2 Islamic Feminist Perspectives on Sexuality
An Analysis of Muslim Sex Educators and Advocates
Anna Lambert
Introduction
Sexuality is a complicated issue. Sex is a vast part of social and personal life and is interconnected with many other ideological aspects, such as religion, culture, self-expression, duty, and agency. This is particularly true regarding how Muslims are perceived in the West, as they are commonly held to demeaning stereotypes regarding sexuality and relationships—they are seen as backward, oppressed, conservative, and non-sexual (Lara Deeb, 2009; Mark Hay, 2020). Western feminists are not excluded from holding these beliefs. Within the Muslim community, there is very real shame and stigma concerning sex, despite the rich accounts of sexual practice present in Islamic history (Hay, 2020).
Thinking transnationally, ideas around Muslims and sexuality are further complicated within the American context. Here, Muslim people, like other religious groups, take guidance from texts and religious leaders whose voices often contrast with the hyper-individualistic, progressive, Westernized cultural and societal norms. This is especially true for sexuality, a topic rife with baggage around the notions of cultural and religious thinking. Both forms of sexual expression are deeply influenced by larger value frameworks composed within cultural, historical contexts, and the source of much controversy within each culture.
Examining these issues of Islamic and American norms for Muslim people are Islamic feminists. The works of Islamic feminists center the voices of Muslim women by using a gender analysis, which creates a body of feminist work that is aligned with and built from the principles of Islam (amina wadud, 2021). Using such a gender analysis allows feminist scholars to examine traditionally patriarchal interpretations and place them in their historical context, thus being critical of such readings as universal prescriptions for human and spiritual living.
To combat the harm of reductionist beliefs held towards Muslims, Islamic feminists call for discussion and consideration between Muslim communities and outsiders like Western feminists. Nima Naghibi argues that respectful debate and healthy dissent between diverse Muslim scholars will dispel the notion of Islam as homogenous, “backward, and in need of civilizing” (2007, p. 145). Similarly, Islamic feminist Saba Mahmood asks that outsiders show a willingness to intimately consider the “desires, motivations, commitments, and aspirations” of Muslim women before passing judgment on their way of life (Mahmood 225). This approach can be taken to understand how sexuality may be understood and experienced within Muslim American culture, especially for Western feminists, who come into the conversation with a seemingly entirely different set of beliefs around sexual practice, sexual expression, and women’s role within all of it.
Examining the work of Islamic feminists and scholarship on sexua