Islamic Law and Muslim Same-Sex Unions

By (author) Junaid Jahangir, Hussein Abdullatif Foreword by Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle

Publication date:

03 October 2016

Length of book:

294 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

ISBN-13: 9780739189375

This book is written with the objective of reasonably addressing the need of Muslim gays and lesbians for a life which involves intimacy, affection and companionship within the confines of a legal contract. Contemporary conservative Muslim leaders unreasonably promote false marriages with straight spouses, failing which they prescribe the “solution” of permanent celibacy as a “test.” This book delves into an extensive scholarship on the same sources that conservative Muslim leaders draw on—the Qur’an, Hadith and jurisprudence. It is argued that the primary sources of Muslim knowledge addressed sexual acts between the same gender in the context of inhospitality, exploitation, coercion and disease, but not true same-sex unions; past Muslim scholarship is silent on the issue of sexual orientation and Muslim same-sex unions. The arguments of contemporary conservative Muslim leaders are deconstructed and the case for Muslim same-sex unions is made based on jurisprudential principles and thorough arguments from within the Muslim tradition.

Foreword, Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle
Introduction
1. Some Clarifications
2. Analysis of the Relevant Qur’anic Verses
3. Analyzing the Hadith Tradition—The Prophet, Companions and the Followers
4. Sunnī Narratives on Heterosexual Anal Intercourse—Ityān bi-l-dubur
5. Revisiting Muslim Jurisprudence
6. Addressing the Opinions of Contemporary Scholars
7. Conclusion: Toward a Queer-Positive Muslim Jurisprudence

This is a ground-breaking book which showcases both the bravery and the erudition of its authors. They make the case for same sex-unions in Islam, a case which needs to heard, especially by those who disagree with their conclusions. One wishes for this book the wide readership it deserves.