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the rise of Islamist movements across the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa, the first Gulf War, the 9/11 events, the second Gulf War, the War on Terror, and the Arab uprisings. The book asks critical questions about the wider implications of the misrepresentation of Muslim women in the media, and the links between print news, US foreign policy and women. Reporting Islam examines the coverage of Muslim women in the New York Times from 1979-2011. The analysis addresses the nature of the coverage; whether there are parallels in the depiction of Muslim women from the Middle East and South Asia and with the US government policies toward these countries; and the relationship between feminism in the US and the representation of Muslim women in the US. At a time when women often become the iconic representatives of their nations, their cultures and their religions, this book offers unique insight into how a dramatic period of contemporary history for the Middle East and South Asia was depicted by the leading print newspaper in the world. The coverage captures the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the rise of Islamist movements across the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa, the first Gulf War, the 9/11 events, the second Gulf War, the War on Terror, and the Arab uprisings. The book asks critical questions about the wider implications of the misrepresentation of Muslim women in the media, and the links between print news, US foreign policy and women.. Acknowledgements Preface Introduction Suad Joseph, University of California, Davis, USA 1. Maturing Islam: Turkey as the Site of Islamic Liberalization in the New York Times, 1980-2011, Caroline McKusick, University of California, Davis, USA 2. The Material life of Representation: "Veiled Muslim Women" in the New York Times, 1980-2011, Lena Meari, Birzeit University, Palestine 3. Specters of Islam: Anti-Islamist (Re)Presentations in Secular Media and Feminism in the New York Times, 1979-2011, Tanzeen Rashed Doha, University of California, Davis, USA 4. Friends and Foes: The Pragmatic Liberal Biases in Representation of Saudi Women vs. Iranian Women in the New York Times, 1980-2011, Hakeem Naim, University of California, Berkeley, USA 5. The Islamic World Is Flat(tened): Contesting Islam in South Asia in the New York Times, 1980-2011, Rajbir Judge, California State University, USA . Cover Half Title Series Title Copyright Contents Acknowledgments 1 Reporting Islam: Decolonizing the Representation of Muslim Women in News Media (Suad Joseph) 2 Maturing Islam: Turkey as the Site of Islamic Liberalization in the New York Times, 1980–2011 (Caroline McKusick) 3 The Material Life of Representation: “Veiled Muslim Women” in the New York Times, 1980–2011 (Lena Meari) 4 Anti-Islamist (Re)Presentations in the New York Times and Academic Feminism, 1979–2011 (Tanzeen Rashed Doha) 5 Friends and Foes: The Pragmatic Liberal Biases in Representation of Saudi Women vs. Iranian Women in the New York Times, 19 6 The Islamic World Is Flat(tened): Contesting Islam in South Asia in the New York Times, 1980–2011 (Rajbir Singh Judge Contributors Index