Religious revitalization movements tend to arise in contexts of social and religious pluralism, cultural change and moral uncertainty. The social climate in the Middle East in general, and in urban Egypt in particular, has many of these characteristics. In modern-day Cairo, citizens encounter multiple and competing messages about what forms of interaction, comportment and dress are morally and socially appropriate. Traditional Egyptian conceptions of family, work, gender relations, and public behavior come up against the conflicting beliefs and norms of alternative (Western, Islamist and feminist) ideologies. This dissertation research by a psychological anthropologist from the University of California at San Diego examines the social and psychological worlds of two groups of women living in Cairo today: participants in the modern Islamic revival and members of a secular feminist group. It explores women's motivations to join one movement or the other, the benefits and drawbacks of that participation, and the adaptations women employ in dealing with ideological and practical stresses within each system. Through participant observation; use of cultural and religious media; social, health and psychological surveys; and intensive (person-centered) interviews, the project seeks to understand the competing cultural, political and religious ideologies and their impact on women's perceived roles, behavior and psychological experience. It will examine the ways in which contradictions and ambiguities within modern social movements may simultaneously assuage and create new tensions for participants. The research will contribute to diverse areas of anthropological inquiry including gender, modernity and psychocultural adaptation. The broader impacts of the study is in its contribution to the education of a young social scientist; in addition the advance in our knowledge of contemporary Islamic society will be of broad interest to the public and to decision makers.
