Jan Goodwin
Chpt. 1 Fundementally
Different?
Harrowing account of Maria
Her inspiration in writing
the book
began working at age 6 as
caregiver to her father’s employer (nanny)
had never attended school
keen mind
Goodwin enrolled her in first
grade with her father’s permission
Bought her uniform, supplies
“adopted her” birthday cakes,
bedtime stories
Advanced to 3rd
grade, learned to read and write Urdu and English
Education a “bad thing” makes
them argumentative
Took her for ice cream at a
hotel; Her father’s friends were outraged
Exposing her to a foreign
life; immodest; a prostitute;
Even though she was covered
head to toe
Not yet 12, married off to
old man (who gave his daughter to her father in exchange)
pregnant, suffering daily beatings,
isolation of purdah
“Man has right to beat his
wife” (5)
Father beat her more and more
because he wanted to remarry and new wife didn’t want her
She thought of buying her as
colleague suggested; adoption took at least 2 years and would have to
prove
she’s an orphan or had been abandoned.
Incest – case quashed because
“it doesn’t’ happen in Muslim families” (6)
Afghan refugee camps
Very conservative
volatile
Growing Islamic extremism in
Mid East/N Africa
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran,
UAE, Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, W Bank and
**Educated in US, radicalized
during their time in the
She gives examples of Osama
bin Laden, Sayyid Qutb (
Why? What is the
connection between education,
life abroad, and political consciousness?
She points to networks,
isolation, bigotry from US students (13)
Bankruptcy of secular
movements (13)
Experience of colonialism
Third generation trained
bureaucrats in home societies’ failure to deliver prosperity, political
freedom
(13)
Corrupt, repressive, in
collusion with W
Discontent, growing (relative
deprivation***)
Leads to “Islamic
awakening” “Islam Is the Solution” (14)
[sponsored not just by bin
Laden, but by Saudi government – see mp. 15 on sponsorship of Hamas in
“a neo-conservative wave of
self-styled religious literalists had begun attaching Islam from
within, and by
doing so, were changing the world in which they live, especially for
women, and
were frequently reaching outside it.”
“Islam is a total way of life
that affects all aspects of being:
public, private, and spiritual.
And because of the blurring of religion and governance, the
increasingly
militant Islamic revivalist movement is dictating how people should
think,
behave, dress, and live; it is also increasingly influencing how
nations are
governed” (7)
Compares it to other “isms”
like totalitarianism, Marxist-Leninism, fascism (8)
Don’t’ have to be
fundamentalist to be a Muslim leader, strong politician
e.g. George Habash (PLO),
Tariq Aziz (
**Machiavelli, Plato: religion
can be used to legitimate political
power
[Is there a W
equivalent/American corollary to this movement?]
Women’s role
Symbolic, key
“Women have become symbols of
men’s Islamic commitment, “ Barnett Rubin, NYU (9).
Oil factor
wealthy oil states, small
populations:
vs. unemployment, weak
infrastructure in
divide far more pronounced than
Central America, sub-Saharan
US,
We are dependent upon them;
5% of world population, consumers 25% of world’s oil (19)
Distribution of wealth in
Gulf Oil states
Largely in private hands
Ruling families “piggy banks”
“flight capital” invested
“abroad,” e.g., US Treasury Bills, stockmarket not invested in own
society
Also in own bank accounts
Own
Oil investment in US
companies, Santa Fe International
AT&T, Chrysler, Dow
Chemical, Atlantic
Citibank, UPI, Compaq, JP
Morgan, AOL
Chpt. 2 Muslims: The
First Feminists
Recounts the basic tenets and
history of Islam, Mohammad’s life
The influences of Mohammad’s
wives on his teachings and “revelations”
Irony that we, in the West,
associate Islam with the poor treatment of women
Because it was very
progressive
Improved women’s status
States that men and women
both have rights, responsibilities
Agree to marriage, partner
Inheritance
Property ownership
Divorce
Support in case of abandonment
Responsibility to be modest
men: lower their gaze;
women
– cover breasts and be free from adornments
Men may take up to 4 wives
provided:
They can afford them
They can treat them equally
Originated to protect widows
**link here with the infanticide readings
How did it go from these
requirements to become a justification for violence against women?
The taking of many wives
(trading up?)
Man’s influence,
interpretations
Sources of Religious
Authority”
The Koran
The direct revelations of Mohammad from Gabriel
The Haditha
The sayings, teachings of Mohammad
Shariah
Interpretations of Islamic law
Vary from place to place
Evolve over time
Reliance in day-to-day
matters on
Ulema (legal scholars)
Mullahs (religious teachers)
Mohammad’s bio
The Five Pillars
There is no god but Allah and
Mohammad is his Prophet.
Prayer 5 times per day.
Hadj once in lifetime (if you
can afford it).
Alms to poor.
Chpt. 3 One Step Forward, Two
Steps Back
Describes the horrific status
of women in contemporary