Saba Mahmood: Agency, Gender and Embodiment

In Saba Mahmoods' article she is informing us that Agency, Gender and Embodiment is very important to understand when it comes to Mosque participants. In the beginning of her article, she gives us three questions she wants us to keep in mind while reading her piece. In order to understand the Orthodox Islamic traditions, we have to really keep in mind agency, gender and embodiment. I think it is very important to have a strong ethical background because then it is easier for someone to understand certain ideas and rules in society. She states that Muslim women carry a burden of judgement because of all the assumptions that the Western imagination creates. One interesting thing I found in this article was when Saba Mahmood spoke about veiling. She said that women would get the wrath of Allah if they did not wear their Burkas and she also said that fathers would call their daughters whores if they didn't abide by the veiling rules. Women in Islamic cultures are being stripped of their agency, gender and embodiment from the men in their lives and their own government. I think Saba Mahmood is teaching us to try and understand someones culture and religion before putting forth judgement. I think it is important too look at these issues from an outsiders perspective and incorporate learning about agency, gender and embodiment.