Islam and Homosexuality(2 Volumes Set) [Hardcover]

Samar Habib (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0313379009 | ISBN-13: 978-0313379000 | Publication Date: November 12, 2009

The place of sexual and gender minorities in the contemporary Islamic world is the subject of fascinating new directions in research and scholarly thought. Islam and Homosexuality gathers together 20 experts exploring these issues to provide an expansive look at the treatment of same-sex interactions in Muslim cultures today.

Islam and Homosexuality offers one volume on the specific experiences of gay Muslims today and a second volume viewing the issue from a global perspective. Essays explore the lives of LGBTIQ persons in both Islamic nations and Muslim communities in non-Islamic countries. Additional writings explore the roots of homophobia in the theology of Islam, the various judgments against homosexuality in the different schools of Islamic law, and the potential scriptural basis for including LGBTIQ persons in the Muslim community. No other resource on the relationship between LGBTIQ persons and the world's largest religion covers the topic with anything approaching this work's range or depth.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Presented in two volumes by Habib (U. of Western Sydney, Australia), this collection contains 20 papers examining a diverse set of issues concerning homosexuality in the Islamic world. The first volume concentrates on the experiences of homosexual minorities across the breadth of the Islamic world and includes comparison of the persecution of homosexuals in Islamic Malaysia and secular China, the impact of 9/11 on gay Muslims in the United States, male homoerotic desire and sociability in medieval Arabic literature, gays in American-occupied Iraq, gay autobiographical writing about the Hajj, the ideological underpinnings of gay advance in Muslim-majority societies as witnessed in online chat rooms, female masculinities and the Malay Muslim community of Singapore, and neo-orthodoxy and the debate on the unlawfulness of same-sex relations in Islam. Topics addressed in the second volume include the social construction of religious realities by queer Muslims, synthesizing tradition and modernity in the question of homosexuality in Islam, narratives from diasporic Muslim women on identity and gay liberation, hegemony and hybridity among queer Australian Muslims, queer Turkish organizations in Berlin and the marketing of diversity, and sexualities and the social order in Arab and Muslim communities."

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Reference & Research Book News

"A timely work for both public and academic libraries, this set undoubtedly will engender intensive, if not heated, discussion. Essential. Lower-level undergraduates through graduate students; general readers."

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Choice

Book Description

Same-sex intercourse is condemned outright under Islamic law, and today, convictions of homosexual behavior are punishable by death in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Mauritania, Sudan, and Yemen. Yet a study of Islamic religion and history shows a more nuanced view of homosexuality than often realized—and evidence indicates that a genuine LGBTIQ movement is gaining momentum in the Muslim world.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 503 pages
• Publisher: Praeger (November 12, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0313379009
• ISBN-13: 978-0313379000
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,768,465 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars why is it so expensive?, January 3, 2010

By 

too_old_to_be_so_indie (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Islam and Homosexuality(2 Volumes Set) (Hardcover)

i just read an article about this book, and it sounded really interesting. i came to amazon intending to buy a copy, but i was stunned by the pricetag. i can't think of any book so interesting that i'd pay $84 for it.

it's a shame, because i expect the book has an important message to share, but i doubt many people will be willing to shell out that kind of money for it :-(

although we've got it better here than in the UK... i just checked on amazon.co.uk, and the price there is 122 pounds = 197 dollars!