The Niqab in France

"Current and relevant, and informed by a sensitivity and awareness of the diversity of Islamic practices."-Nima Naghibi, author of Women Write Iran

"By giving voices to French women who have chosen to wear the niqab, De Fé o questions much of the conventional wisdom concerning Islam and its place in European society."-John Tolan, University of Nantes

The Niqab in France brings together a series of compelling first-person accounts of women who wear or have worn the niqab in France's Salafi communities. Against the backdrop of the French government's 2010 ban on full facial veiling in public spaces, which itself has shaped the phenomenon, Agnes De Fé o draws on her subjects' own words to show their agency. The book dispels the cliché s that often underlie public views of the niqab-that it is purely the result of masculine pressure, for example, or extreme religiosity or nationalism, or the submissive desire to disappear. Instead, De Fé o shows, the niqab is multivalent: women wear it for reasons that range from religious piety to the desire to rebel against mainstream society, family, or the rule of law. The reasons are complex, overdetermined, contradictory, or even inconsistent, but they are the women's own.

Drawing on more than 200 interviews, The Niqab in France book explores the many factors-social, political, geopolitical, and psychological-underpinning a personal choice that is not always as religious as it seems. The book ends with sixteen captivating interviews giving voice to stories rarely heard. With finesse and discernment, the author debunks the myths surrounding the wearing of the niqab, and sheds light on a practice subject to misunderstanding and prejudice. Challenging our preconceived notions and stereotypes about women who wear any form of Islamic apparel, but particularly the niqab, The Niqab in France introduces a group of women each with her own life story, her own share of personal struggles, aspirations, and desires, and her own claim to a certain place in society.

Agnè s De Fé o is a sociologist affiliated with the EHESS in Paris and a documentary filmmaker.

Preface to the English-Language Edition | vii
A Note on Terminology | xi
PART I
Introduction | 3
The Sociology of Niqab Wearers | 17
The Niqab and the Other | 35
A Reaction to the Ban | 49
Conclusion | 65
PART II
16 Portraits of Women Wearing the Niqab | 71
Earlier Wearers (Before 2009), | 71
Neo-Niqab Wearers (After 2009), | 101
The Niqab: Refuting Common Ideas | 155
Acknowledgments | 163
Notes | 165
Selected Bibliography and Filmography | 171