The Approach to Homosexuality in Contemporary Fatāwā: Sexual Practices or Sexual Orientation
Abstract
This article looks at how homosexuality is discussed in contemporary Sunni fatwas. The article shows that there are two different approaches to homosexuality which co-exist in the contemporary Arab-Islamic world: a more “traditional” one, according to which homosexuality is represented as an “act” (and namely a sinful act), which is committed by a free-willing person, and another one that approaches homosexuality as an issue of sexual identity, as the growing LGBTQI movement in the Middle East demonstrates.
The article is divided into three main parts: in the first part, I discuss the theoretical challenges of using “homosexuality” as a category of analysis when studying Islamic Law. In the second part, I present my sources and my methodology. In the third and last part of the article, I focus on the actual con-tents of the discussion on homosexuality in contemporary fatwas.
The article is divided into three main parts: in the first part, I discuss the theoretical challenges of using “homosexuality” as a category of analysis when studying Islamic Law. In the second part, I present my sources and my methodology. In the third and last part of the article, I focus on the actual con-tents of the discussion on homosexuality in contemporary fatwas.
Date Issued
2016
Publication Type
Article
Subjects
fatwas
•
homosexuality
•
sunni jurists
•
homophobia
•
islamic law
Language(s)
de
Journal
Zeitschrift für Recht & Islam
Publisher
Gesellschaft für Arabisches und Islamisches Recht
Access(Rights)
open.access