This booklet provides an overview of the practical, moral, social and legal dimensions of basic Islamic dress.

For many Westerners, the veil is the ultimate sign of women’s oppression. But Elizabeth Bucar’s take on Muslim women’s clothing is a far cry from this attitude. She invites readers to join her in three Muslim-majority nations as she surveys pious fashion from head to toe and shows how Muslim women approach the question “What to wear?” with style.

The interpretation of the main Islamic rules for women's dress vary from country to country and are subject to cultural circumstances and individual styles. For example, Muslim women in Northern Africa and the Middle East dress very differently from those in Pakistan and Southeast Asia. The basic tenet in Islam that tells people to dress modestly, particularly in public, does not mean that Muslim women are not stylish. There has always been an great interest in beautiful fabrics and well-made clothes in the Islamic World and decorative crafts such as embroidery, passementerie, silk weaving and the like are very regarded. Nowadays, Muslimahs the world over shop for the latest fashions and are highly creative in dressing trendy, elegantly and hijab at the same time. Islamic Fashion contains an extensive overview of dress from several Muslim regions and many pictures of modern Islamic fashion. Also included are photographs and drawings of embroidered, printed and woven decorative elements. A wide selection of these images is saved on the enclosed CD.

With vocal public figures such as Malcolm X, Elijah Muhammad, and Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam often appears to be a male-centric religious movement, and over 60 years of scholarship have perpetuated that notion. Yet, women have been pivotal in the NOI's development, playing a major role in creating the public image that made it appealing and captivating. Women of the Nation draws on oral histories and interviews with approximately 100 women across several cities to provide an overview of women's historical contributions and their varied experiences of the NOI, including both its continuing community under Farrakhan and its offshoot into Sunni Islam under Imam W.D. Mohammed. The authors examine how women have interpreted and navigated the NOI's gender ideologies and practices, illuminating the experiences of African-American, Latina, and Native American women within the NOI and their changing roles within this patriarchal movement. The book argues that the Nation of Islam experience for women has been characterized by an expression of Islam sensitive to American cultural messages about race and gender, but also by gender and race ideals in the Islamic tradition. It offers the first exhaustive study of womenOCOs experiences in both the NOI and the W.D. Mohammed community."