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BestsellerE-book
Author D'Souza, Diane, 1960-

Title Partners of Zaynab : a gendered perspective of Shia Muslim faith / Diane D¿Souza.

Publication Info. Columbia, South Carolina : University of South Carolina Press, [2013]
©2014

Item Status

Description 1 online resource.
data file
Physical Medium polychrome
Series Studies in comparative religion
Studies in comparative religion.
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents Foundations of Shia faith -- A sacred community space -- Remembrance gatherings -- The female face of religious leadership -- The alamʻa symbol of presence -- Rituals of intercession and blessing.
Summary How do pious Shia Muslim women nurture and sustain their religious lives? How do their experiences and beliefs differ from or overlap with those of men? What do gender-based religious roles and interactions reveal about the Shia Muslim faith? In Partners of Zaynab, Diane D'Souza presents a rich ethnography of urban Shia women in India, exploring women's devotional lives through the lens of religious narrative, sacred space, ritual performance, leadership, and iconic symbols. Religious scholars have tended to devalue women's religious expressions, confining them to the periphery of a male-centered ritual world. This viewpoint often assumes that women's ritual behaviors are the unsophisticated product of limited education and experience and even a less developed female nature. By illuminating vibrant female narratives within Shia religious teachings, the fascinating history of a shrine led by women, the contemporary lives of dynamic female preachers, and women's popular prayers and rituals of petition, Partners of Zaynab demonstrates that the religious lives of women are not a flawed approximation of male-defined norms and behaviors, but a vigorous, authentic affirmation of faith within the religious mainstream. D'Souza questions the distinction between normative and popular religious behavior, arguing that such a categorization not only isolates and devalues female ritual expressions, but also weakens our understanding of religion as a whole. Partners of Zaynab offers a compelling glimpse of Muslim faith and practice and a more complete understanding of the interplay of gender within Shia Islam.
Local Note eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America
Subject Shīʻah -- Customs and practices.
Shīʻah -- Customs and practices.
Shīʻah -- Doctrines.
Shīʻah -- Doctrines.
Women in Islam.
Women in Islam.
Women -- Religious aspects -- Islam.
Women -- Religious aspects -- Islam.
Genre/Form Electronic books.
Electronic books.
Subject Women.
Womyn.
Other Form: Print version: D'Souza, Diane, 1960- Partners of Zaynab 9781611173772 (DLC) 2014007289 (OCoLC)878502402
ISBN 9781611173789 (electronic book)
1611173787 (electronic book)
9781611173772
1611173779