Countering Islamic conservatism on being transgender: Clarifying Tantawi's and Khomeini’s fatwas from the progressive Muslim standpoint

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size

Declaration of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Notes

1 In Islamic jurisprudence, a fatwa is the theological and legal reasoning of a scholar based on that scholar’s understanding of Islamic scriptures, the scholar’s knowledge of the subject in question, and the social milieu that raised the issue or question (Othman et al., 2005). Individual scholars have been known to express differing opinions when addressing the same issue in a changed environment or situation. Although a fatwa is not legally binding, it has been defined as a ruling on a point of Islamic law given by a recognized authority (Othman et al., 2005).

2 Amicus brief on being transgender filed by RFI (Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team) in Supreme Court on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity to challenge the Supreme Court in America that interprets “sex” in the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include transgender status. Read more at: https://www.religiousfreedominstitute.org/blog/rfi-islamic-scholars-file-brief-in-supreme-court-on-sexual-orientation-and-gender-identity.

3 LGBTIQA+: Abbreviation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer. A, for ally or asexual, depends on the user of the acronym and the context within which it is being used. A plus sign covers anyone else who is not included within these current terms. The term LGBTIQA + is often used as an umbrella term to refer to the community as a whole. Source: LGBTQIA Resource Center, https://lgbtqia.ucdavis.edu/educated/glossary.

4 Wasati approach is associated with scholars such as the "Global Mufti," Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, whereas the Salafi (or neo-Salafism) is associated with the religious establishment in Saudi Arabia (Wahhabism) that depends on an exceptionally puritanical, narrow and militant interpretation of Islam based on the teachings of a rigid 18th-century preacher, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (Duderija & Rane, 2018).