2 0 Regional Issues I S I M NEWSLETTER 7 / 0 1

Middle East MON A A BA Z A Perceptions of Recent press coverage of what has been coined as c ‘curfi marriage’ seems to bear witness to evolving sex- ual norms in Egyptian society today. More than to the phenomenon itself, for which no serious statistics are U r f i M a r r i a g e available, our attention should be drawn to the la- belling procedures indulged by the press and ‘popu- lar literature’. Perceptions of sexuality and curfi m a r- riage, and the way in which society is portrayed, re- flect an attempt to incorporate the changing norms in the Egyptian Press within a revived Islamic code. Reading the press, one discovers with astonishment an unleashed resent- ment of and blame on the youth and women. the rest of her family, writes to M u t a w w ic, imploring him to provide a solution. In his answer, M u t a w w ic argues that if the Religious men, prominent sociologists and conditions of an curfi marriage are fulfilled, it psychologists are recurrently invited to give is then valid. He adds, however, that in this not so much a scientific account, but a particular case, and as more widely prac- moral sermon about the deep-seated illness tised today among students, such unions in our morally decadent society. On the are immoral and invalid, because they are other hand, however, issues of youth and carried out without the acceptance of the sexuality are now publicly discussed and in- family. Moreover, they are not made public. terestingly touchy, though often unac- The mother’s duty is to inform the rest of countable, information is circulated. the family of the situation so that they may A customary Islamic matrimonial institu- investigate the intentions of the young tion, which has resisted the centralized reg- man. Should he be serious and well inten- istration policies of the modern nation-state tioned, the marriage should be public and by surviving alongside the Personal Status turned into a legally registered contract. Law, cu r f i marriage requires two witnesses Should he not be serious, her daughter and a third party to oversee the contracting should be put under surveillance by return- of marriage. cU r f i marriages can generate so- ing to her mother’s house. According to M u- cial and legal problems the minute conflicts t a w w ic, the daughter deviated because she appear, since neither spouse can file a law- had been separated from her family and af- suit to prove the marriage if the other denies firmed that it would be reparable if the the relationship. Other problems arise when daughter be placed again under the family’s women file for divorce or alimony, or claim g u i d a n c e . any of their marital rights. In Egypt, mar- In one possible reading, the story can be riage, divorce and inheritance are not gov- said to convey two simultaneous messages: erned by the Civil Code but by the s h a r ica, a s although there is a moral condemnation of progressively ‘codified’ in the 1920 and 1929 youth and women, there is equally a chance Laws of Personal Status. Most, if not all, of to repair the situation. Youths, if left on their the marriages covered in the press today are own, are bound by definition to immoral be- not registered under this law. haviour. But it is also possible to see how That the curfi marriage has always existed through this column and other such press but was much less widespread before, releases, society is imposing a new label seems to have been forgotten in the public upon youth and university campuses. The discourse. For instance, an curfi contract has message conveyed here by the press insists been a practical way for widows to remarry on condemning deviant and ‘perverse’ sex- while maintaining the state pension of the uality as allowed in curfi marriage, implying deceased husband. It was also a way of as it were that ‘loose’ sexual morals are be- matchmaking across classes. In Egyptian coming a prerogative of youth in Egypt.2 films of the 1950s, curfi stereotypes portray The fact that curfi marriage (and the recent bosses secretly marrying their lower-class k h u lc or divorce law) became part of public Faten Hamama secretaries while maintaining an hon- debates in Egypt has brought the ‘deviant and Omar Sharif ourable public face and life with their first youth’ issue to the forefront. The k h u lc l a w in La Dame du wives and children, or engaging in secret li- was passed in parliament in January 2000. C h a t e a u . aisons with women with a dubious past. For the first time in the modern history of Movies thus conveyed the idea that cu r f i Egypt, it is considered that this law will pro- marriage was a halfway solution for all par- concerning the institution of marriage. Deviant youth vide a significant freedom of choice to ties, for in the end, it was indeed permissible Their sexual customs are changing and they The story entitled ‘The Unexpected Visit’, women. The law allows wives to obtain di- though not public. seem to face a deadlock in dealing with the is told by a 50-year-old woman1 who says by vorces in family courts within three months Whether the revival of this customary growing number of professional, divorced way of introduction that she has been quite if they return their dowry and give up their marriage in a context of great economic and single women – at least this is what is content with her life – a modest and honest rights to alimony. A clause also provides for pressure is a strategy of youthful social ac- echoed in the Egyptian press. The spread of one. As a recent widow, she states her pride divorce in curfi c a s e s . tors eager to avoid moral and religious cen- what are often mere partnerships, abusively in having raised her three children who be- sorship of ‘illicit’ relationships, or a plain called curfi marriages, among young stu- came successful in their professional and R e s p o n s e s transgression of socially accepted behav- dents at the preparatory, high school, and personal lives, with the exception of her ’cU r f i marriage equals legal prostitution’ is iour, remains to be seen. Indeed, the press university levels, has become the main tar- youngest daughter, who did not obtain the the title of one of the many al-Ahram arti- in general has placed under the heading of get of tabloid and national papers. Because degrees necessary to enter any of the uni- cles on marriage in Egypt.3 While the press curfi marriage, not only all sorts of imported the curfi marriage is part of Islamic law, cu l a- versities in Cairo. The daughter thus decid- constantly associates lustful, mostly Euro- (illegal) marriage contracts presumably ma¯ ' increasingly express their views on the ed to complete her undergraduate studies pean-looking, ‘loose’ women with magni- flourishing in Egypt as of late, but also new state of matrimonial affairs. This has led to at a provincial university. The mother con- fied and/or invented stories about curfi l i- forms of curfi marriage. The confusion is diverging views within their ranks. Scores of sented to her daughter’s travelling to the aisons, thus attracting a promising reader- such that it becomes unclear whether what often contradictory fatwas have been is- province and sharing a flat with other fe- ship, statistics about such liaisons are seri- is at stake is a problematic acknowledge- sued on whether one should validate the male students. Problems, it seems, began ously lacking. In a recent speech, the Minis- ment of changing sexual norms or a wilful new forms of curfi or refute them altogether, during her second year there, when the ter of Social Affairs, Amina al-Guindi, stated campaign designed to oppose an ill-judged along with misyar and m u tca. mother noticed her daughter dressing up in that curfi marriage concerns 17.2% of Egypt- custom. Two such confusing novelties are The following story is drawn from cAbd a l - tight trousers, leggings and short skirts. ian university students.4 One has to take the misyar, an ‘ambulant’ marriage import- Wahhab M u t a w w ic’ s popular al-Ahram Fri- Doubting her daughter’s conduct, she de- these official statistics with great precaution ed from Saudi Arabia whereby no economic day column, ‘Barid a l - J u mca’ (Friday’s Let- cided to pay her an unexpected visit, only to since no serious survey was undertaken, nor obligations from the man are requested; ters). A far cry from traditional ‘Letters to the discover that her daughter no longer lived was there any explanation given on how and the m u tca marriage, which is a contract Editor’, these letters often take on the form with her female colleagues. To her dismay, this conclusion was reached. While the a l - limited in time, practised among the Shiites, of biographical narratives seeking solutions she learned from a letter found in the flat W a f d newspaper mentions that these li- and perceived as being an import from Iran. to personal dramas and possess all the in- that her daughter had contracted an cu r f i aisons concern 67-70% of the total number Parallel to that, Egyptians have acknowl- gredients and melodramatic overtone of marriage. In a desperate tone, the mother, of university students,5 one might wonder edged that they are facing a serious crisis potential Arabic soap opera films. who has hidden the humiliating story from whether these exaggerated statistics are part and parcel of the diffuse ideology con- no wonder that sociologists have observed Apart from so-called curfi contracts, mutca Yet in the absence of the subversive ideolo- demning the youth. in the last decades that the average mar- and misyar, Egyptian tabloids have made a gies that dominated in the late 1960s and The general acknowledgement of chang- riage age is increasing. If it is true that curfi- veritable sport of providing long lists of im- 1970s, this generation is far from rebelling ing sexual norms has prompted the sheikh like marriages have become widespread on ported, revived or even invented contracts. against conventions. It might well be that of al-Azhar to pronounce a fatwa on the curfi Egyptian campuses – as the press likes to The much talked about misyar, whereby co- the official religious discourse, while being issue. The fatwa allows curfi-wed women to make us believe – one may argue that this habitation isnot required and the wife is not state supported or at least silently encour- divorce – a way of reckoning this reality in generation has been smart in solving the endowed with a residence, was authorized aged to cut the ground of the Islamists, is an attempt to rescue those trapped in it and growing sexual tensions in a society that by the late Saudi mufti, Sheikh bin Baz. determining strategies of resistance among wishing to remarry legally, without being idolizes marriage and is rigid in conventions Many Egyptians saw no reason not to follow the youth. By means of curfi and similar otherwise liable to charges of bigamy. Earli- regarding the financial requirements of the this example. Whereas the former rector of types of contracts, they seek halfway solu- er, Majmac al-Buhuth al-Islamiyya, al-Azhar’s institution. One may even speculate over the al-Azhar, Sheikh Sayyid Mascud, considered tions that at least ease sexual tensions. Islamic Research Academy, demanded the spread of curfi marriages as a hidden protest misyar improper since housing and alimony These are found in re-inventing an elastic inhibition of curfi practices in an attempt to of second-generation post-Islamist youths. were dispensed with, the mufti of Egypt, code of conduct that still remains within the quell a phenomenon otherwise permissible Some may be inspired by the example of the Nasr Farid Wasil, has authorized it, arguing confines of what is thought to be ‘Islamic’ from the Islamic standpoint, but which is radical activists of the 1980s and early 1990s, that there are practical reasons for allowing and therefore permissible. ◆ growing out of control.6 Sheikh al-Azhar when certain Islamist groups, through con- it. One of his justifications was the scarcity (Sheikh Tantawi), in an interview, ques- demning contemporary society as jahiliyya of men, resulting from immigration to the tioned the validity of curfi marriage since it (literally, ignorant; contextually, pagan or Gulf countries.1 0 contradicted the order of the state. He pre-Islamic), isolated themselves in ‘Islamic’ Others attribute the success of misyar in pleaded for the punishment of those who communes that allegedly took to match- Egypt to its legitimization by Sheikh Yusuf practise it.7 His statements, however, raised making and exchanging women within the al-Qaradawi, Egyptian Muslim Brother and so much controversy that he was obliged to group. In a recent incident, a group of mu- Azharite, inhis now famous television decla- back down. The mufti of Egypt, Nasr Farad tatarrifun (extremists) was found to be mar- ration in Qatar, in which he emphasized the Wasil, recently stated again that curfi as prac- rying without contracts. The gamaca consist- halal aspect of misyar which lies in the fact tised in Egyptian universities, is fasid and ing often members, among whom four were that women themselves desire such batil, invalid and illegitimate, and that the women, justified theft by referring to corrup- unions.1 1 He justified the misyar contract by Notes restoration of the hymen is only valid in the tion in society, and thus raided apartments, arguing that if a womanis rich and a profes- 1. Al-Ahram, 31 March 2000. case of rape.8 stealing Qur'ans and watches from mosques sional, she does not need financial support. 2. Wafa' Shacira, Rose el Youssef, 12 May 1997; to redistribute them within the group.9 It is a way for rich women to separate sexu- Iqbal al-Sibci, Rose al Youssef, 16 November 1998. Changing norms These new Muslim Robin Hoods redefined ality from obligations. Nevertheless, al- 3. SacidSalah, al-Ahram, 19 June 1999. Ina society where 65% of thepopulation is accessibility of women within the confines Qaradawi’s position stirred strong contro- 4. Al-Akhbar, 30 April 2000. under 30 years of age, the youth becomes of the group and invented their own sexual versies among other Azahrites, who argued 5. Nadia Mutawwic, al-Wafd, 1 October 1999. more visible, and is seen mixing in the re- conduct. that misyar was invalid. 6. Al-Wafd, 7 May 1999; al-cArabi, 21 May 1999; shaped public spaces such as popular cafés, A quick glance at Cairene bookshops re- It may well be that television programmes Cairo Times, 13-26 May 1999. clubs, shopping centres, cinemas, and fast veals that the theme of the ‘Woman’ has broadcasting pornography are contributing 7. Sami Muhammad Mitwalli al-Shacrawi, al-cArabi, food restaurants, all of which have multi- come to occupy a large part of contempo- to the evolution of Egyptian sexual norms, 21 May 1999. plied in the last decade. Parallel to the grow- rary male Egyptian fantasies. The covers of but is pornography one of the main reasons 8. Al-Akhbar, 18 April 2000. ing Islamization of public space, the youth popular books convey images of women as why curfi-like contracts have spread in 9. Ahmad Musa, al-Ahram, 6 November 1999. has been equally experiencing a certain ‘re- sex bombs, over-eroticized and devilish Egypt? Egyptians, we are told, are forgetting 10. Akhbar al-yawm, 26 September 1998. laxation of norms’, exemplified by the grow- creatures. In his Permissible Prostitution: The their religious duties. While the government 11. Al-Ahrar, 24 August 1998. ing cross-class intermingling in Cairo. Young Modern Institution of Marriage in Egypt, is busy cracking down on Islamists, the press girls wear Islamic attire and move freely, not Saudi Arabia and Iran (Cairo: Dar al-Khayal, is openly bringing about the issue of chang- Mona Abaza was a researcher at the Institute of hiding their flirting with their boyfriends. 1997), cAbdallah Kamal aims at exposing the ing sexual behaviour as if it were a national Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, The Maison Sexuality for the middle classes is still very various institutions of what he calls ‘legal- threat. The feminists and some of the cula- desSciencesdel’Homme in Paris and the much bound by the notion of chastity, at ized’ prostitution which, according to him, ma' for once are united by their common WissenschaftKolleg in Berlin. She currently teaches least officially, as discourses continue about are the mutca, misyar and curfi contracts. He stance on current forms of curfi, treating sociology at the American University in Cairo. Her virginity and preservation of the hymen. Fur- places the major blame on the Saudis, them as disguised prostitution. What may forthcoming book is titled: Debates on Islam and thermore, no marriage is possible without whom he holds responsible for the spread really be at stake is the process of circum- Knowledge in Malaysia and Egypt: Shifting substantial financial assets and a flat: In a among Egyptians of what he calls the ‘con- venting a most powerful institution in Worlds. countrysuffering an acute housingcrisis,it is tracts of adultery’ (cuqud al-zina'). Egypt: the eternal and omnipotent family. E-mail: [email protected]