Papers by Meriem El Haitami
Religious diversity at the contours of Moroccan Islam
The Journal of North African Studies, 2021
Human rights ideas are often seen as highly secularized. For many, they are in direct conflict wi... more Human rights ideas are often seen as highly secularized. For many, they are in direct conflict with religion, while for others they are, at best, "awkward bedfellows". Over the past year, openGlobalRights has run a series of articles on religion and human rights, highlighting these points of convergence and divergence.
Women and Sufism: Religious Expression and the Political Sphere in Contemporary Morocco
The sociopolitical changes in postmodern Morocco have reshuffled the dynamics of women’s in/visib... more The sociopolitical changes in postmodern Morocco have reshuffled the dynamics of women’s in/visibility within the Sufi tradition and redefined parameters of religious authority, especially after the 2003 Casablanca terrorist attacks that prompted the Moroccan government to promote Sufism as a tolerant expression of Islam to counteract religious extremism. This article explores gender dynamics within Morocco’s Sufi tradition and women’s complex relationship with the public sphere, and traces women’s different styles of participation and leadership. This article also addresses the extent to which Morocco’s official Islam provides a broader role for women than other forms of Islam and increases their presence and visibility in the religious sphere.
Morocco has recently taken a series of measures to curb extremist voices and blunt the growing po... more Morocco has recently taken a series of measures to curb extremist voices and blunt the growing power of political Islam. One such measure is the training of female religious guides. The deployment of women into the religious field implies a redefinition of Islamic authority and the restructuring of religious spaces, such as mosques and religious councils, which have long been male-dominated centers of Islamic authority. Although one may question whether the reforms empower women or confirm misogynistic tendencies through their voices, these women are making progress toward social agency and are redefining the relationship between the public and private spheres.
The recent political upheavals in the Arab world were marked by women's significant presence in s... more The recent political upheavals in the Arab world were marked by women's significant presence in struggling for democracy alongside men. Muslim women activists in Morocco have particularly gained legitimacy in the context of the Arab Spring, which has brought the Justice and Development conservative political party to power. This has contributed to a shift from the elite liberal state feminism to a more legitimate religious activism. This introduces new spaces for contention, taking into consideration that following the 2003 Casablanca bombings, Morocco has taken a series of measures to absorb the growing momentum of political Islam. One such measure has been to restructure the religious field by means of reforming and controlling the dynamics of religion in Morocco; this was primarily marked by the significant entry and deployment of women in the religious field as religious leaders and scholars. These statetrained female religious authorities offer spiritual counseling and religious instruction to different social segments. Therefore, they redefine parameters of religious authority and define a new model of activism that seeks to cultivate collective pious conduct within society and thus contribute to a comprehensive social reform.
Conference Presentations by Meriem El Haitami
The gradual but marked Islamization of the public sphere in Morocco since the 1980s has redefined... more The gradual but marked Islamization of the public sphere in Morocco since the 1980s has redefined the spatial dynamics of public activism. Women have played an important role in this process; their activism was conducted in ways that are spatially private but significantly public in effect. Their success in shaping a public discourse on women's political participation has expanded the range of opportunities for women's activism.
Women and Sufism in Morocco: Post-modern Expressions of Embodied Piety and Social Practice
The Power of Women’s Islamic Education Workshop
Center for the Study of Social Difference, Colum... more The Power of Women’s Islamic Education Workshop
Center for the Study of Social Difference, Columbia University
November 8-9, 2013
Women’s Participation in the Acquisition and Production of Islamic Knowledge in Contemporary Morocco
By: Meriem El Haitami
PhD Candidate, Moroccan Cultural Studies Centre, Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah
University, Fez, Morocco
Fulbright Research Scholar (Joint Supervision Program) 2012-2013, SUNY Binghamton
Abstract:
This paper explores the dynamics of women’s participation in the acquisition and production of Islamic knowledge in contemporary Morocco in the light of the current social and political changes. I examine the ways women redefine parameters of power and how they are engaging the regulatory discourse -which constructs their subordination- in new ways that re-conceptualize the religious discourse and bridge it with practical realities. I argue that in contemporary Morocco, women define religious scholarship and authority as the capacity to reconcile the different segments of society with religious practice, through a comprehensive socio-religious reform and through an expansion of female social and religious space beyond the mosque. I also explore how authority is claimed in new ways, which allows further opportunities for women to access knowledge and practice religious authority. Presently, religious scholars, Islamists and modernist intellectuals begin to claim religious authority in new ways; this, as a consequence, produces a de-centralized practice of authority, and challenges the male clergy’s monopoly over the production of knowledge.
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Papers by Meriem El Haitami
Conference Presentations by Meriem El Haitami
Center for the Study of Social Difference, Columbia University
November 8-9, 2013
Women’s Participation in the Acquisition and Production of Islamic Knowledge in Contemporary Morocco
By: Meriem El Haitami
PhD Candidate, Moroccan Cultural Studies Centre, Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah
University, Fez, Morocco
Fulbright Research Scholar (Joint Supervision Program) 2012-2013, SUNY Binghamton
Abstract:
This paper explores the dynamics of women’s participation in the acquisition and production of Islamic knowledge in contemporary Morocco in the light of the current social and political changes. I examine the ways women redefine parameters of power and how they are engaging the regulatory discourse -which constructs their subordination- in new ways that re-conceptualize the religious discourse and bridge it with practical realities. I argue that in contemporary Morocco, women define religious scholarship and authority as the capacity to reconcile the different segments of society with religious practice, through a comprehensive socio-religious reform and through an expansion of female social and religious space beyond the mosque. I also explore how authority is claimed in new ways, which allows further opportunities for women to access knowledge and practice religious authority. Presently, religious scholars, Islamists and modernist intellectuals begin to claim religious authority in new ways; this, as a consequence, produces a de-centralized practice of authority, and challenges the male clergy’s monopoly over the production of knowledge.
Center for the Study of Social Difference, Columbia University
November 8-9, 2013
Women’s Participation in the Acquisition and Production of Islamic Knowledge in Contemporary Morocco
By: Meriem El Haitami
PhD Candidate, Moroccan Cultural Studies Centre, Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah
University, Fez, Morocco
Fulbright Research Scholar (Joint Supervision Program) 2012-2013, SUNY Binghamton
Abstract:
This paper explores the dynamics of women’s participation in the acquisition and production of Islamic knowledge in contemporary Morocco in the light of the current social and political changes. I examine the ways women redefine parameters of power and how they are engaging the regulatory discourse -which constructs their subordination- in new ways that re-conceptualize the religious discourse and bridge it with practical realities. I argue that in contemporary Morocco, women define religious scholarship and authority as the capacity to reconcile the different segments of society with religious practice, through a comprehensive socio-religious reform and through an expansion of female social and religious space beyond the mosque. I also explore how authority is claimed in new ways, which allows further opportunities for women to access knowledge and practice religious authority. Presently, religious scholars, Islamists and modernist intellectuals begin to claim religious authority in new ways; this, as a consequence, produces a de-centralized practice of authority, and challenges the male clergy’s monopoly over the production of knowledge.