how to express religious affiliation and the poten-
tial emancipatory function of this religious sign
(this taken from the literature analyzing the politi-
cal commitment of women in Muslim societies such
as Iran and Turkey). It is now commonly admitted
that if in some cases the veil comes from a top-
down imposition (from father, brothers, a religious
authority, and so forth), it may also be a rational
choice strategy to wear it as it opens margins of
movement that otherwise would not be available.
Public stereotypes of Muslim women basically
moved from the image of the non-educated peas-
ants who constituted the majority of the first waves
of migration to Europe and hardly spoke European
languages, to the one of the educated and smart
young women who have engaged in a radical polit-
ical movement. Interestingly, this perception of the
generational changes gave also birth to “positive”
stereotypes such as the idea that Muslim girls
would be more successful at school than Muslim
boys. These kinds of generalized opinions have
recently been revised to form a more differentiated
picture including variables such as the educational
arena in which boys and girls are trained, the level
of education they receive, and access to employ-
ment. Western European societies in general have
learned a great deal during the last 40 years. The
debate over female genital mutilation (FGM) is a
relevant illustration of how societies incorporate
new forms of knowledge: it is now generally admit-
ted that FGM is not an Islamic practice but rather
a local historical tradition in places such as Sub-
Saharan Africa or Egypt. It is, however, important
to consider that stereotypes surrounding Muslim
women settled in Western Europe also stem from
Muslim populations living in the same contexts,
both men and women. Most of the criticism comes
from a reading of Islamic traditions that stick to the
original text without elaborating on the changing
contexts and eventual new interpretations, such as
those of the reformists. Muslim women in Europe
are either perceived by their peers as too close to or
too far from the original message and its essential760 stereotypes
values. More and more social studies are trying to
focus on the gender issues among Muslim popula-
tions not only through the lens of family or political
commitment, but also by working on specific top-
ics such as emerging female religious authorities.
The stereotyping process that shapes the public
images of Muslim women in Western Europe is
more and more dependent on international politi-
cal developments, and thus constantly evolving.
There is no doubt about the intimate tie binding the
perception of Islam in Europe with the representa-
tion of Islam out of Europe: the common represen-
tation of Muslim women in Europe is very much
linked with the perception of women’s life in
Muslim societies. The Western European reliance
on stereotypes follows the path of salient interna-
tional events (for instance at the beginning of the
1980s, the surprising role of women in revolution-
ary processes and their ambiguous social and polit-
ical position in the following years, or, during the
1990s, the rise and fall of the Taliban regime in
Afghanistan with its consequences for women).
Stereotypes concerning Muslim women in West-
ern Europe depend upon time and place but still
constitute forms of categorization of others attrib-
uting certain patterns of attitude (negatively con-
noted) to ethnic and religious identity. By classifying
women as members of a group (Muslims), stereo-
types draw inferences about them stemming from
their perception of the group itself. This often leads
to abusive generalizations and even types of dis-
crimination that may lead to further exclusion as
expressed in the report of the French Haut conseil à
l’integration (HCI 2001, 98–9).Bibliography
V. Amiraux, Discours voilés sur les musulmanes en
Europe. Comment les musulmans sont-ils devenus des
musulmanes? in Social Compass50:1 (2002/3), 85–96
HCI (Haut conseil à l’intégration) L’Islam dans la
république, Paris 2001.
L. Reina, Gendering Orientalism. Race, feminity and rep-
resentation, London 1996.Valérie Amiraux