Covert Meanings: Concealment and Dissimulation among Ismaʿili Women

Covert Meanings: Concealment and Dissimulation among Ismaʿili Women 

The book examines how Ismaʿili women in Saudi Arabia creatively cultivate practices of concealment and dissimulation, commonly referred to by the Arabic term taqiyya. I explore how women use linguistic and social practices to manage visibility and belonging. The project also highlights the central role women play in the community’s normative epistemology of secrecy, particularly in controlling the circulation of Ismaʿili texts and knowledge.

Dr Aidah Aljuran is a Presidential Doctoral Scholar at The Ohio State University. Her interests include concealment, secrecy, gender, Ismaʿili epistemology.