Title: Identity matters, culture wars: An account of Al-Huda (re)defining identity and reconfiguring culture in Pakistan
Abstract:Middle-class and upper-class urban Pakistani women affiliated with Al-Huda, an Islamic school for women created in Islamabad in the early 1990s, are actively engaged in cultural construction as they f...Middle-class and upper-class urban Pakistani women affiliated with Al-Huda, an Islamic school for women created in Islamabad in the early 1990s, are actively engaged in cultural construction as they first alter their ideology and behaviour, and then encourage others to alter theirs in order to live their lives as Muslims within a particular religious framework. While the presence of a variety of ideological systems in Pakistani society prevents Al-Huda's religious discourse from creating a monolithic culture infused by particular values and behaviours, it is nevertheless attempting to accomplish just that as it builds upon particular cultural codes that already exist in the country; for instance, those that intricately tie being a Pakistani with being a Muslim. Al-Huda takes this connection a step forward by specifying what being a Muslim entails based on their understanding of Muslim piety, hence promoting and constructing a particular kind of culture as authentic and desirable.Read More
Publication Year: 2008
Publication Date: 2008-03-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 21
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot