Table Of ContentPsychosocial Aspects of Niqab Wearing
DOI: 10.1057/9781137431615.0001
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DOI: 10.1057/9781137431615.0001
Psychosocial Aspects
of Niqab Wearing:
Religion, Nationalism
and Identity in Bosnia
and Herzegovina
Nina Bosankić
Assistant Professor, International University of Sarajevo,
Bosnia-Herzegovina
DOI: 10.1057/9781137431615.0001
© Nina Bosankić 2014
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2014 978-1-137-43160-8
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this
publication may be made without written permission.
No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted
save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence
permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency,
Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.
Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work
in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published 2014 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke,
Hampshire RG21 6XS.
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Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN: 978–1–137–43161–5 PDF
ISBN: 978–1–349–49229–9
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
www.palgrave.com/pivot
doi: 10.1057/9781137431615
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to every
woman I had a pleasure to talk to and who have decided
to open up to the “Other”.
DOI: 10.1057/9781137431615.0001
Contents
List of Figures viii
Preface ix
1 Introduction 1
2 Determinants of Religious Behaviour 4
Gender and religious behaviour 8
Gender and (Islamic) fundamentalism 10
3 Shari’a Practice of Clothing: Debates and
Controversies 16
West vs. East 18
Veilploitation 22
Origin 24
Contemporary debates and controversies 26
Clothing practices in Bosnia and
Herzegovina 31
4 Nationalism, Gender and Religion in
Bosnia and Herzegovina 36
Women in fundamentalist Islam in
Bosnia and Herzegovina 39
5 To Veil or Not to Veil: A Decision-Making
Process 44
Category I – Tension: a challenge to identity 46
Category II – Attempted resolution:
searching for alternatives and
looking for evidence 53
Category III – Making the decision: to
be a good believer 57
vi DOI: 10.1057/9781137431615.0001
Contents vii
Category IV – Means: harmonization of the outside
with the inside 70
Categories V and VI – Transformation: internalization
of religious values and being at a higher level of spirituality 74
6 Conclusion 78
Methodological Appendix 84
Glossary 88
References 93
Index 105
DOI: 10.1057/9781137431615.0001
List of Figures
5.1 Basic Social Psychological Process: seeking
means to affirm the new religious identity 47
5.2 Challenge to identity 48
5.3 Alternatives assessment 53
5.4 To be a good believer 58
5.5 Harmonization of the outside with the inside 70
5.6 Internalization of religious values and being at
a higher level 75
viii DOI: 10.1057/9781137431615.0002
Preface
For several years I have had a fascination for women wear-
ing niqab, but was never in a position to meet, let alone talk
to them. My interest escalated after a brief encounter with
a woman in an “only women gym”. We were chatting for a
while and, after my comment that it’s too hot and I cannot
simply understand how women wearing niqab can survive
the heat, she said: “Oh I can handle it just fine!” After
initial embarrassment, I realized how prejudiced I was,
not expecting to speak with someone wearing a veil in the
gym, although, being a psychologist, I was convinced that,
even if I was not stereotypes and prejudices free, at least I
was aware of them most of the time. This self-discovery
made me want to explore first-hand what led women to
adopt this practice. What is it that they want to say to us,
or to themselves, when they wear niqab?
It is important to stress that, due to the nature of my
work, I often communicate with many women wearing
hijab, and, now that I think of it, I believe that I might have
had prejudices about them as well, but have completely
suppressed memories of that, even if I did. Basically, I did
not categorize a woman with hijab as “Other” as I did a
woman wearing niqab. Based on my own experience and
body of research, there are similarities in the identity
construction, that is, their reasons to opt for Shari’a attire,
but to be honest, due probably to contrast effect, women
with hijab just didn’t seem “different” enough or terra
incognita enough to attract my attention from a research
perspective.
DOI: 10.1057/9781137431615.0003 ix
