Literary prize for work on Muslim women

The book looks at how women’s bodies have been crucial arenas for visualising modernity, tradition, Islamism or secularism across different places and times.

Dr Salih recently went to Empoli, Italy to receive the prize for her book that starts from the advent of Islam and goes all the way through some of the experiences of decolonisation and nation-building in Iran, Turkey, Palestine and Morocco. It ends with some analysis on gender and Islam in Europe. The importance of the award is recognised by Dr Salih who said, ‘I am very happy to have won especially since the jury is composed of intellectuals and academics across a wide range of expertise. It is great to receive this kind of recognition for this sensitive area of research.’

The Pozzale Luigi Russo prize is awarded to Italian language non-fiction books of academic, journalistic or autobiographical merit. Esteemed authors have competed for the prize, such as Giorgio Agamben. Now in its 57th edition the prize look at work that deals with the question of diversity and which deal with the common values around respect of the complexity of cultural phenomena, languages and behaviours.

The judges said, ‘‘Muslim Women Revealed’ is addressed to a wide audience, it is easy to read and it goes against the tide, in the sense that is shies away from a banal and unproductive apologetic defence of the Islamic world or of an attack to the West. Dr Salih invites the reader to consider that all societies, including Islamic ones, are the result of historical processes that should never be forgotten when examining ideologies and behaviours…it offers rich information, things we need to know.’

They added, ‘This book offers a lesson on how to look at the other, and shows that the other, when carefully observed and listened to, is not different from us.’

Professor Gareth Stansfield the Director of Research at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies said, ‘We're really delighted that Dr Salih has won this award which was richly deserved. The place of women in the Muslim world is always hotly debated and Dr Salih’s research adds expertise and in-depth knowledge to this area which takes the debate forward.’

As part of the new Centre for Palestine Studies at the University of Exeter, Dr Salih will support PhD students and develop research on the Palestinian diaspora, especially the emergence and political mobilisation of Palestinian women.

Dr Salih’s current work on ‘Muslim Women’ in Europe: Bodily Performances, Multiple Belongings and the Public Sphere’, together with Professor Moors, University of Amsterdam, has recently been published in the journal Social Anthropology.