Twelve From exclusion to inclusion: women and interfaith dialogue in the Mediterranean area
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Francesco Antonelli
Abstract
This chapter details women’s contribution to interfaith dialogue in the Mediterranean. This area is often referred to a uniform region and usually depicted as highly problematic, since conflicts and migration flows pose considerable risks to the security of the entire region. Moreover, the Mediterranean is not only an area of crisis and conflict, but also a space for opportunities and dialogue. Interreligious dialogue is a powerful tool for achieving peace and stability. Today, institutions for intercultural dialogue and cooperation, religious representatives, and interfaith organizations are working together to build mutual understanding in the region. This chapter shows that the interreligious dialogue has been changing its nature through a twofold enlargement centred on the gender dimension: vertical, by women belonging to intellectual elites; and horizontal, through a growing involvement of civil society.
Abstract
This chapter details women’s contribution to interfaith dialogue in the Mediterranean. This area is often referred to a uniform region and usually depicted as highly problematic, since conflicts and migration flows pose considerable risks to the security of the entire region. Moreover, the Mediterranean is not only an area of crisis and conflict, but also a space for opportunities and dialogue. Interreligious dialogue is a powerful tool for achieving peace and stability. Today, institutions for intercultural dialogue and cooperation, religious representatives, and interfaith organizations are working together to build mutual understanding in the region. This chapter shows that the interreligious dialogue has been changing its nature through a twofold enlargement centred on the gender dimension: vertical, by women belonging to intellectual elites; and horizontal, through a growing involvement of civil society.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of figures, tables and appendices v
- Notes on contributors vi
- Women and religion: contemporary and future challenges: editors’ introduction 1
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Women, gender equality and religion between past and present
- Gender equality in different readings of Islam in post-revolutionary Iran 21
- Religion and gender equality in Catholic Philippines: discourses and practices in the 21st century 41
- A slow march forward: the impact of religious change on gender ideology in the contemporary United States 59
- Divine shadows: Indian Devadasis between religious beliefs and sexual exploitation 79
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Identities, women’s movements and religion
- Formation of ‘religious’ identity among British Muslim women 95
- Christian women’s movements in secularizing and diversifying contexts: a case study from Belgium 117
- Muslim women in contemporary Argentina 135
- The impact of religious unorthodoxy on family choices and women’s well-being in Turkey 157
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Contemporary women’s religious experiences
- ‘Between me and my God’: a life story narrative of conciliating cultural discourses and personalization of Islam 175
- ‘We are all Goddesses’: female sacred paths in Italy 191
- Explorations of spiritual embodiment in belly dance 207
- From exclusion to inclusion: women and interfaith dialogue in the Mediterranean area 221
- Index 237
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of figures, tables and appendices v
- Notes on contributors vi
- Women and religion: contemporary and future challenges: editors’ introduction 1
-
Women, gender equality and religion between past and present
- Gender equality in different readings of Islam in post-revolutionary Iran 21
- Religion and gender equality in Catholic Philippines: discourses and practices in the 21st century 41
- A slow march forward: the impact of religious change on gender ideology in the contemporary United States 59
- Divine shadows: Indian Devadasis between religious beliefs and sexual exploitation 79
-
Identities, women’s movements and religion
- Formation of ‘religious’ identity among British Muslim women 95
- Christian women’s movements in secularizing and diversifying contexts: a case study from Belgium 117
- Muslim women in contemporary Argentina 135
- The impact of religious unorthodoxy on family choices and women’s well-being in Turkey 157
-
Contemporary women’s religious experiences
- ‘Between me and my God’: a life story narrative of conciliating cultural discourses and personalization of Islam 175
- ‘We are all Goddesses’: female sacred paths in Italy 191
- Explorations of spiritual embodiment in belly dance 207
- From exclusion to inclusion: women and interfaith dialogue in the Mediterranean area 221
- Index 237
