Transcript 5.5-Locke and Women in Fundamentalism

John Locke’s “Letter Concerning
Toleration” (1689)
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Locke's primary goal is to "distinguish
exactly the business of civil government
from that of religion"
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government is instituted to promote external
interests, relating to life, liberty, and the
general welfare, while the “church” exists to
promote internal interests, i.e., salvation
the two serve separate functions, and so,
must be considered to be separate institutions
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In defense of religious diversity
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After a devastating period of religious wars,
Locke proposes “religious toleration” as the
answer
 In 1689, it was Catholicism that was seen as a
threat to the English way of life
 Locke argues that civil unrest results from
confrontations caused by govt’s attempt to
prevent different religions from being practiced,
rather than tolerating their proliferation
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Locke on the politicization of religion
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“…I esteem that toleration to be the chief characteristic mark of the
true Church. For whatsoever some people boast of the antiquity of
places, names, or the pomp of their outward worship; others, of the
reformation of their discipline; all, of the orthodoxy of their faith—for
e/o is orthodox to himself—these things, and all others of this
nature, are much rather marks of men striving for power and empire
over one another than of the Church of Christ.”
“…If like the Captain of our salvation, they sincerely desired the
good of souls, they would tread in the steps and follow the perfect
example of that Prince of Peace, who sent out His soldiers…not
armed with the sword, or other instruments of force, but prepared
with the Gospel of peace and with the exemplary holiness of their
conversation. This was His method.”
politicization of religion: the instrumentalization, or use, of religion
and religious appeals in the political sphere, in struggles over
political power
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Locke says the distinctive feature of “methods” used in the political
sphere is their ultimate reliance on force or coercion, which make them
inappropriate in the realm of religion, which is about internal interests
and one’s personal relationship to God
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Oppression, not religion, causes unrest
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“…I know that seditions are very frequently
raised upon pretence of religion, but it is as true
that for religion subjects are frequently ill treated,
and live miserably. Believe me, the stirs that are
made proceed not from any peculiar temper of
this or that church or religious society, but from
the common disposition of all mankind, who
when they groan under any heavy burthen
endeavour naturally to shake off the yoke that
galls their necks…”
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"Obedience versus
Autonomy: Women and
Fundamentalism in Iran
and Pakistan"
Shahla Haeri, Ch. 45,
pp. 370-378.
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Secularism, Fundamentalism, Islamism
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secularism: doctrine that government or other entities
should exist separately from religion and/or religious
beliefs
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fundamentalism: belief in a strict adherence to a set of
basic principles (often religious in nature)
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secularization: transformation of society from close
identification with religious values and institutions toward nonreligious values and secular institutions
It typically emerges in response to modernity/modernization and
the various social processes associated with it, e.g.,
secularization, urbanization, marketization – and globalization
Islamism: a set of beliefs that hold that Islam is not only
a religion but also a political system
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also referred to as "political Islam"
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Women in context of the dialectical relationship
b/w secular reformers of 50s-60s & Islamic
fundamentalism of 70s-80s in Iran/Pakistan
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In 50s & 60s Muslim reformers adopted elements of
Western law and applied them within Islamic framework
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Fundamentalists contested legitimacy of these reforms, claiming
them to be inspired (or imposed) by the West rather than guided
by Islamic law
In 80s & 90s, Islamic societies were affected by
movements advocating return to Islamic ideals,
particularly in family relations, marriage, and divorce
Tension between secularist gov’t and fundamentalists
has mirrored the alienation from and disillusionment w/
ideals and promises of "modernity" in many Muslim
societies
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Debates b/w fundamentalists and Iranian /
Pakistani urban middle class women center
on the concepts of obedience & autonomy
 Both
obedience & autonomy relate to the
reciprocal rights of spouses deriving from
the contractual form marriage in Islam
 Whereas secularists try to break through
and reinterpret the predetermined
boundaries of the marriage contract,
fundamentalists want to return to the literal
meaning of the contract
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Pakistan vs Iran
 Pakistan:
predominantly Sunni, within the
South Asian cultural sphere,
fundamentalists are only part of the ruling
coalition and must compete for power with
other parties and interest groups
 Iran: predominantly a Shi'ite society,
shares the cultural area of the Middle
East, fundamentalists control the gov’t
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Fundamentalism Consolidated:
the Case of Iran
 1936
Unveiling Act and 1967 Family
Protection Law granted women some
autonomy and rights in the family
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Wearing veil in public became optional in
1941
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1970s brought upheaval, restlessness,
sense of moral chaos
 The
1970s economic boom (as price of oil
increased) brought more destruction than
development, widening the gap between
haves and have-nots
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sense of moral chaos, esp in urban areas
 "An
overwhelming majority of Iranians took
a collective plunge into an idealized past,
hoping to retrieve what they could agree
on, namely, an Islamic identity" (p. 375)
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Women in Iran’s Islamic Revolution
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Women donned the veil in anti-Shah protests in
1978-79, many for non-religious reasons
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for symbolic reasons, as protest against its forced
removal in 30s
for pragmatic reasons, fearing recognition by the
Shah's secret police
Unintended consequence of women's success
as revolutionaries: heightened awareness and
increased expectations of small but vocal
segments of the urban female population
 tension between fundamentalist regime &
women who brought it to power
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Veiling
 Veiling
in the Islamic world is not
monolithic and uniform, even within
individual Islamic societies
 Veiling is a multifaceted and polysemic
institution, with a multiplicity of forms and
meanings, both domestically and
internationally
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polysemic = having a number of meanings,
interpretations
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Despite the Islamic regime's attempt at uniformity,
many Iranian women assert their "individuality" by
improvising on theme of Islamic veiling
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Some have reverted to the traditional long black veil (chador) so that
they can dress any way they like underneath
Others use colorful scarves interwoven with gold and silver threads
Some wrap scarves differently
Others show strands of highlighted hair
 Issue in Iran is no longer to veil or not to veil, but how to veil, to "veil
well" or "veil bad“
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"Although the veil itself is not subject to negotiation, what emerges
from this continuous and subtle subversion of authority is a public
and highly politicized debate about the particular way the veil is
worn, the specific colors chosen, or the arena within which women
can appear and work" (p. 378)
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