Anthropology

Essay 1

Arab women both at home and in the Diaspora have often been faced with issues relating to their Muslim affiliation. Due to the difference in the practices and beliefs of these communities, Muslim women have often felt confused and stranded. In fact, they are expected to embrace modernity but uphold their society’s expectations. Indeed, the concepts of Jihadist, cultures, and feminism are some of the contributing factors to this controversy. In addition, due to the anthropological arguments attached to Arab women, the world has always viewed them as different people. Therefore, the discussion will entail the three concepts in depth; relate them together, and connect their concept with the anthropological aspects attached to Arab women.

Jihadist

It is worth noting that Jihadist comes from the word “Jihad.” However, this word and its concept have often been misunderstood by both Non-Muslims while Islam believers have abused it too (Abu-Lughod, 2013). In English, Jihad is translated as a holy war a concept which suggests forced imposition of Islam on Non-Muslims. However, in Arabic, this term refers to either striving hard or ensuring that one makes all possible efforts or struggles. While jihads in the past were regarded to be men, today women are being recruited into the secular practice. Currently, more women are joining the ISIS group in Syria with personal claims that they are fighting a holy war to eliminate all Non-Muslim believers (Bakker & Leedde, 2015). Other uninformed reasons given are that they are actively participating in building a holy nation of pure Islam as commanded by Allah. In fact, there are various women involved in secular jihadist, including Aqsa Mahmood and Moexdalifa. Indeed, all the women who have been mentioned have particular reasons for joining secular jihadist. Some of the reasons given are a misinterpretation of this concept and inadequate understanding of this term due to conversion to Islam at later ages (Bakker & Leedde, 2015).

Culture

Culture refers to a set of shared traditions, behavior, and belief systems. In essence, the people’s culture is shaped by their history, ethnic identity, religion, nationality, and language. Particularly, the Arab culture strongly advocates for family values within their extended family which show the adherence of honor, loyalty, and respect. However, due to diversity, the Arab culture differs globally (Slyomovics and Joseph, 2001). Therefore, in loyalty to these cultures and practices, Arab women are often seen as being culturally oppressed. Specifically, the most significant feature that leads people towards this thought is the wearing of a Hijab. While the world thinks that wearing a Hijab is oppressive, Arab women have contrary opinions because most of them do so with great pride. As such, this garment symbolized their identity, demonstrates their adherence to religious duties, promotes respect, and gives them self-esteem. Nonetheless, due to these firmly embedded cultures, most Arab Americans today are faced with a lot of controversies because they try to live Americanized lives while living up to their religious beliefs and cultural expectations. For instance, in the Middle East, women are mostly considered as property. In fact, Naber (2012) given an example of Jumana who illustrates how Arab girls are brought up to live both Americanized and Arab lives.

Feminism

Certainly, feminism is established as a modern way through which Arab women have come up to fight for their rights expecting governments to promote gender equality. In the recent past, this terminology has quickly gained momentum, but opinions on this matter are strongly divided due to the Arab culture and the modernized expectations. In the Arab culture, it is believed that feminism has no place in their society. On the other hand, western states are aggressively engaging debates on the status of an Arab woman. After all, the primary perception exhibited by the West is that Arab women are weak, passive, and oppressed (Abu-Lughod, 2013).  However, this is termed as a misconception because the Muslim culture shows concern for their women’s reputation, behavior, thinking, and talking. On the contrary, Arab women are ready and willing to copy their western counterparts because they view them as liberal. Nonetheless, the notion of feminism is a needed diagnosis in some Arab regions because women are denied their human rights which would assist them to engage actively in the political arena. For example, in Saudi Arabia women are limited from receiving any benefits as citizens because of the class, patriarchy, and race exclusion practices (Slyomovics & Joseph, 2001).

Relating Culture, Feminism, and Jihadist Concepts

There is a relationship that ties the culture, jihadist concepts, and feminism in Arab women. Concisely, the Arab culture provides a framework for the structuring and creation of feminism and jihadist (Abu-Lughod 2013). Due to this culture, women are expected to adhere to the religious hierarchies. Consequently, these authorities draw attention to the rest of the world which establishes that women are treated as a minority, thus the need to empower them. Notably, that is why feminism has been on the rise because there is a call for Arab women to be treated equally a process that is meant to eliminate the misconception of oppressed and weak gender. On the other hand, culture has led women into participating in secular Jihadist. Therefore, the practice has been propagated by the Arab culture where women are expected to perform their religious duties of supporting their men into liberalizing the Islamic religions (Bakker & Leedde, 2015).

Relating Arab Women Anthropology to Feminism, Jihadist, and Culture

The anthropology around Arab women maintains that they are from a bounded and discrete society. While the Arab culture is portrayed as one with positive intents, it has extensively worked on ensuring that this community is labeled as the “other” (Abu- lughod, 1993). Thus, culture and anthropology collaborate in constructing, producing, and maintaining that Muslim women are different in the world. On the other hand, anthropological aspects have provided a way through which feminism can create the idea of hierarchy. Therefore, feminists are always imposing ideas that the “other” who is a Muslim woman is the one being referred to in this phrase (Abu- lughod, 1993). Consequently, due to the segregation attached to Arab women, they are pushed into joining secular jihadist. As a result, these women have gone ahead to cite reasons for joining jihadist including claims that Muslims are oppressed globally (Bakker & Leedde, 2015). However, philosophies of religion and ideological duties also lead them into practicing secular jihadist.

The above discussion has clearly defined the culture, jihadist, and feminist concepts. On a closer look, all the three concepts are related considering that the Arab culture bore both jihadist and feminism. On the other hand, the anthropological aspects regarded to Arab women have extensively worked in cultivating the idea of the difference in these women globally.