Violence and Gender in the 'New' Europe : Islam in German Culture

Weber contributes to the ongoing scholarly discussion about Islam in the West, demonstrating how current thinking about gender violence prohibits the intellectual inquiry necessary to act against such violence, and analyzes ways in which Muslim women participate in the public sphere by thematizing violence in literature, art, and media. "Images of covered women, together with stories of honor killings and forced marriages, continue to retain their currency in media representations of Islam. Moving beyond staid stereotypes, Gender and Violence in the 'New' Europe draws new conclusions about the role of violence in determining Muslim women's participation in German public life. Combining cultural studies with theory, Beverly Weber contributes to the ongoing scholarly discussion about Islam in the West in two key ways. First, she demonstrates how current thinking about gender violence prohibits the intellectual inquiry necessary to act against a range of forms of violence. Secondly, she analyzes ways in which Muslim women participate in the public sphere by thematizing violence in literature, art, and popular media. By examining how violence is imagined, portrayed, and challenged, this timely book provides new strategies for action"--Provided by publisher Front Matter....Pages i-ix Introduction: Undoing the Connections between Muslim Violence, “Culture,” and Secularism....Pages 1-38 A Regime of Gender Violence: Honor Killings, Familial Violence, and Muslim Women’s Subjectivities....Pages 39-76 Contentious Headscarves: Cleaning Woman, Forbidden Schoolteacher, Hijab Martyr....Pages 77-112 Troubling Headscarves: Covering, Artistic Reconfigurations of Public Space, and the Muslim Woman’s Body....Pages 113-135 Freedom to Imagine the World: Violence and the Writing of Self....Pages 137-172 Violent Authenticities: The Work of Emine Sevgi Özdamar and Feridun Zaimoglu....Pages 173-198 Conclusion....Pages 199-206 Back Matter....Pages 207-241