Here Is a Reason to Fly to Edinburgh!

Aman's post

Announcing the Scottish launch of my book on Tuesday 3rd November 2015. At The Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre for the Study...
Posted by Amanullah De Sondy on Thursday, 8 October 2015

Review: "The Crisis of Islamic Masculinities"

Time and time again over the years, in spoken word as well as in writing, Amanullah de Sondy has stood up to face the established masculo- and hetero-normative Islamic hierarchy. He has called it what it is and demanded change. While his speaking engagements continue, De Sondy has culminated his written work for now with his book, The Crisis of Islamic Masculinities.

 The Crisis of Islamic Masculinities is an incisive and ground-breaking text that turns traditional thinking regarding Islamic masculinity on its head. De Sondy accomplishes this first by introducing the concept of multiple, equally valid masculinities. He then derives support for this central argument from the Qur'an itself, bypassing any imprimatur that traditional Islamic scholarship might grant to or withhold from his assertions. Throughout his book, De Sondy aims to chart a new course in religion and gender studies on several fronts: by focusing on masculinities, by shifting the focus of Muslim discourses away from an Arabo-centric Islam, and by highlighting the lives of figures who might be viewed today as "flawed" Muslims.

In a move which is foreshadowed in an earlier chapter on Muslim feminists, De Sondy chooses to centre the fourth and fifth chapters of The Crisis of Islamic Masculinities on the experiences of Indian and Pakistani Muslim men. This is part of his shift away from an Arabo-centric view of Islam in which the Arabic language and culture are treated as normative to Islamic theology and practise. A minor character in these last two chapters has a disproportionately large significance to other ways that De Sondy's book can be seen as liberatory: the figure, Shah Hussayn, was decidedly homosexual and pursued the love of a non-Muslim. In spite of all of this "misbehaviour," Shah Hussayn came to be accepted as a Sufi saint; and a shrine was built over his tomb.

What distinguishes Shah Hussayn from other Sufi saints is his romantic love for and partnering with a young Hindu boy - a relationship which violates traditional values such as heterosexual relationships and intra-Muslim marriage. De Sondy explains that Shah Hussayn employed various explanations to connect his same-gender love to divine principles, thus legitimising his love for the boy. This and other stories of Muslim personalities shift the focus towards an Indian- and Pakistani-centric view of Islam and tie in to the liberatory message of The Crisis of Islamic Masculinities.

De Sondy gives the reader some basic yet fundamental building blocks to further explore the topic of Islamic masculinities. In The Crisis of Islamic Masculinities, he introduces the reader to established concepts of Islamic masculinity. He then provides one with the biographical narratives of various eminent Muslim figures in Islamic literature to open up the dialogue to new ways of understanding Islamic masculinities. De Sondy encourages his audience to consider their gender identities in terms of submission to God, rather than by contrasting themselves with others. By the end of the text, readers should be equipped to use those biographical sketches or any other examples to construct their own concept of Islamic masculinities.

Amanullah De Sondy has made it clear that he has devoted much thought to every item in The Crisis of Islamic Masculinities, even certain key terms. Each of those pieces is instrumental in deconstructing rigid Islamic hierarchies. By attacking the notion of a monolithic Islamic masculinity, De Sondy offers one the very sledgehammer with which to shatter the foundational basis of rigid and oppressive interpretations of Islamic texts - interpretations that lend themselves to hierarchical patriarchies on which many Muslim societies are established. He thus offers much-needed hope to Muslims who are alienated by the current monolithic approach to gender by traditional clerics. In the vein of liberation theology, De Sondy's book throws them a lifeline to spirituality without which they would otherwise turn to a secular lifestyle.

Purchase The Crisis of Islamic Masculinities at Bloomsbury or Barnes & Noble.

Islam, Art, Gender, and Sexuality

Islam, Art, Gender, and Sexuality:
A Colloquium with Professors Amanullah De Sondy and Karen Matthews
Monday 12 March 2015 at 4 pm at the Lowe Art Museum of the University of Miami. A reception will follow. RSVP at http://as.miami.edu/religion/IAGS.


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Coming Out Day Post for 11 October 2014

Coming Out Day Post for 11 October 2014

Hey, everyone, don't be shy! Tell us - when did you realise that you are straight? What was it like to tell your parents that you were straight? Any problems at school because of it?
But on a more serious note - *are* you sure about your sexual orientation? Depending on who is reading this post, you might think of yourself as straight, or gay, or lesbian. Are you, though? Those brave enough to do so, check out the (NSFW!!) image at http://beautifuldecay.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/bloomers5.jpg and have a think about it. Please also note that after this point, anatomically explicit language is used.

Some of you understand yourselves as loving women. Do you love women? Are you attracted to all kinds of women? Or just the ones with breasts and vulvas?

Some of you understand yourselves as loving men. Do you love men? Are you attracted to all kinds of men? Or just the ones with penises and flat, hairy chests?

Think about it. So what does it mean to be straight? Gay? Lesbian? Bisexual? Pansexual?
The photo linked above in this post is from an article in "Beautiful Decay" entitled "Compelling Nude Bodies Walk The Line Between Ordinary and Strange." Here is an excerpt from the article: "Dutch photographers Anuschka Blommers and Niels Schumm depict both sexes simultaneously in a series entitled Best of Both. ... The images feature nude male and female figures posed in different yoga-esque positions on the same gray carpet, with one half a man and the other a woman."
The photos are not safe for work and show nudity. The article is at http://beautifuldecay.com/2014/07/17/nude-bodies/?view=true. Try to think about gender, biological sex, and how bodies and minds work between these two identities.

The Politics of Compassion: Human Rights and Religion

The Politics of Compassion: Human Rights and Religion

In the Atlanta, Georgia area? Interested in the relationship between religion and public health with an eye on human rights? Come see and hear this panel discussion by erudite scholars of religion and public health.