Engaged Surrender: African American Women and Islam

by Carolyn Moxley Rouse

Commonly portrayed in the media as holding women in strict subordination and deference to men, Islam is nonetheless attracting numerous converts among African American women. Are these women "reproducing their oppression," as it might seem? Or does their adherence to the religion suggest unsuspected subtleties and complexities in the relation of women, especially black women, to Islam? Carolyn Rouse sought answers to these questions among the women of Sunni Muslim mosques in Los Angeles. Her richly textured study provides rare insight into the meaning of Islam for African American women; in particular, Rouse shows how the teachings of Islam give these women a sense of power and control over interpretations of gender, family, authority, and obligations.

In Engaged Surrender, Islam becomes a unique prism for clarifying the role of faith in contemporary black women's experience. Through these women's stories, Rouse reveals how commitment to Islam refracts complex processes—urbanization, political and social radicalization, and deindustrialization—that shape black lives generally, and black women's lives in particular. Rather than focusing on traditional (and deeply male) ideas of autonomy and supremacy, the book—and the community of women it depicts—emphasizes more holistic notions of collective obligation, personal humility, and commitment to overarching codes of conduct and belief. A much-needed corrective to media portraits of Islam and the misconceptions they engender, this engaged and engaging work offers an intimate, in-depth look into the vexed and interlocking issues of Islam, gender, and race.

Genres: Islam, Nonfiction, Religion, College

290 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Nik Pizza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaged Surrender is a book about African American women and Islam. The author alternates between describing her ethnographic work with women in Los Angeles and relating her observations to broader themes in the development of Islam (Sunni, Nation of Islam, etc.), feminism (waves, black feminism, etc.) and American culture in general. I found the book readable and substantive, and I think Rouse did a good job of fleshing out the specific beliefs, compromises, and lifestyles of the community she was studying while contextualizing her observations within the broader cultures of Islam and America. Anthropologist moment.

The title of the book encapsulates the thrust of the central argument pretty well. There is an apparent contradiction to many Americans regarding women who freely surrender to the faith of Islam and the word of Allah. Why would a woman freely commit to an intensive regiment of prayer and commandments which also explicitly requires that they submit to their husband? The answer is complicated and, as the author shows, generally does not involve 'false consciousness' but rather negotiation, exegesis, and more. The process she describes is therefore engaged surrender as opposed to plain boring garden variety surrender. Who does that anymore these days?

I enjoyed how the author built up these different communities from the perspective of the women she was following. I felt like I got a good exposition to some of the most contentious points of Islamic scripture and practice for women in the US, as well as what it is like to be in an Islamic community. CIRCULATE THE MONEY WITHIN THE COMMUNITY. LIKE BLOOD.

But unfortunately there is a cloud to every silver lining. I just couldn't get behind some of the classic social sciences sweaty jargon in a few spots, which for me equates to academics abstracting away from any potential usefulness to make cool-sounding sentences, cram in the right buzzwords, and ensure that the barriers to entry aren't too low. I thought the random Foucault citation like 2/3 into the book was kinda ridiculous and emblematic of this issue I had.

Overall, pretty good. Would recommend to anyone interested in Islam, women in Islam, feminism and religion, and any of those things in Los Angeles.

[Waheedah Bilal · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the first studies that examined the world of Black American Muslim women, and did it from their view. Carolyn Rouse spent a great deal of time among the women she interviewed, thus the thoughtfulness of the title -- these women know what they are doing. They are "engaged" in their surrender to their Lord, and indeed that is who they surrender to. You will find their lives far more complex than imagined; it is a finely crafted scholarly work.