Heralded Muslim feminist Mona Eltahawy asks in the ever-tabloid Toronto Star to be allowed to confuse you, the reader, by virtue of the apparently contradictory labels self-assigned to her socio-political and religious beliefs. The point of article (as it become somewhat clear in the last few paragraphs) is to shed light on how, despite her unorthodox views on Islam, and particularly gender in Islam, the faith “belongs” to her as much as to any other Muslim, more orthodox than her or not. This perspective frames her support for the Park51 community center near Ground Zero in New York City; a support caught between ” [televangelist] Bill Keller’s right wing: bigoted and xenophobic [..and] the Muslim right wing, which uses Islam…to fuel its misogyny.”

Had Eltahawy written strictly about how, despite her activism against what she claims is the “Muslim right wing,” she still supports the right of Park51 to be built at its current location because she is a Muslim, thus acting out of solidarity, then there could have been potential. Such a route could have provided a perspective for understanding the importance of the mosque being built beyond just issues of worship for a select group in the heart of Manhattan.

Unfortunately, Eltahawy only hints at this sort of a discussion at the end of her article, which is both sparse and riddled with confusing literary devices and a questionable comparison—rightly so, perhaps given the title of the piece.

The vast majority of her piece focuses on herself. “Let me, a Muslim Feminist, confuse you” does not shed light on admirable solidarity beyond strong religious disagreements in the face of religious discrimination. Rather, it highlights a growing problem in the unhappy marriage between a certain brand of feminism and Muslim identity: an essentialist, self-congratulatory discourse working as a conduit for Islamophobes to buttress their bigotry: [Read more...]