Veiled Superheroes

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