ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses some young Muslim women from southeast Queensland who draw on their own interpretations of their faith to counter the Islamophobia and gendered Islamophobia in their lives. It exemplifies the multiple and contentious discourses that shape the identities and contain the agency of young Muslim women like Aida and Yulia. The chapter explores the issues in light of the young women's understandings and practices of gender modesty. It highlights such tensions with a particular focus on the politics of veiling. Being 'visually Muslim', Islamophobia was a daily and inevitable struggle. The chapter examines the Islamic principle of ijtihad and the practice of feminist ijtihad. The young women's faith-based challenging of the Islamophobia and gendered Islamophobia in their lives resonated with this scholarship. The chapter highlights the imperative of listening to the voices of Muslim girls and women who are challenging Islamophobic discourses.
