SJSD 11C Sexual Diversities and Islamic Scriptures

Examines the Qur’an, the Hadith, and Sufi literature in light of the experience of sexual diversity.  Attention given to exegetical methods, hermeneutics, the history of interpretation, and the social location of the interpreter.  Topics to be discussed may include the difference between the sexual morals of pre-Islamic Arabia and the early Muslim community, the impact of the rise of the caliphate on Islamic sexual morality, the importance of the Sufi movement for Islamic thinking on sexuality, and contemporary Muslim debates on these foundational texts. May be repeated for credit.