Faeghe Shirazi

Faeghe Shirazi
Born	january 2, 1952 Iran
Nationality	Iranian
Occupation	author and associate professor

Faeghe Shirazi is an Iranian author and associate professor of middle western languages and cultures in the Islamic studies program at university of Texas.

Education

• Ph.D. in textile and clothing from Ohio state university in 1985
• M.S. in textile science from Kansas state university in 1976
• B.A. in interior design from university of Houston in 1985

Career

• Instructor of Textiles and Clothing Department in State University College at Buffalo New York , 1976 – 1978
• Program Director and Instructor of  Textiles and Fashion Marketing Division in Collin County College, Plano, Texas , 1988-1990
• Research Associate of  Textile Specialist about Bureau of Business Research in the University of Texas at Austin , 1990-1992
• Lecturer of  Department of Human Ecology about Division of Textiles, Apparel, and Interior Design in The University of Texas at Austin,  1991-1993
• Lecturer of Center for Middle Eastern Studies in The University of Texas at Austin , 1993-1994
• Assistant Professor of  Center for Middle Eastern Studies in The University of Texas at Austin , 1995-1996
• Assistant Professor of  Department of Middle Eastern Studies in The University of Texas at Austin , 1996-2002
• Associate Professor of  Department of Middle Eastern Studies in The University of Texas at Austin , 2002-2010
• Professor of Department of Middle Eastern Studies in The University of  Texas at Austin, 2010-Present

Books

• Brand Islam: The Marketing and Commodification of Piety , University of Texas Press, 2016
• Velvet Jihad: Muslim Women's Quiet Resistance to Islamic Fundamentalism. ,Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2009
• The Veil Unveiled: Hijab in Modern Culture, Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2001

Editor

• Muslim Women in War and Crisis: From Reality to Representation. Austin , The University of Texas Press , 2010

Articles

• Halal and Religious Tourism Development in Mashhad, Iran. In Global Jouranal of Anthropology Research , 2017
• Mapping Political Discourse of the Iranian Green Movement. In Anthropology of the Contemporary Middle East and Central Eurasia. , by Faegheh shirazi and K Wilkins, 2017
• Women’s sexuality: the Safavid Legacy. In  Global Journal of Anthropology Research 2016.
• “Death the Great Equalizer: Memorializing Martyred (Shahid) Women, in the Islamic Republic of Iran.”  In Journal of Visual Anthropology , 2012
• The Islamic Veil in Civil Societies.  In Kufa Review, 2012.
• Young Muslim Women on the Face Veil (Niqab): A Tool of Resistance in Europe but Rejected in the United States. In The International Journal of Cultural Studies (Australia) ,by Faeghe Shirazi and S. Mishra , 2010
• Hybrid Identities: American Muslim Women Speak. in Gender, Place and Culture: A Journal of Feminist Geography. (New Zealand) , by Faeghe Shirazi and Mishara , 2010
• The Sofreh: Comfort and Community among Women in Iran. in  Iranian Studies 2005
• A Dramaturgical Approach to Hijab in Post-Revolutionary Iran. In Critique, Journal of the Critical Studies in the Middle East ,1995
• The Politics of Clothing in the Middle East: The Case of Hijab in Post-Revolution Iran. In Critique, Journal of the Critical Studies in the Middle East, 1993

Her vision towards Tragedy of Karbala

She cooperated with the author of “The Women Of Karbala” , Kamran Scot Aghaie, upon the 4th chapter of this book , called “The Daughters of Karbala”. In this chapter , she tried to portray the image of women in popular Shi’i culture in Iran.

She started her chapter by this anecdote from Abu Abdollah , who said that Whoever recites a couplet about Hussain and cries and causes others to shed tears, he and they will enter paradise.

Sequentially, she focused on the images of holy females in the shi’a tradition and the importance of month of Muharram, especially during rituals of Ashura. In following sentences she explained that how Iranians hold these rituals manually which is chanting (like serenades) and elegies.

Then , she continued her chapter by mentioning the importance of Ashura in Iran -Iraq war. Genuinely, she aimed that Ashura, Muharram and Karbala have been being used to pave the way of social and political transformation in Iran.

Continuously, she tried to demonstrate the important elements of Tragedy of Karbala ( 37 members in tragedy, Shahadat). Then she emphasized on the fact that Tragedy of Karbala, influenced the wishes of young soldier boys wanting to be martyred because heaven was awaiting their arrival as they fought against injustice like Imam Hussan.

Then , she quoted the speech of Ayatollah Khomeini about Martyrs and martyrdom as an example of the influence of this tragedy in order to promote encourage people to fight against their enemy.

Then she mentioned that Ashura is not limited only to a certain time or location but rather as timeless and universal in scope. As an example, the most famous Arabic phase that is used is Iranian idea is “ every day is Ashura, everywhere is Karbala.

Following the paragraphe above, she quoted some components about Karbala like:

According to Al-Shafe’I, on the day of Ashura , the sun did not set at all. Imam Hussain is an eternal symbol for all humanity. Ashura is the symbol of love and life. Ashura protects Islam and Qur’an.

On the next paragraph, she mentioned Hazra’at Zeynab belief upon Ashura as an occasion for celebration not mourning. This concept (celebrating the death of a martyr) had been used by Ayatollah Khomeini.

In conclusion, she introduced Ashura, Imam Hussain and Hazra’at Zeynab as great and positive impacts on Muslim people and Iranian culture.

Source

• Faeghe Shirazi's personal website