The Forbidden Modern

By Nilüfer Göle,

Book cover of The Forbidden Modern: Civilization and Veiling

Book description

This book by prominent Turkish scholar Nilufer Goele examines the complex relationships among modernity, religion, and gender relations in the Middle East. Her focus is on the factors that influence young women pursuing university educations in Turkey to adopt seemingly fundamentalist Islamist traditions, such as veiling, and the complex web…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked The Forbidden Modern as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

One of the first things people still ask me about living in Turkey is, do you have to wear a headscarf? Whether a woman covers or not and the manner in which she wears her scarf reflects much more than differing levels of religious conviction. Göle explores the extremely nuanced and conflicting relationships around the subject, combining sociological research with historical analysis and in-depth interviews. She examines the ways young women form their identities in relation to the issue of covering, how they adapt fundamental religious tenets in response to the pressures of modernity, what covering contributes to debates about…

Want books like The Forbidden Modern?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Forbidden Modern.

Browse books like The Forbidden Modern

Book cover of Dinner of Herbs: Village Life in 1960s Turkey
Book cover of Turkish Awakening: A Personal Discovery of Modern Turkey
Book cover of Dervish: Travels in Modern Turkey

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,176

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Turkey, women, and women in Islam?

Turkey 98 books
Women 649 books
Women In Islam 15 books