The American Muslim Women Converts’ New Paradigms of Gender Justice

The process of conversion to Islam by women in the United States of America expresses the existence of a new voice of Muslim women in the heart of Western countries. Conversion is not only a personal experience for these women, but it is a position from which they criticise the Western beliefs about women’s rights and challenge the existing gender discourse in Islamic countries. A textual discourse analysis to American women converts’ writings shows that they highly contribute to both Islamic thoughts and gender discourse. Their Islamic feminist views challenge the patriarchal interpretations and assert women’s independence and freedom in Islam. This study demonstrates that American women converts come up with new paradigms of gender justice that goes beyond the dominant gender discourse in an Islamic country like Morocco.