These two books are frequently cited as influential and insightful works on the topic of hijab and veiling, offering critical, historical, and sociological perspectives.
1. “The Veil and the Male Elite” by Fatema Mernissi (1991)
Mernissi, a Moroccan sociologist, investigates the origins of the hijab in early Islamic history. She argues that the hijab is not a fundamental tenet of Islam but rather a tool used by the “male elite” to maintain political and social control over women. She contends that the Prophet himself was remarkably egalitarian toward women, and that certain influential male companions and later jurists fabricated or distorted hadith to serve their own political and patriarchal interests.
- “A Quiet Revolution: The Veil’s Resurgence, from the Middle East to America” by Leila Ahmed (2011)
Leila Ahmed, an Egyptian-American scholar and a professor of divinity at Harvard Divinity School, explains that in the mid-20th century, the veil had largely vanished from urban Arab centers, only to experience a resurgence starting in the 1970s. According to her, the resurgence of the hijab post-1970 was driven by the rise of Islamist movements following the failure of secular Arab nationalism, alongside the influence of Saudi’s petrodollar-funded conservative Islam which filled the ideological vacuum left by the collapse of Arab nationalism after the 1967 defeat against Israel. Additionally, the “new hijab” served as a tool for women navigating public spaces, offering respectability and a symbol of resistance for those seeking social justice and identity in post-9/11 world.