Veiled Superheroes Islam, Feminism, and Popular Culture By Sophia Rose Arjana (with Kim Fox) (Lanham: Lexington Books, 2017. 178 pages.)

Abstract

Sophia Rose Arjana’s book Veiled Superheroes: Islam, Feminism, and Popular
Culture raises a timely and critical discussion. The interdisciplinary
nature of the book provides insight into various subjects, including women’s
studies, theology, and popular culture. Arjana, with Kim Fox, focuses
on Muslim female (Muslima) superheroes. In a world where so often
women (and in particular, Muslim women) are politicized, Arjana offers an
alternate exploration of how Muslima superheroes are poised to battle both
Western and Islamic misogyny.
Chapter 1, “Muslim Women in Popular Culture,” gives an overview of
the discourse around Muslim women. The chapter explores how Orientalism
has influenced the presentation of Muslim women, particularly noting
how Muslim women lose agency in all discussions. Arjana looks specifically
at how the comic and cartoons have been subject to this thinking.
She addresses how Muslims fall into the villain or the rescue narrative and
then turns to the problematic representation of some Muslima superheroes.
Comics are just the starting point, for such representations are found in
cartoons and film as well. While this chapter provides a great basis for the
rest of the book and an essential introduction to the narrative that has often
surrounded Muslim women, it does at times jump quickly from one discussion
to the next (as continues through much of the book) ...