ABSTRACT
Middle Eastern women are now all the more provoked into developing stances and philosophies of their own about Islam. Muslim clerics and community males have interpreted Islam for women and informed them of their makeup and responsibilities as Muslim women. Fundamentalism and Islamism provide good excuses to more forcefully impose local culture and customs, such as female-derived honor and shame. Middle Eastern Muslim women are more often attending mosque rituals now, although they must maintain sex segregation. Muslim women commonly appropriate religious rituals and occasions for their own purposes while simultaneously involving themselves in their spiritual and religious aspects. In many ways Muslim women are making their marks and impacting gender and religion. The religious freedom of women living in the Islamic Republic of Iran is severely constrained and that of women in other Muslim countries limited to various degrees.
