Review
"... a stimulating and important addition to the discussion about women's religious participation in general and in Moroccan society in particular." --Ethnos
"... a major contribution to the ethnographic literature. [...] Some of the most engaging aspects of this book are Buitelaar's sensitive descriptions of women's ritual expression. [...] Buitelaar discusses her relation to the field and to her "informants" with clarity, providing the reader with insights about both her motivations and those of her interlocutors. The text is writted in clear and engaging language, and is complemented with verbal art (transliterated and then translated into English) and other data that make for an enjoyable and enduring text. Fasting and Feasting in Morocco is both a comparative study of women's practices and beliefs in two Moroccan cities and an ethnography of Moroccan festive performances that sheds light on the feminine dimensions of a situated Islamic ritual." -- The British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies
"... a major contribution to the ethnographic literature. [...] Some of the most engaging aspects of this book are Buitelaar's sensitive descriptions of women's ritual expression. [...] Buitelaar discusses her relation to the field and to her "informants" with clarity, providing the reader with insights about both her motivations and those of her interlocutors. The text is writted in clear and engaging language, and is complemented with verbal art (transliterated and then translated into English) and other data that make for an enjoyable and enduring text. Fasting and Feasting in Morocco is both a comparative study of women's practices and beliefs in two Moroccan cities and an ethnography of Moroccan festive performances that sheds light on the feminine dimensions of a situated Islamic ritual." -- The British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies
Product Description
Fasting during Ramadan is one of the 'five pillars' or religious duties that Muslims must perform and is for many the most important role for women in Islamic practice, revealing the strategies women employ to earn religious merit. Rather than downplaying the role of women in religious practice within dominant Islam, this work shows that female pious acts are essential to the carrying out of religious doctrine and no less important than the special prayers said by men in the mosques.
