Islam and Homosexuality: confrontation or paradox?

Authors

  • Leila El Houssi Università di Padova

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6092/1827-9198/1990

Keywords:

Homosexuality, Islamic societies, Koran, human rights

Abstract

Is Islam "homophobic"? Or is it the "western" point of view that describes Islam as a homophobic religion and Islamic societies as a monolithic reality? Exploring these questions, the author reveals the complexity that exists in the contemporary debate on Islam and homosexuality. While noting that in general Muslim countries defer to the Sharia and the Koran, the essay uses the authoritative voices of historians, commentators and writers - including Tariq Ramadan, Abdelwahab Boudiba, Anna Vanzan Jolanda Guardi, Al-Aswani and Serena Tolino - who invite us to reflect on the different interpretations that fuel the contemporary debate. It’s a debate strongly influenced by the versatility of the Muslim world, seeing that different countries have developed different strategies, both on the legal and social fronts. Starting with the religious sphere, the essay analyzes verses from the Koran to reveal that the Muslim world has not been sheltered from an awareness of homosexuality as a psychological category. The evolution of the issue is then seen in the Islamic literary and poetic tradition with this work addressing multiple narratives from various perspectives according to the historical context.  This debate, in contemporary times, is at the heart of respect for human rights. In fact homosexuality, along with other matters, and the relationship between the Muslim world and the modern human rights paradigm remains an open question, despite the activism of the transnational LGBTQI movement and individuals in the Islam diaspora.


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Author Biography

Leila El Houssi, Università di Padova

Leila El Houssi, PhD in history of international relations (Focus MENA) from the University of Pisa, is an historian whose research focuses on modern and contemporary history and cultures of the Mediterranean. She coordinates the Master in Mediterranean Studies at Firenze University, where she teaches a Unit of Study on “The European Union, the Mediterranean Region, and the Middle East”. She is adjunct professor at Padova University. Since 2011 she is in the editorial board of the on-line journal “Yalla Italia”. E-mail: elhoussileila@hotmail.com

Published

2013-10-15

How to Cite

El Houssi, L. (2013). Islam and Homosexuality: confrontation or paradox?. La Camera Blu, (9). https://doi.org/10.6092/1827-9198/1990

Issue

Section

Postcolonial and transnational feminisms