Critical Article Review
Penelope Baxter

Adely, Fida, J. (2007). Is Music Haram? Jordanian Girls Educating Each Other About Nation, Faith, and Gender in School.

Introduction
Fida Adely was a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of International and Transcultural Studies at Teachers College but as of August 2007, she has been the Hala Salaam Clovis Maksoud Assistant Professory of Arab Studies at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. Dr. Adely received her Ph.D. in Comparative Education and Anthropology from Columbia University. She is interested in education in the Middle East and Africa, especially areas that pertain to women, gender and culture.
In this paper, Adely furthers her research on Jordanian schoolgirls. The abstract clearly states the purpose, the setting, the research design as well as the study’s conclusions and recommendations. The abstract outlines Dr. Adely’s intent to explore the importance of extracurricular activities, more specifically music, in the education of patriotism, faith and femininity in a female high school in Jordan Her qualitative study based on first-hand experience as well as conversation analysis is aimed at both the academic community and the general population interested in socio-cultural perspectives on education in the Middle East.

Analysis
Throughout her study, Adely builds primarily on her previous work from 2004, however she does cite literature from Kandiyoti (1991) and Ahmed (1992) among others. This literature is cited in the conclusion and little reference is made to the exact content of the cited authors work. Dr. Adely chose these authors in order to show the reader that many others have also explored the field of female roles in nation building, authenticity and modernity in the Middle East, North Africa, and beyond. Although the author does state that, “there is a vast literature on the central place that women have occupied in debates about nation building, authenticity, and modernity in the Middle East, North Africa and beyond” (Adely, 2007), the author fails to indicate exactly how this literature weaves into her research.
Adely set out to explore the importance of extracurricular activities, specifically music, in the education of young girls in Jordan and it’s impact on faith, patriotism and the young female’s role in contemporary Jordanian society. The author frequently repeated her observations that female students were the only participants in both school and public performances and argues that schoolgirls who participated in these performances brought into light conflicts of patriotism and religion thus allowing women to reflect on these complex issues.
In addition to her ethnographic observations, the author conducted a series of interviews at the Jordanian high school for girls. There is no mention of how many students, teachers, bystanders or school officials were interviewed for this study. Furthermore, there is no raw data included in the study. At times, the author supports her statements with the aid of taped conversation responses however; there is little data present in the article.
The article also fails to mention how the data was analyzed. No specific methods are stated in terms of analyzing the comments, taped conversations or observations. The reader has no access to the interview questions or full observation notes, only small excerpts of memories and question responses. Although little raw data and analysis tools are provided to the reader, the article manages to paint a clear picture of Jordanian schoolgirls perception of prohibited music and their attempts to defend their own participation in musical gatherings. It is however unclear whether or not interpretations or assumptions played a factor in the author’s conclusions. No controls or alternative conclusions based on external factors were discussed.

Conclusion
The findings in this article directly relate to the abstract’s intent of exploring the importance of extracurricular activities, specifically music, in the education of young girls in Jordan and it’s impact on faith, patriotism and the young female’s role in contemporary Jordanian society. Adely shows that these musical extracurricular activities have allowed Jordanian women to “break the monotony of school and home-to do something different in the name of the nation”. (pg. 1675) Adely also shows through interviews, that the musical activities impact the way that the schoolgirls perceive nationality and religion in their community.
In terms of contributions to the field of knowledge, this study has provided readers and the academic community with a window into the socio-cultural context of Jordanian schools, touching on areas such as religion and more specifically, gender. More importantly, these findings can be applied through the region in terms of understanding faith, patriotism and the female’s role in society.
In addition, Adely’s findings that schoolgirls rationalize their participation in these musical performances are indicative of struggles of religion and gendered citizenship in Jordan significantly contributes to the field. (pg. 1665) She provides a fresh perspective on socio-cultural issues at work on the specific subject of extra curricular activities in Jordan.
A major limitation of Adely’s study is the lack of mention for any further research. Her research was initially limiting in that it failed to present sufficient background research and thus the reader was unable to compare it to the field’s current work. It is now limiting in its conclusion and reference to any further potential research that she or any other academic may undertake. For example, Adely repeats the importance of the schoolgirls’ rationalization, that the music is not sentimental and that there are varying degrees of belief. What can we discover about this rationalization and how does it affect school and home life? Does it stem from school and home life? Many questions could have been asked and additional research could’ve been suggested in order to give the reader further research ideas and provide additional strength to Adely’s arguments.

Personal Observations
I chose this article because I am interested in the Middle East and Northern Africa as a region. I am in the process of applying for work in Saudi Arabia and this article seemed to be of interest to me in light of its emphasis on religion and gender issues in the region. I strongly believe in extra curricular activities for all and Adely’s research is a very real portrayal of the situation in that particular region of the world. Gender and religion play a large role in the region and I was pleased to read that some students are rising above it in the name of their nation. The article provided an honest, critical and in my opinion, positive view of the situation in Jordanian female high schools. I think this study provides hope that Jordanian schoolgirls that continue to participate in extra curricular activities while staying true to their beliefs and their nation.
As stated in the analysis section, the author provided very little theoretical framework for the article. From one side, the author did provide transcribed excerpts of conversations as facts to help substantiate her claim. However, much of the article could be attributed to supposition. In an ethnographic interview and observation-based article, there is certainly some room for personal opinion and assumption since there is there no raw numerical data. In my opinion, much of this article is based on the author’s opinion of how she interpreted the conversations, interviews and observations that she made while in Jordan. I can only help but wonder what kind of observations another researcher would have noted or responses another researcher may have elicited from the schoolgirls. For example, did the fact that the interviewer was a female play a role in the responses? Occasionally throughout the article, I feel that the author is somewhat biased. It’s as if the author has only considered her argument and failed to explore other avenues. For example, on page 1675, the author claims that the performances gave students an “opportunity to break the monotony of school and home-to do something different in the name of the nation”, Adely fails to adequately explain why this breaks the monotony of school and home and fails to further address the patriotism factor. I get the feeling that the author was so focused on her argument and her theory, that she completely forgot to address the other side of the argument in order to give her side more credit and strength.
I would recommend this article to anyone interested in socio-cultural factors in Middle Eastern schooling however I would caution the reader against giving the article too much credit. The article certainly doesn’t give enough theoretical groundwork or cover enough ground for it to hold much water.