Elizabeth M. Bucar

Banned in public institutions in France and Turkey, mandatory in Saudi Arabia and Iran, no other item of clothing incites such furious reactions. The Islamic veil – a catch-all term that encompasses everything from a simple headscarf to the all-covering burqa – has, over the past decade, become a heated battleground for debates on everything from women’s rights to multiculturalism. Elizabeth Bucar goes beyond the simplistic question of whether the veil is “good” or “bad” to ask instead why it has become so politically symbolic. Cutting through the condescension and fear that typify the debate, she reveals the huge diversity of women’s experiences of veiling. Her illuminating global perspective takes in everything from the new veiling movement among the Egyptian middle class to hijab fashion in Indonesia. It will be invaluable to anyone looking to understand the veil beyond its status as shorthand for Islamic fundamentalism and female oppression.

A Beginner's Guide

The Islamic Veil

Much feminist scholarship has viewed Catholicism and Shi'i Islam as two religious traditions that, historically, have greeted feminist claims with skepticism or outright hostility. Creative Conformity demonstrates how certain liberal secular assumptions about these religious traditions are only partly correct and, more importantly, misleading. In this highly original study, Elizabeth Bucar compares the feminist politics of eleven US Catholic and Iranian Shi'i women and explores how these women contest and affirm clerical mandates in order to expand their roles within their religious communities and national politics. Using scriptural analysis and personal interviews, Creative Conformity demonstrates how women contribute to the production of ethical knowledge within both religious communities in order to expand what counts as feminist action, and to explain how religious authority creates an unintended diversity of moral belief and action. Bucar finds that the practices of Catholic and Shi‘a women are not only determined by but also contribute to the ethical and political landscape in their respective religious communities. She challenges the orthodoxies of liberal feminist politics and, ultimately, strengthens feminism as a scholarly endeavor.

The Feminist Politics of U.S. Catholic and Iranian Shi'i Women

Creative Conformity

British Museum

Thomas Garnet Henry James

Liz Bucar

Professor of Philosophy and Religion Liz Bucar

Who says you can't be pious and fashionable? Throughout the Muslim world, women have found creative ways of expressing their personality through the way they dress. Headscarves can be modest or bold, while brand-name clothing and accessories are part of a multimillion-dollar ready-to-wear industry that caters to pious fashion from head to toe. In this lively snapshot, Elizabeth Bucar takes us to Iran, Turkey and Indonesia and finds a dynamic world of fashion, faith and style. "Brings out both the sensuality and pleasure of sartorial experimentation." --Times Literary Supplement "I defy anyone not to be beguiled by Bucar's] generous-hearted yet penetrating observation of pious fashion in Indonesia, Turkey and Iran...Bucar uses interviews with consumers, designers, retailers and journalists...to examine the presumptions that modest dressing can't be fashionable, and fashion can't be faithful." --Times Higher Education "Bucar disabuses readers of any preconceived ideas that women who adhere to an aesthetic of modesty are unfashionable or frumpy." --Washington Post "A smart, eye-opening guide to the creative sartorial practices of young Muslim women...Bucar's lively narrative illuminates fashion choices, moral aspirations, and social struggles that will unsettle those who prefer to stereotype than inform themselves about women's everyday lives in the fast-changing, diverse societies that constitute the Muslim world." --Lila Abu-Lughod, author of Do Muslim Women Need Saving?

Elizabeth M. Bucar

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