Sexual Ethics and Islam
Feminist Reflections on Qur'an, Hadith, and Jurisprudence
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
Whether exploring the thorny issues of wives’ sexual duties, divorce, homosexuality, or sex outside marriage, discussions of sexual ethics and Islam often spark heated conflict rather than reasoned argument. In this updated and expanded edition of her ground-breaking work, feminist Muslim scholar Dr Kecia Ali asks how one can determine what makes sex lawful and ethical in the sight of God.
Drawing on both revealed and interpretative Muslim texts, Ali critiques medieval and contemporary commentators alike to produce a balanced and comprehensive study of a subject both sensitive and urgent, making this an invaluable resource for students, scholars, and interested readers.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this important revised edition of Ali's major treatise on a feminist approach to Islam, she offers a broad and comprehensive view of how sexual ethics have been defined in Islam throughout history, and how those understandings inform and define Islam today. There has long been a tension between religion and sexuality, Ali argues, with societies defining both norms and taboos within their communities. In the west, Islam has been viewed as a religion that limits the rights of women, in some regions influencing laws that forbid them to drive or to vote. Chapters place marriage, divorce, sexual activity, same-sex relationships, and female circumcision in historical perspective, helping readers to understand today's Islamic attitudes and mores. The chapter on the Prophet Muhammed's marriage to a very young girl really brings to forefront the importance of viewing events in the light of their cultural and historical context. Each chapter ends with a coda that brings her earlier text up to date. This is a significant addition the feminist understanding of Islam and its complex views of sexuality.
