More Than a "Piece of Cloth": An Ethnography of the Religious Practice of Wearing the Islamic Veil Among Muslim Women in Northeast Brazil.

This study seeks to examine, through an anthropological lens, the use of the Islamic veil among Muslim women in Brazil’s Northeast region. In light of the growing number of converts to Islam in this area, the research focuses on analyzing the practice of veiling among these women, with the aim of mapping and discussing various anthropological categories and the nuances of Islamic religious experience. The study explores the adoption, rejection, or abandonment of the veil in the everyday lives of Muslim women. The analysis addresses both theoretical and methodological questions related to the study of Muslim communities, incorporating concepts that support ethnographic approaches and emerging categories of analysis—such as the Islamic digital network and its influence on the rise of converts in the region. Data will be gathered through discourse analysis and statistical information collected via face-to-face and online interviews with 26 Muslim women, using ethnographic methods to interpret the meanings and behaviors associated with wearing or not wearing the veil. Furthermore, the study draws on a range of scholarly perspectives and adopts a multidisciplinary approach to investigate the theological, historical, and cultural frameworks that shape the thought and practices of Muslim women in the Northeast. These influences are reflected in their discourse and in their religious expressions, including the use of the veil. Ultimately, this research argues that Muslim women in the Northeast of Brazil utilize the Islamic veil as a symbol of belonging, identity, resistance, and faith—transforming modesty and religious observance, as personally interpreted, into meaningful religious practice. This research aims to deepen the understanding of the significance of the Islamic veil in Northeastern Brazil and to foster reflection, critique, and empowerment among Muslim women in the region. Keywords: Anthropology of Religion; Islam; Muslim Women in Northeastern Brazil; Islamic Veil; Religious Practice. Thesis defended at the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB). Institutional repository deposit in progress.