Beyond the Veil: Male-Female Dynamics in Modern Muslim Society

Abstract

"Sexual inequality is a prominent feature of both Western and Islamic societies, but the underlying concepts of female sexuality in Christian and Muslim traditions are very different; the pattern of heterosexual relations in Muslim societies is probably unique." "Fatima Mernissi argues that the Islamic view of women as active sexual beings resulted in stricter regulation and control of women's sexuality, which Muslim theorists classically regarded as a threat to civilized society. The requisites of modernization, however, are incompatible with traditional Muslim structures, and the ensuing contradictions now pervade nearly all Muslim countries."--BOOK JACKET.