This paper explores how two separate Islamic communities (Ismailaga Sufi community and Gulen Movement) in Turkey construct women within their community boundaries in completely different ways. These two groups differ significantly in their approaches to the role of women in society and their activities in public space. This study empirically explores the following research questions: Why do such differences emerge between these two Islamic communities? Why do they adopt distinct opinions about the visibility of women in public space? What are the textual bases of these differences, if there are any? And, more importantly, how do female members of these communities perceive the discourses on women produced by the religious elites of their respective communities? To answer these questions, I collect data from multiple sources in order to accurately reconstruct how these two communities construct women within their community boundaries. The sermons and publications of the top religious leaders of each community help me examine how such religious leaders generate certain discourses on women and how they locate women in society. Interviews with female members of these communities allow me to observe how these messages are perceived, experienced and negotiated by women. I will empirically show that different practices and opinions with regard to the status of women and, more broadly, gender relations exist even within identical cultural and geographical settings. I will also illustrate that there is not one rigid interpretation of the Qur’an or the other sacred texts of Islam; instead, various interpretations are possible and real, especially in regard to women’s status. More importantly, I will show that the female members of both of these Islamic communities are neither passive receivers nor objects of the construction of women within their respective community boundaries but are instead active subjects of these constructions. As a last point, I will empirically demonstrate that employing the term “Muslim women” as a generic analytical category runs the risk of ignoring vast national, ethnic, communal, economic and educational variance in Muslim societies and, thus, may lead to misconceptions. This study has three sections. In the first, I will deal with previous studies that investigate the place of women in Muslim societies. In the second section, I will analyze empirical data in light of the arguments proposed in the related literature. The paper will end with the conclusion part that discusses some significant inferences made from the empirical material I collected for this study.