Sex and Desire in Muslim Cultures

This far-reaching collection offers a surprising array of sources, from early Ottoman erotic poetry to 1970s gay Egyptian cinema, and it informs us about a wide range of Muslim lives from crossdressing slaves in Abbasid Baghdad to female sex workers in modern Tangier. Yet it also does much more. The authors assembled here challenge us to rethink the categories by which we understand sex and desire, whether it is to test the comparability of modern notions of gender binaries against premodern texts or to chart the silencing of erotic discussions in nineteenth-century Arab writings. They resist easy answers to ideas about subversion in women’s novels in Baathist Iraq or reconciling Islam and queerness among modern Palestinians. Along the way, they craft indelible images: love of hashish and boys in Sufi communities, student feminists in 1970s Egypt, and closeted gay men in modern Lebanon. A rewarding read for novices and experts in the field alike. * Mathew Kuefler, Professor of History, San Diego State University, USA * A wonderfully rich and varied interdisciplinary collection, including both historical and contemporary perspectives, that provides us with a “glimpse of desire” by highlighting the plurality of meaning and practices linked to gender and sexuality in the Middle East. -- Nadje Al-Ali, Professor of Anthropology & Middle East Studies, Brown University, USA