Fida J. Adely
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226006901
- eISBN:
- 9780226006925
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226006925.003.0004
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
This chapter analyzes the struggles between texts, teachers, and students to define proper Islamic mores in religion classes and beyond. At al-Khatwa, the debates about “true” Islamic teaching and ...
More
This chapter analyzes the struggles between texts, teachers, and students to define proper Islamic mores in religion classes and beyond. At al-Khatwa, the debates about “true” Islamic teaching and what should be taught about Islam were enmeshed with similar struggles outside of school and specifically with a local da’wa or “piety” movement that made its way into school. All schools in Jordan require formal religious instruction; however, in the space of the school, religious instruction could also be quite informal. Although discussions about morality stemmed from multiple notions of respectability and progress that drew on notions of family honor, kin obligations, and tradition more generally, the author takes up the very explicit efforts of some actors within the al-Khatwa School to define what is Islamic and what proper Islamic behavior is for girls and young women.Less
This chapter analyzes the struggles between texts, teachers, and students to define proper Islamic mores in religion classes and beyond. At al-Khatwa, the debates about “true” Islamic teaching and what should be taught about Islam were enmeshed with similar struggles outside of school and specifically with a local da’wa or “piety” movement that made its way into school. All schools in Jordan require formal religious instruction; however, in the space of the school, religious instruction could also be quite informal. Although discussions about morality stemmed from multiple notions of respectability and progress that drew on notions of family honor, kin obligations, and tradition more generally, the author takes up the very explicit efforts of some actors within the al-Khatwa School to define what is Islamic and what proper Islamic behavior is for girls and young women.
Fida J. Adely
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226006901
- eISBN:
- 9780226006925
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226006925.003.0005
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
This chapter shows how schools, in many respects, are also “disciplinary institutions,” with the purpose of molding young minds and shaping young bodies. In Bawadi al-Naseem, teachers and parents ...
More
This chapter shows how schools, in many respects, are also “disciplinary institutions,” with the purpose of molding young minds and shaping young bodies. In Bawadi al-Naseem, teachers and parents alike conceived of school as an extension of the family—as an allied social institution that, in addition to teaching academic subjects, was entrusted with the upbringing or tarbiyya of young women, according to a set of generally shared moral values. Most school officials took this responsibility quite seriously, and given the time girls spent in school, gender lessons at school were salient dimensions of their upbringing. Monitoring the behavior of students at al-Khatwa was not limited to teachers, however, as students too worked to keep the behavior of their peers in check. Indeed, both students and educators were actively engaged in defining the terms of gendered respectability through their everyday talk and practices.Less
This chapter shows how schools, in many respects, are also “disciplinary institutions,” with the purpose of molding young minds and shaping young bodies. In Bawadi al-Naseem, teachers and parents alike conceived of school as an extension of the family—as an allied social institution that, in addition to teaching academic subjects, was entrusted with the upbringing or tarbiyya of young women, according to a set of generally shared moral values. Most school officials took this responsibility quite seriously, and given the time girls spent in school, gender lessons at school were salient dimensions of their upbringing. Monitoring the behavior of students at al-Khatwa was not limited to teachers, however, as students too worked to keep the behavior of their peers in check. Indeed, both students and educators were actively engaged in defining the terms of gendered respectability through their everyday talk and practices.
