Markus Wiener Publishers

This book does not pretend that the society of Islam was dominated by women, but illustrates that the world from the classical period to modern times is also a woman’s world. Here we have tales of A’isha, who joined the forces of early followers of Mohammed in the disastrous Camel Battle; the fighter Umm Omara, who lost a hand in battle; the scholar of mysticism and freed slave Rabi’a al-Adawiyya; Khayzuran, the richest and most powerful woman; the poet Wallada, daughter of the Spanish Khalif. Slave dancers and “boy-girls,” students, wives, and occasionally even career women; all come to life in these pages. The book also contains a unique collection of illustrations showing how women both represented themselves and were represented. The book interweaves the history of Islam with the role of Muslim women in traditional Islamic countries.