In 1928, a young Lebanese woman, Nazira Zeineddine al-Halabi, wrote a book called "Unveiling and Veiling", an indictment of patriarchal oppression in which she boldly stated that the veil was un-Islamic, directly challenging the teachings of "wiser" male scholars. Considered by many an attack on Islam, it rocked the Muslim world and was banned by many clerics, although it quickly went into a second edition and was translated into several languages. In this latest addition to Makers of the Muslim World series, Miriam Cooke offers an intimate portrait of the life and work of this pioneering champion of Islamic feminism.

Miriam Cooke is Professor of Modern Arabic literature and Culture at Duke University.

Illustrations

Maps

Preface

Acknowledgements

PART I

1 Early Arab Feminisms

2 The Twilight of the Ottomans

3 Islamic Lessons

4 Religious Interlocutors

5 The Book

6 "The Girl" Writes Back

7 What Went Wrong?



PART II

8 Marriage

9 The Afterlife of a Writer

Conclusion



Glossary

Works Cited

Index