Multiple Faces of the Same Coin: Religious Muslim Women in Israel Struggle with an Identity Crisis

Abstract: Muslim women activists in the Islamic Movement who are citizens of Israel, a Jewish-majority state, and members of a Palestinian minority live in a complex tangle of identities: religious, national, gender, and civilian. To cope with this complicated reality, they use patriarchal bargains based on social strategies such as gaining higher education, work, da ʿ wah (dissemination of religious knowledge to encourage the return to Islam), and political involvement. Within the framework of those bargains, female Islamic Movement activists subsequently have become involved in informal politics and gained power and influence in their society. In addition, they follow religious principles like musayarah (flowing with reality) and tawriyah (concealment, sending a double message to avoid provocations with their Israeli surroundings.)