The Headscarf As a Business Card : A Qualitative Case Study on Styles and Expressions of Berlin Muslim Women

In her book, Juliane Kanitz not only examines the frequently asked question of why Muslim women wear a headscarf, but also concentrates on how it is worn. She is concerned with the cultural, aesthetic and fashionable preferences of women and not primarily with the religious motives that are otherwise often the focus of attention. In addition to a contribution to research on the Muslim headscarf, the author presents theoretical and empirical supplements to Islamic fashion and Islam in Germany as a whole. She also discusses the debate on Europeanization, in which arguments against Muslims are put forward, and develops some perspectives on the topic of the headscarf in Germany that have not yet been taken into account, made possible by the new perspective of fashion. Juliane Kanitz is a European ethnologist and works for the Protestant Interdisciplinary Research Center in Heidelberg (FEST) in the project "Religion in new city quaters." Preface Contents Abbreviations Transcription and Phonetic Values of Arabic Letters List of Figures 1 Introduction 1.1 Prologue 1.2 Research Problems 1.3 Thesis and Questions 1.3.1 Questions 1.3.2 Theses 1.4 Current State of Research 1.4.1 Hijabi Fashion—over Researched? 1.4.2 Why Do They Wear That Thing Anyways? 1.4.3 Positioning and Limitations 1.5 The Circuit of Culture or: Chapter Summaries 2 Method 2.1 Basic Premises for Qualitative Research 2.2 Summary of Methods in this Work 2.2.1 Interviews 2.2.2 Participatory Observation 2.2.3 Photography as a Method 2.2.4 Artefacts 2.2.5 Methodological Critique 2.3 (Female) Researcher in the Field 2.4 Data Collection 2.4.1 Samples 2.4.2 Data Collection 2.4.3 Documentation 2.5 Evaluation and Analysis Part I Background and Conditions of Production and Consumption of Hijab Fashion 3 Forms and Conflicts of Representation in a Minority Situation 3.1 Orientalismus und Kolonialismus 3.1.1 Interdependencies between the Nation State, Orientalism and Colonialism 3.2 Neo-orientalism and Neo-colonialism 3.3 The `Religious Turn' in the Migration Debate: from Migrant to Muslim 3.3.1 Why Then a `Religious Turn'? Five Explanation Attempts 3.3.2 The Paradox of the Secular Muslim 3.4 Imposition and Examination of Identity 3.4.1 Construction of Identity in Religious Minority Situations 3.4.2 Prospects for Self-determined Construction of Identity 4 The Production of Meaning in Hijab Fashion 4.1 What is Fashion? 4.1.1 What is Fashionable Clothing? 4.1.2 Features of Fashion Production 4.2 Production of Meaning in Fashion 4.2.1 Fashionable Clothing is Simultaneously Social Action... 4.2.2 ... and Art 4.2.3 Fashion Expresses the Body... 4.2.4 ...and Creates Gender Relations 4.3 Fashionable Clothing's Potential for Expression 4.3.1 The Fashion Motor 4.4 Fashion Production, Capitalism and the Modern 4.4.1 Non-western Fashion Designers as a Political Issue 5 Consumption of Islamic Fashion 5.1 Theoretical Consumption Considerations 5.2 Muslim Clothing 5.2.1 Definition of Terms 5.3 Contemporary Forms of Clothing in Germany 5.3.1 Some Examples 5.4 Some Fashion Developments Outside of Germany 5.4.1 Turkey 5.4.2 Egypt 5.4.3 Yemen as an Example of Full Body Coverage 5.5 Institutions 5.5.1 Transnational Retail 5.5.2 Hijab-friendly Hair Salons 5.5.3 Designers 5.5.4 Blogs 5.5.5 Online Retail 6 How the Women Interviewed Position Themselves 6.1 The Subtle Differences: Public and Private Space in Various Contexts 6.2 Amina: Pragmatics, Not Fashion 6.2.1 Putting on the Head Scarf for the First Time 6.2.2 Classification 6.3 Maryam: Pragmatics, Not Fashion II 6.3.1 Putting on the Head Scarf for the First Time 6.3.2 Classification 6.4 Suraya: Cautious Experiments with Fashion 6.4.1 Putting on the Head Scarf for the First Time 6.4.2 Classification 6.5 Hurriya: Fashion as Translation 6.5.1 Putting on the Head Scarf for the First Time 6.5.2 Classification 6.6 Initial Interpretation 7 Regulatory Dimensions 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Basics of Islamic Law 7.3 Female Clothing, in Accordance with the Q'uran 7.3.1 Female Clothing in the Ḥadīth 7.3.2 Sources from Pre-Islamic Writings and Later Legal Schools 7.3.3 ``But Can They Do That?'' 7.3.4 Hijab Serves to Protect Modesty 7.4 Hijab in Germany 7.5 Debate 7.5.1 State's Issues: Berlin 7.5.2 Criticism for the Judgement 7.6 Criticism from within Muslim Communities 7.7 Summary of Part One Part II Summary Analysis 8 Thesis Discussion: The Circuit of Hijab Clothing 8.1 Integration is Already Here: `Berlin Style' 8.1.1 Muslim Fashion in Germany: Changes in Spatial Structure as an Engine for New Fashion 8.2 Exclusionary Discourses Serve to Secure Privilege 8.2.1 Western Emancipation and the Neo-colonial Other 8.3 Strategies of Sartorial Empowerment 8.3.1 Belonging and Difference: Negotiation under Muslims 9 Final Theoretical Considerations 9.1 How Fashion Changes 9.1.1 Changes to Basic Dress Codes Represent Biographical Breaks 9.1.2 Trends as a Marker of Group Hierarchies 9.2 From the Point of View of a Fashion-Oriented Migration Perspective 9.3 The `Cosmo Islamic Style' 10 Postscript: The Hijab as a Calling Card Glossary Bibliography