Islam in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives - Islamic Books ...

3 4 4Islam i n World Cult u r e sHijab (2, 10)Various styles of “modest dress.” In many modern Muslim societies, h i j a b in theform of head coverings or even face veils for women has become a prominentfocus of public debates over Islamic identity and authenticity. In many places,there has been a sharp increase in the number of women wearing h i j a b o v e rthe past three decades, and today many women in different parts of the Muslimworld wear h i j a b , even though their mothers and even grandmothers didnot. The Arabic term h i j a b literally means “cover” or “screen.”Hijra (1)The migration of Muhammad and his early followers from Mecca to Ya t h r i b(later renamed Medina) in 622 C.E. The Islamic lunar calendar begins its datingfrom this event. In the modern period, h i j r a has become an increasingly popularmetaphor in some Muslim circles for a radical reinterpretation of Islam that advocateswithdrawal or “migration” away from the jahiliyya of the modern world.Hui (6)One of the minority Muslim “nationalities” (m i n z u) within China. However, theHui are defined not by a common language or geographical origin but bytheir adherence to Islam. The Hui have been the Muslims who went furthestin accommodating themselves to Han Chinese culture and language.Hujum (5)A campaign mounted by the Communist Party in 1927–1929 against religionand traditional ways of life in Muslim Central Asia. The central focus of thecampaign was the unveiling of women, but the cultural revival of which the h u-jum was a part also aimed at the dismantling of Muslim institutions such asm a d r a s as and k h a n a q as and the promotion of modern rationalism over traditionalways of life, which were called superstition.Ibadis (1)See K h a r i j i t e sIjtihad (1, 3, 7)The practice of independent jurisprudential reasoning by a qualified Muslimscholar (m u j t a h i d) . For S u n n i Muslims, this is pursued through the establishedprocesses of legal reasoning in light of principles derived from the authoritativesources of Islamic jurisprudence (f i q h) . In the modern period, agendas forreform have often been cast as exercises in i j t i h a d .Ikhwan al-Muslimin (1, 2, 9)Often referred to in English as the Muslim Brotherhood (or Society of Muslim