In Muslim Women and Islamic Resurgence, Sophia Pandya has done an admirable job of providing the reader with a nuanced view of religion, politics, and identity as experienced by a range of Bahraini and expatriate women living in Bahrain. Pandya's central thesis is that “the Islamic resurgence in Bahrain is shaped by the rise of modern education in the country, and that it ultimately offers a potential space for women's self-determination” (2). She successfully avoids the many stereotypes about women in the Gulf and manages to capture the different lives and attitudes of Muslim women in Bahrain. In doing so, Pandya reveals great diversity, both across sectarian divides such as Sunni and Shiʿa and also within these groups. In a country as complex as Bahrain, this is no easy task.

Pandya's ethnographic approach involved interviews, informal conversations, and notes taken on various occasions during her stay in Bahrain. While Pandya states that she interviewed twenty-five Sunnis and eleven Shiʿa of various socioeconomic backgrounds, only six of these women are featured in the book, and unfortunately, only one (an Ethiopian maid) is from a less advantaged group. The book would have been strengthened by some additional vignettes. Furthermore, Pandya does not interview any men—Bahraini or otherwise—whose voices on the topic of women and Islam would have added greater depth to the volume. Another limitation is Pandya's status as an outsider. Gulf societies are notoriously closed despite their open appearance; real opinions and attitudes, especially about religion and politics, may not be shared with someone who is essentially transient. So although some of the women interviewed claim that Muslims are largely unified, the depth of distrust between the Sunni and Shiʿi communities, as evidenced by the recent uprisings, suggests that different sentiments may have been expressed had Pandya been viewed as an insider.

To her credit, Pandya does an excellent job detailing the history of Bahrain, including the discovery of oil, the expansion of education, and the changing role and prominence of Islam over time. She is also adept at exploring some of the class issues surrounding women's movements in the country and region, and how these link to the status of the Shiʿi versus Sunni populations. Less attention, however, is given to role of the monarchy—certainly one of the most progressive regimes in the region—in mandating universal education. In the wake of recent events, outsiders may believe that the Al Khalifa family rules with a heavy hand, but Bahrain was the first country in the Gulf to establish public schools for girls, allow voting (including for women), and open a domestic human rights office. Pandya speaks of how increased education has created a desire for democracy, yet one could argue that this was fueled by the efforts of the King and the ruling family to develop a participatory electoral process.

Pandya's descriptions of the Shiʿi maʾtam and the Sunni Qurʾanic school make for excellent reading. For those unfamiliar with Shiʿism outside of Iran, this section is particularly detailed and illuminating. Similarly, her interviews with three Bahraini women provide concrete examples of the diversity that exists in Bahraini society in terms of women's roles and Islam. The vignettes dealing with expatriate women in Bahrain, however, seem a little superfluous to the central argument. It would have been good to hear more diverse Bahraini stories, but the author does acknowledge the difficulties of gaining access to people's homes and other places.

Overall, I would recommend Muslim Women and Islamic Resurgence to anyone interested in women, religious roles, and identity in Bahrain and the Gulf in general. The book's greatest strength is that Muslim women are not presented as a monolithic, homogenous group, and their accounts make for fascinating reading. The main weakness of the book is its lack of political context, particularly vis-à-vis nearby states. Increasingly, the Bahraini monarchy has struggled to promote modernization and secularization in the face of the ongoing, many-sided Islamic resurgence, which will undoubtedly have an impact on women. Nevertheless, the book is well researched, and its theoretical discussions are valuable, especially for new scholars interested in feminist scholarship and the presentation of women in non-Western contexts.