The Forgotten Queens of IslamWhen Benazir Bhutto became prime minister of Pakistan in 1988, many claimed that it was a blasphemous assault on Islamic tradition since no Muslim state, critics alleged, had ever been governed by a woman. But Fatima Mernissi examined fifteen centuries of Islamic history and discovered that the critics were wrong. Recovering the stories of fifteen Islamic queens, this remarkable exploration tells how they ascended the throne, how they governed and exercised their power, and how their forgotten reigns influence the ways in which politics is practiced in Islam today. |
Contents
Was Benazir Bhutto the First? | 1 |
Queens and Courtesans | 7 |
The Caliph and the Queen | 26 |
The jawari or Revolution in the Harem | 37 |
Courtesan or Head of State? | 51 |
Sovereignty in Islam | 69 |
Fifteen Queens | 88 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
A'isha A'lam Abbasid caliph Abdallah Ahmad Amin al-'Arab al-Din al-Hadi al-Hakim al-Hurra al-Islam al-Mahdi al-Mukarram al-Mulk al-Mustansir Al-nisa al-Sulayhi Allah Amir amma Arab army Arwa Asma authority Baghdad Balqis became Beirut Cairo century da'i death despite dynasty Egypt empire Encyclopedia of Islam faithful father Fatima Fatimid Friday Hanbali harem Harun head Hejira hijab historians husband Ibid Ibn al-Athir Ibn Battuta Ibn Hazm Ibn Khaldun Ibn Khallikan idea Ilkhan Iltutmish imam Isma'ili jarya jawari Kamil Khatun Khayzuran khutba killed Kitab Koran leader Maktaba malika Mamluks Maqrizi marriage married Mas'udi Mecca Medina military Mongol mosque mother Muhammad mulk Muslim world palace prayers princes Prophet qadi queen Radiyya reign religious Saba San'a Shajarat al-Durr shari'a shi'a Shi'ism Shi'ite Sitt al-Mulk slave sovereign Subh Sulayhi sultan Sunni Tabari Tarikh throne took power Turkan Uçok Umar Umayyad veil Wafayat woman women word Yemen Zarkali