... observation. That is, 25.84% of our research groups were students, 36.71% factory workers and... more ... observation. That is, 25.84% of our research groups were students, 36.71% factory workers and 37.45% taleem women (Fig. 2). Figure 2. Researched community Student Factory Worker Taleem Going Women Page 14. 8 The ...
What it means to be Muslim in present day Bangladesh is the outcome of different workings of powe... more What it means to be Muslim in present day Bangladesh is the outcome of different workings of power at different historical moments played out in the everyday, yielding varied configurations of the Muslim self. Yet, in the current context, the Bangladeshi Muslim appears to have very little option other than to define himself through one of two polar opposites consisting of: the ultra secular liberals, or the anti 71 and thus anti-nationalist Islamists. As Islam presents itself through new adaptations to modern life, the polarization between the two camps widens as citizens who desire Islam as one of the key anchors of their identity, are left devoid of possibilities, turning to the Islamist or versions of the Islamist rhetoric. With a particular kind of textual, literal Islam claiming most of the ground, one often bemoans the absence of an in-between space from where the Bangladeshi can claim tolerance, pluralism and spirituality in the creation of a democratic society. There are a h...
Bangladesh’s experience with secularism has been a checkered one. Beginning with a strong constit... more Bangladesh’s experience with secularism has been a checkered one. Beginning with a strong constitutional mandate and political rhetoric, the word secularism has been changed, removed and restored, while Islam remains the state religion. While aspirations to the principles of secularism, i.e., tolerance, peaceful co-existence and equal treatment of all religions by the state, have been battled at the level of constitutional amendments and political affiliations, these aspirations also undergird a certain epistemic ground, framed by hermeneutic approaches, which produces particular ways of understanding the self as Muslim and its non-Muslim others. This article takes a look at that epistemic ground- tracing the changes in constructions of self and other brought by the manner in which the Islamic Foundation, Bangladesh has approached the Quran, methods for reading it and the manner in which it has advocated attachment to the Islamic tradition. The article not only traces a shift over t...
Bangladesh has recently been seeing a rise in religiosity which has been treated as problematic, ... more Bangladesh has recently been seeing a rise in religiosity which has been treated as problematic, anti-secular and anti-progressive within the public sphere. Various writers describe this trend as having a disempowering effect on women and negating their self-expression. However, underlying these views is the assumption that the assertion of women's agency is not enough if it does not confront existing structures of relations. This article asks whether it is possible that in seeking changes in certain aspects of one's life, existing gender relations are not necessarily transformed, but indirectly challenged and reconfigured? The conclusion suggests that rather than a polarisation of the secular and religious ways of living most people are in fact in between, negotiating between the two camps, and borrowing ideas and ways from both.
This article explores the piety/politics nexus by asking what it means when educated, urban Bangl... more This article explores the piety/politics nexus by asking what it means when educated, urban Bangladeshi women who are embracing religion anew claim that their pursuit of piety, and the learning circles that inspire it, are apolitical. I explain this selfproclaimed apolitical stance through women's own accounts of why and how they maintain political neutrality. The article demonstrates that organizers of many Islamic discussion circles in Dhaka consciously strive to attain a certain political neutrality, while allowing whoever is interested to attend, irrespective of the latter's political affinities. This decision stems from an understanding of the lack of trust that accompanies organized religion in Bangladesh, and its alliance, in the national imaginary, with the explicit political agenda of the Jama'at-i Islami. The article provides an account of different discussion circle members' varied articulation of political neutrality and how they draw from different ideas and discourses about being publicly religious in their molding of the ideal, pious, Bangladeshi woman. To exemplify the pious self-fashioning of urban, educated, Bangladeshi women, I will recount the ways in which several women discussed the March 2009 Bangladesh Rifles mutiny-a highly politically charged event. Women's accounts of the mutiny serve to unify lesson attendees around the cultivation of piety. Contestations over national politics and political affinities are made secondary, as women focus on giving an ethical bend to the deeply personal, subjective and gendered experiences of being educated and upwardly-mobile in present day urban Bangladesh.
To cite this article: Samia Huq (2011) Piety, music and gender transformation: reconfiguring wome... more To cite this article: Samia Huq (2011) Piety, music and gender transformation: reconfiguring women as culture bearing markers of modernity and nationalism in Bangladesh, Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, 12:2, 225-239,
Bangladesh's experience with secularism has been chequered. Beginning with a strong constitutiona... more Bangladesh's experience with secularism has been chequered. Beginning with a strong constitutional mandate and political rhetoric, the word "secularism" has been changed, removed and restored, while lslam remains the state religion. Aspirations to the principles of secularismtolerance, peaceful coexistence, and equal treatment of all religions by the Statehave been battled at the level of constitutional amendments and political affiliations. These aspirations also undergird a certain epistemic ground, framed by hermeneutic approaches, which produces particular ways of understanding the self as Muslim and its non-Muslim others. This article examines that epistemic Around, tracing the changes in constructions of the self and the other brought about by the manner in which the lslamic Foundation has approached the Quran, methods for reading it, and the manner in which it has advocated attachment to the lslamic tradition. The article highlights how an increasingly muted understanding of power has led to an ever expansive gap between Muslims and the non-Muslim others they share the nation state of Bangladesh with. I would like to thank the Pathways of Women's Empowerment RpC, which funded the part ofthis research that deals with the shaping ofwomen and Islam in the r95os and r96os in what was then East pakistan. The research on Abul Hashim is an outcome of that project. I wish to thank Firdous Azim, with whom I had thought of and proposed the work. I am also thankful to Mulki Al Sharmani for providing me with material, for reading and sending me comments on this article. I would also like to thank David Burrell and Mikhail Islam for their valuable feedback. Last but not least, I am thankful to my contacts at the Islamic Foundation, who have given me their time for interviews and helped with whatever material they considered useful. I gratefully acknowledge the comments olan anonymous reviewer.
This paper attempts to explore the development of Islamic identity of a group of elite women in D... more This paper attempts to explore the development of Islamic identity of a group of elite women in Dhaka, Bangladesh. These women constitute a significant group in the country where 10% of the rich control 40% of the national wealth, and the 10% of the poorest control 1.84% of the national wealth.* Socially, politically and economically, elite women and their families are powerful and have access to resources and political influence. Many of these women who did not grow up with a very strict religious orientation came to Islam and consolidated religious thoughts and practices through a weekly Quran reading class. This particular Quran class began in 2002. The classes were initiated by a foreign diplomat’s wife who was Muslim, and have continued even after her departure from the country in 2004. While Dhaka houses many meetings of Muslim men and women to discuss Islamic ideas and practices, this particular class was quite unique in its ability to attract and convert elite women whose lives were seemingly perfect. This urban elite phenomenon of Islamic revivalism has not been the subject of any in-depth research in Bangladesh, and this work therefore, is the first of its kind and largely introductory.
... observation. That is, 25.84% of our research groups were students, 36.71% factory workers and... more ... observation. That is, 25.84% of our research groups were students, 36.71% factory workers and 37.45% taleem women (Fig. 2). Figure 2. Researched community Student Factory Worker Taleem Going Women Page 14. 8 The ...
What it means to be Muslim in present day Bangladesh is the outcome of different workings of powe... more What it means to be Muslim in present day Bangladesh is the outcome of different workings of power at different historical moments played out in the everyday, yielding varied configurations of the Muslim self. Yet, in the current context, the Bangladeshi Muslim appears to have very little option other than to define himself through one of two polar opposites consisting of: the ultra secular liberals, or the anti 71 and thus anti-nationalist Islamists. As Islam presents itself through new adaptations to modern life, the polarization between the two camps widens as citizens who desire Islam as one of the key anchors of their identity, are left devoid of possibilities, turning to the Islamist or versions of the Islamist rhetoric. With a particular kind of textual, literal Islam claiming most of the ground, one often bemoans the absence of an in-between space from where the Bangladeshi can claim tolerance, pluralism and spirituality in the creation of a democratic society. There are a h...
Bangladesh’s experience with secularism has been a checkered one. Beginning with a strong constit... more Bangladesh’s experience with secularism has been a checkered one. Beginning with a strong constitutional mandate and political rhetoric, the word secularism has been changed, removed and restored, while Islam remains the state religion. While aspirations to the principles of secularism, i.e., tolerance, peaceful co-existence and equal treatment of all religions by the state, have been battled at the level of constitutional amendments and political affiliations, these aspirations also undergird a certain epistemic ground, framed by hermeneutic approaches, which produces particular ways of understanding the self as Muslim and its non-Muslim others. This article takes a look at that epistemic ground- tracing the changes in constructions of self and other brought by the manner in which the Islamic Foundation, Bangladesh has approached the Quran, methods for reading it and the manner in which it has advocated attachment to the Islamic tradition. The article not only traces a shift over t...
Bangladesh has recently been seeing a rise in religiosity which has been treated as problematic, ... more Bangladesh has recently been seeing a rise in religiosity which has been treated as problematic, anti-secular and anti-progressive within the public sphere. Various writers describe this trend as having a disempowering effect on women and negating their self-expression. However, underlying these views is the assumption that the assertion of women's agency is not enough if it does not confront existing structures of relations. This article asks whether it is possible that in seeking changes in certain aspects of one's life, existing gender relations are not necessarily transformed, but indirectly challenged and reconfigured? The conclusion suggests that rather than a polarisation of the secular and religious ways of living most people are in fact in between, negotiating between the two camps, and borrowing ideas and ways from both.
This article explores the piety/politics nexus by asking what it means when educated, urban Bangl... more This article explores the piety/politics nexus by asking what it means when educated, urban Bangladeshi women who are embracing religion anew claim that their pursuit of piety, and the learning circles that inspire it, are apolitical. I explain this selfproclaimed apolitical stance through women's own accounts of why and how they maintain political neutrality. The article demonstrates that organizers of many Islamic discussion circles in Dhaka consciously strive to attain a certain political neutrality, while allowing whoever is interested to attend, irrespective of the latter's political affinities. This decision stems from an understanding of the lack of trust that accompanies organized religion in Bangladesh, and its alliance, in the national imaginary, with the explicit political agenda of the Jama'at-i Islami. The article provides an account of different discussion circle members' varied articulation of political neutrality and how they draw from different ideas and discourses about being publicly religious in their molding of the ideal, pious, Bangladeshi woman. To exemplify the pious self-fashioning of urban, educated, Bangladeshi women, I will recount the ways in which several women discussed the March 2009 Bangladesh Rifles mutiny-a highly politically charged event. Women's accounts of the mutiny serve to unify lesson attendees around the cultivation of piety. Contestations over national politics and political affinities are made secondary, as women focus on giving an ethical bend to the deeply personal, subjective and gendered experiences of being educated and upwardly-mobile in present day urban Bangladesh.
To cite this article: Samia Huq (2011) Piety, music and gender transformation: reconfiguring wome... more To cite this article: Samia Huq (2011) Piety, music and gender transformation: reconfiguring women as culture bearing markers of modernity and nationalism in Bangladesh, Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, 12:2, 225-239,
Bangladesh's experience with secularism has been chequered. Beginning with a strong constitutiona... more Bangladesh's experience with secularism has been chequered. Beginning with a strong constitutional mandate and political rhetoric, the word "secularism" has been changed, removed and restored, while lslam remains the state religion. Aspirations to the principles of secularismtolerance, peaceful coexistence, and equal treatment of all religions by the Statehave been battled at the level of constitutional amendments and political affiliations. These aspirations also undergird a certain epistemic ground, framed by hermeneutic approaches, which produces particular ways of understanding the self as Muslim and its non-Muslim others. This article examines that epistemic Around, tracing the changes in constructions of the self and the other brought about by the manner in which the lslamic Foundation has approached the Quran, methods for reading it, and the manner in which it has advocated attachment to the lslamic tradition. The article highlights how an increasingly muted understanding of power has led to an ever expansive gap between Muslims and the non-Muslim others they share the nation state of Bangladesh with. I would like to thank the Pathways of Women's Empowerment RpC, which funded the part ofthis research that deals with the shaping ofwomen and Islam in the r95os and r96os in what was then East pakistan. The research on Abul Hashim is an outcome of that project. I wish to thank Firdous Azim, with whom I had thought of and proposed the work. I am also thankful to Mulki Al Sharmani for providing me with material, for reading and sending me comments on this article. I would also like to thank David Burrell and Mikhail Islam for their valuable feedback. Last but not least, I am thankful to my contacts at the Islamic Foundation, who have given me their time for interviews and helped with whatever material they considered useful. I gratefully acknowledge the comments olan anonymous reviewer.
This paper attempts to explore the development of Islamic identity of a group of elite women in D... more This paper attempts to explore the development of Islamic identity of a group of elite women in Dhaka, Bangladesh. These women constitute a significant group in the country where 10% of the rich control 40% of the national wealth, and the 10% of the poorest control 1.84% of the national wealth.* Socially, politically and economically, elite women and their families are powerful and have access to resources and political influence. Many of these women who did not grow up with a very strict religious orientation came to Islam and consolidated religious thoughts and practices through a weekly Quran reading class. This particular Quran class began in 2002. The classes were initiated by a foreign diplomat’s wife who was Muslim, and have continued even after her departure from the country in 2004. While Dhaka houses many meetings of Muslim men and women to discuss Islamic ideas and practices, this particular class was quite unique in its ability to attract and convert elite women whose lives were seemingly perfect. This urban elite phenomenon of Islamic revivalism has not been the subject of any in-depth research in Bangladesh, and this work therefore, is the first of its kind and largely introductory.
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