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Male Homosexuality in Islamic Normative and in the Mujun Literature of Al-Andalus and the Maghreb Between the 10Th and 13Th Centuries

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Male Homosexuality in Islamic Normative and in the Mujun Literature of Al-Andalus and the Maghreb Between the 10Th and 13Th Centuries UNIVERSITY OF LISBON COLLEGE OF ARTS DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY Male homosexuality in Islamic normative and in the mujun literature of al-Andalus and the Maghreb between the 10th and 13th centuries MIGUEL ANTÓNIO DE FREITAS BORONHA DISSERTATION MASTER’S DEGREE IN HISTORY OF THE MEDIEVAL AND ISLAMIC MEDITERRANEAN LISBON 2014 UNIVERSITY OF LISBON COLLEGE OF ARTS DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY Male homosexuality in Islamic normative and in the mujun literature of al-Andalus and the Maghreb between the 10th and 13th centuries MIGUEL ANTÓNIO DE FREITAS BORONHA DISSERTATION ORIENTED BY ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR HERMENEGILDO NUNO GOINHAS FERNANDES DISSERTATION MASTER’S DEGREE IN HISTORY OF THE MEDIEVAL AND ISLAMIC MEDITERRANEAN LISBON 2014 “The ink of the scholar is more precious than the blood of martyrs.” Index I. Acknowledgements …………………………………………………… I II. Abstract ………………………………………………………………. II III. Resumo …………...…………………………………………………. III 1. Introduction …………………………………………………………… 1 2. Concepts ………………………………………………………………. 7 2.1. Homosexuality …….………………………………………... 7 2.2. Medieval Islam ……….……………………………………... 9 2.3. Effeminate ……………….………………………………….. 9 2.4. Sexual roles (Passive/Active) ….………………………...… 10 2.5. Pederasty ……………………………..…………………..… 11 2.6. Archetype …………………………………………………... 12 2.7. Literature …………………………………………………… 13 3. State of the Art ………………...……………………………………... 16 4. Sexual normative in the Qur’an and Hadiths ……...…………………. 34 5. Archetypes and symbols for male homosexuality ……………………. 49 5.1. The boy, or “the gazelle” …….……………………………... 49 5.2. The beardless / hairless …………………………………..… 61 5.3. The cupbearer / servant / slave ……………….……………... 66 5.4. The pagan / ignorant of the Qur’an ……….……………….... 70 5.5. The prostitute …………………………..……………………. 73 5.6. The moon ……………………………..……………………... 80 5.7. The old man ……………………………..…………………... 83 5.8. The poet / secretary ………………………..………………… 88 5.9. The damaged one …………………………..………………... 91 5.10. The animal …………………………….…………………… 95 5.12. The foreigner ……………………………………………… 100 6. Beyond the archetypes …………………………………………….….. 105 6.1. The body and personal hygiene ………...…………………... 105 6.2. Signs that may identify a homosexual man ………...………. 109 6.3. Homosexuality explained through Galen’s humor theory……115 7. Conclusion ……………………………………………………………. 121 8. Bibliography …………………………………………………….….......124 8.1. Sources ………………....………………………….…...…… 124 8.2. Studies …………………………………………………….… 126 Male homosexuality in Islamic normative and mujun literature I. Acknowledgments Completing this dissertation would have been a Sisyphean task, if not for those whose company I have been fortunate enough to share. My profound gratitude to Professor Hermenegildo Fernandes, for his insurmountable knowledge and overwhelming inspiration, for inspiring my love for the History of Islam, and for embodying all that a Professor should strive to be. To my beloved parents, Tozé and Zézinha, for spoiling, loving and supporting me in all things. And to my family, for being there when it is needed. To Professor André Simões and Professor Filomena Barros for their support and encouragement. To Professor Manuela Santos Silva, for having guided me with her knowledge and her warmth from the very beginning. To Professor Armando Martins, who told me that Medieval History needed people like me. To my friends and colleagues. To Ana Marta, for the patience to share my dreams; to Olinda, for her inspiring courage; to Gonçalo and Elsa, for making our classes all the more enjoyable, and filling the corridors with laughter. To Crina, Iva, Débora, Paula, Ariana , Tânia and André Leitão, for their friendships. And to my dear dentist friends, who always made me feel like I was one of them. To Roger, who made sense of the madness hidden in the words of poets, and who taught me so much about myself. I Male homosexuality in Islamic normative and mujun literature II. Abstract The understanding of human sexuality is fundamental to the understanding of the society and culture that shapes individuals. It is a result of those external factors, but also can be traced to their genesis. Islam’s stance on homosexuality is well defined in its jurisprudence, not the least in the Qur’an. Sodomy is forbidden, and its punishment varies according to the hadiths acknowledged by each different school of jurisprudence. However, despite this prohibition, we see a flourishing of homoerotic poetry in al-Andalus and the Maghreb between the 10th and 13th centuries, particularly in the genre known as mujun, or obscene. This thesis studies this paradoxical ambivalence in Medieval Islam, where a highly prohibitive religion in regards to same-sex relations, but sexually permissive, sees the coexistence of constraining normative and obscene representation. Relying on fundamental works of mujun literature as our sources – Ibn Sara as-Santarini, Ahmad al-Tifashi and Ibn Hazm – we highlight the sexual permissiveness expressed through Arabic and in both treaties and poetry, to better understand how the third Abrahamic religion permitted such phenomenon at the very height of what many consider it to be its Golden Age. KEYWORDS: “Islam”, “Homosexuality”, “Literature”, “Mujun”, “Al-Andalus”, “Maghreb” II Male homosexuality in Islamic normative and mujun literature III. Resumo A compreensão da sexualidade humana é fundamental para que se compreenda a sociedade e a cultura responsável por moldar o indivíduo. Resulta desses mesmos factores externos, mas também pode ser traçada até à génese dos mesmos. A postura do Islão em relação à homossexualidade encontra-se bem definida na sua jurisprudência, nomeadamente no Corão. A sodomia é proibida, e a punição pela sua prática varia de acordo com os hadiths reconhecidos por cada uma das diferentes escolas de jurisprudência. No entanto, apesar da proibição, observamos um florescer de poesia homoerótica no al-Andalus e no Magrebe dos séculos X ao XIII, particularmente no género literário denominado de mujun, ou obsceno. Esta tese propõe-se a estudar esta ambivalência paradoxal no Islão Medieval, em que uma religião altamente proibitiva em relação à homossexualidade, mas sexualmente permissiva, testemunha a coexistência de uma normativa constritiva com a representação obscena. Recorrendo a trabalhos fundamentais da literatura mujun enquanto fontes – Ibn Sara as-Santarini, Ahmad al-Tifashi e Ibn Hazm – relevamos a permissividade sexual expressa em Árabe tanto em tratados como em poesia, para melhor compreender como é que a terceira religião Abraâmica permitiu tal fenómeno na altura que muitos consideram como a sua Idade de Ouro. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: “Islão”, “Homossexualidade”, “Literatura”, “Mujun”, “Al- Andalus”, “Maghreb” III Male homosexuality in Islamic normative and mujun literature 1. Introduction Islam has become one of the most prominent discussions in Western media in recent times, particularly since the ill-fated 9/11 of 2001. The consequences of this turning point in history have been varied, extensive and far-reaching, causing a dramatic change in the geo-political perception of the world – perhaps the greatest change since the fall of the Soviet Union.1 From the second American-Iraqi War, to the fundamental impact of social media that resulted in the Arab Spring; from the fall of Mubarak in Egypt and the neighboring Libyan regime, to the on-going Syrian Civil War. From the continued conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, to the recent advent of the most recent political and military power in the Middle East: the Islamic Caliphate of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). These major historical events, alongside many others, have ensured the familiarity of Western households with this clash of civilizations2, where the mere concept of Islam has increasingly become linked with an apparent menace. But what is, effectively, Islam? Could its fifteen hundred years of existence be diluted into the actions of extremists? And what has the third Abrahamic religion faced during its course that may help us better understand the current problems it faces? Each of these questions would require a very extensive and in-depth study of its own to be even able to approach some form of sensible and coherent answer. But this thesis certainly falls into the umbrella of that last question. The history of Islam is still riddled with gaping holes of obscurity, being the history of al-Andalus and the 1 HARRISON, Lawrence E. and HUNTINGTON, Samuel P. [eds.], 2001, p. 74; 2 KEPEL, Giles, 2003, pp. 21-24; 1 Miguel Boronha | 2014 Male homosexuality in Islamic normative and mujun literature neighboring Maghreb no exception. By the very nature of its lack of sources, the Medieval period is still subject to much speculation, particularly in regards to issues that have only come to light in recent decades, such as human sexuality. While political and economical aspects of al-Andalus are now considerably well known to current historians, there is a remarkable lack of studies in the area of social history. This mysteriousness certainly endows al-Andalus with a sense of charm and nostalgia that lives to this day. It is this confluence of a rising interest in Islam with another matter which has become one of the central questions of the 21st century in regards to Human Rights: the matter of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) equality3. LGBT rights have inflamed debates in the African continent, marked one of the main lines of diplomatic action of the current US administration, and have been used as a standard by political parties all over the West, from those in favor to those widely opposed. What,
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