Leila Ahmed is the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School, where she has taught since 1999. She previously served as professor of women's studies and Near Eastern studies at the University of Massachusetts–Amherst. Ahmed was born in Cairo in 1940 and educated at the University of Cambridge. She is the author of many outstanding books, such as “Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots of a Modern Debate” (Yale, 1992) and “A Border Passage: From Cairo to America – A Woman's Journey” (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1999). During the 20th century, the veil nearly vanished in many Muslim societies. What caused the disappearance – and reappearance – of this signature feature of Islamic dress for women? Ahmed studies the historical, intellectual and political contexts of these trends as they unfolded in Egypt. The “unveiling movement” was heavily influenced by European ideas about culture, freedom and social progress. Ahmed states that this movement “happened gradually and without enforcement.” For Muslim women, unveiling was an “expression of their longing for the goods, opportunities, and amenities of modernity.” In Nasser's Egypt (1954-69), unveiling was encouraged to thwart the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood and to create equality among social classes. However, this trend was reversed in the 1970s by powerful religious currents in the Middle East, most notably Ayatollah Khomeini's Iranian Revolution in 1979. Ahmed notes that this event “would be one of those moments when the veil's meaning as an emblem of challenge and confrontation between Islam and the West seemed to vividly and forcefully break into the foreground.” Ahmed states that the 1980's ushered in an era of Islamic revivalism in Egypt. The noticeable signs of this revival were evident in the construction of new mosques and the conservative style of clothing worn by men and women. Ahmed takes a look at the work of a few scholars who interviewed women in Cairo on the meaning of the veil or hijab. Some of the women said the hijab gave them “peace.” One woman put it this way: “We Muslim women dress in a modest way, not like the Western women who wear anything…Muslim women are careful about their reputation. Egypt is not like America! In America women are too free in their behavior!” For Ahmed, the veil became a potent symbol of “the dynamic Islamist movement, a movement that would become a force in global history.” Ahmed traces the spread of the Islamist movement to the United States. She examines the major national Muslim organizations in America and their role in molding the development of the growing Muslim community within the United States. Ahmed also studies the crisis of 9/11 and the hostile climate it created for American Muslims, especially women wearing hijab. She quotes one journalist who said that wearing the hijab after 9/11 was like “stamping the scarlet letter on your chest.” However, many Muslim women began to wear the hijab as a sign of pride in their faith and Muslim identity. Being an “invisible Muslim” was no longer acceptable to these women. Today's American Muslim women are creating distinctive paths for themselves as scholars, leaders, artists, activists and bridge-builders. These talented women are shaping a new vision for Islam in the 21st century. Ahmed brings their aspirations, achievements, and struggles to our attention in her splendid book. “A Quiet Revolution” is an exceptional study of women in Islam. Their story is a remarkable one, and Leila Ahmed tells it with grace and understanding. A Quiet Revolution: The Veil's Resurgence, from the Middle East to America. Leila Ahmed. (Yale University Press, 2011).
