An interview with Dr. Manal Hamzel, Associate Professor of Gender & Sexuality Studies for the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies at New Mexico State University.
Las Cruces, NM - On this edition of PUENTES, bridges to the community, host Emily Guerra meets with Dr. Manal Hamzeh, Associate Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies for the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies at New Mexico State University, about Muslim discrimination.
LAS CRUCES — In a world growing smaller through technology, but farther apart in terms of social and political polarization, a New Mexico State University professor and a theatre and video production company, are bringing two films to Las Cruces to open dialogues with the community and encourage understanding of Muslims in American culture.
In a world growing smaller through technology, but farther apart in terms of social and political polarization, a New Mexico State University professor and a theatre and video production company, are bringing two films to Las Cruces to open dialogues with the community and encourage understanding of Muslims in American culture.
Two videos “Meet Mosque Alert” and "The Imam and the Homosexual," which provide early glimpses into the development of playwright Jamil Khoury's full-length stage play, "Mosque Alert," will be shown from 5-6:30p.m. Wednesday, April 5 at the ASNMSU Center for the Arts. The animation short “The Four Hijabs” will be shown from 5-6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 6 at the Digital Media Theatre in Milton Hall at NMSU.
A New Mexico State University professor aims to change the conversation surrounding the experiences of Arab Muslim women living in America with an animated film titled “The Four Hijabs.”
Manal Hamzeh, NMSU associate professor of interdisciplinary studies, co-authored the film of “The Four Hijabs,” which explores (Courtesy photo)
Manal Hamzeh, associate professor of interdisciplinary studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, co-wrote the script for the film with Jamil Khoury of Silk Road Rising, a Chicago-based theater and film company that focuses on storytelling through an Asian-American and Middle Eastern-American lens. The film, inspired by Hamzeh’s book, “Pedagogies and Deveiling: Muslim Girls and the Hijab Discourse,” follows the journey of three friends who explore the different meanings of the hijab.
While many think of the hijab only as the headscarf worn by many Muslim women, the film identifies four discernible hijabs: the visual hijab, which is the modest dress of both Muslim men and women; the spatial hijab, which is the separator between private and public spaces in Muslims’ lives; the ethical hijab, or the ethical values and practices required of all Muslims; and the spiritual hijab, or the barriers that inhibit deeper spiritual growth and new knowledge production. By interpreting them through Arab Muslim feminist lenses, Hamzeh said she seeks to expand beyond the trapping dichotomy of “to veil or not to veil.”
New Mexico State University professor aims to change the conversation surrounding the experiences of Arab Muslim women living in America with an animated film titled “The Four Hijabs.”
Manal Hamzeh, associate professor of interdisciplinary studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, co-wrote the script for the film with Jamil Khoury of Silk Road Rising, a Chicago-based theater and film company that focuses on storytelling through an Asian-American and Middle Eastern-American lens.
The film, inspired by Hamzeh’s book, “Pedagogies and Deveiling: Muslim Girls and the Hijab Discourse,” follows the journey of three friends who explore the different meanings of the hijab.
Andrea and Esmeralda were joined by K Sujata, CEO of the Chicago Foundation for Women, as well as two of the foundation’s 100 Day Fund grantees, Jamil Khoury, co-creator of The Four Hijabs and Sherida V. Morrison, Founder/CEO of Demoiselle 2 Femme. They all shared their stories and their organizations’ missions.
LAS CRUCES - A New Mexico State University professor aims to change the conversation surrounding the experiences of Arab Muslim women living in America with an animated film titled “The Four Hijabs.”
Manal Hamzeh, associate professor of interdisciplinary studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, co-wrote the script for the film with Jamil Khoury of Silk Road Rising, a Chicago-based theater and film company that focuses on storytelling through an Asian-American and Middle Eastern-American lens. The film, inspired by Hamzeh’s book, “Pedagogies and Deveiling: Muslim Girls and the Hijab Discourse,” follows the journey of three friends who explore the different meanings of the hijab.
We live in a world where we are constantly being told what to think. In an age of readily accessible information, passive consumption of media-perpetuated stereotypes trump active quests for knowledge. For instance, the hijab, commonly associated with the headscarf worn by Muslim women, has become a source of irrational fear for many. With a sharp rise in Islamophobia and xenophobia in America and abroad, we have gone from telling Muslim women in hijab that they're being oppressed to yanking off their headscarves. Much of this fear stems from false information and a lack of inquiry. So what do non-Muslims actually know about the hijab or the Qur'an? Demystifying the hijab with an eye toward justice is exactly what New Mexico State University Interdisciplinary Studies/Women's Studies Associate Professor Dr. Manal Hamzeh and Mount Prospect native and Silk Road Rising Founding Artistic Director Jamil Khoury set out to do with the new animated short film "The Four Hijabs," premiering at Silk Road Rising on July 30, 2016.
