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ABSTRACT
Queer approaches to Islam take a multitude of forms, and reflect queer lived experiences in a variety of ways. This article focuses on one particular form of queer approach to an aspect of the Islamic tradition, examining Khaled Abou El Fadl’s approach to the Shari’ah, focusing on his particular methodology of de-legitimization, re-presentation, and judgment according to the ethical standard of beauty. In doing so, its retrieval of internally queer aspects of the tradition come to light, including the focus on the nature of certainty within the Shari’ah as problematic, a strong emphasis on procedural non-finality, and the importance of the contextual nature of legal outcomes. Each of these aspects of the methodology have an impact on the lived experiences of Muslims within a community in which the law holds significant legal and social authority. In queering approaches to the Shari’ah, Abou El Fadl’s methodology simultaneously opens up space for a queering of contemporary norms of Muslim identity, society, and performance.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Note on contributor
Angus M. Slater currently works at Keele University. His research interests include the study of inter-religious dialogue, particularly between Christianity and Islam, Islamic Law, queer theory and theology, and the formation of identity through narrative.
Notes
1 Abou El Fadl, And God Knows the Soldiers, 37–43.
2 Ibid., 38.
3 Ibid., 155.
4 These approaches vary and have a variety of differing methodological approaches, as this special edition of Theology & Sexuality demonstrates.
5 Abou El Fadl was formally trained in Islamic jurisprudence in Egypt and Kuwait. See Scholar of the House for further biographical information.
6 For example, Abou El Fadl, Conference of the Books; And God Knows the Soldiers.
7 Abou El Fadl is Professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law, previously having taught Islamic law at the University of Texas at Austin Law School, Yale Law School and Princeton University. See UCLA Law for further information.
8 The Abdul Rauf affair was a controversy that occupied attention due to a Muslim American basketball player refusing to stand during the American national anthem that is normally played before matches. For obvious reasons this connected to various discussions of identity, religion, nationalism, and integration in American society and caused a furor. Most detail about this can be found at SB Nation.
9 Abou El Fadl, And God Knows the Soldiers, 44.
10 Abou El Fadl, Reasoning with God, 64.
11 Abou El Fadl, And God Knows the Soldiers, 54–61.
12 Ibid., 62.
13 Ibid., 63.
14 Ibid., 144.
15 Abou El Fadl, Conference of the Books, xix.
16 Slater, “Strategic Hesitancy.”
17 The various ways in which this is done within Abou El Fadl's work are not really the focus of this article, and as such, are only quickly covered here. Greater depth can be found in Slater, “Strategic Hesitancy.”
18 Abou El Fadl, And God Knows the Soldiers, 83–5.
19 See Shah-Kazemi, “Review of Conference of the Book,” 220–3.
20 Abou El Fadl, And God Knows the Soldiers, 84–90; Conference of the Books, 36; and Speaking in God's Name, 48–9.
21 Laffan, “National Crisis and the Representation of Traditional Sufism,” 157.
22 Abou El Fadl, And God Knows the Soldiers, 14.
23 See for example Auda, Maqasid Al-Shariah; and, Ramadan, Western Muslims and the Future of Islam. Or, for further depth, see Slater, “Khaled Abou El Fadl's Methodology of Reform.”
24 Abou El Fadl, And God Knows the Soldiers, 43–83.
25 Abou El Fadl, Speaking in God's Name, 209–64.
26 Abou El Fadl, And God Knows the Soldiers, 114–16.
27 Ibid., 54–60.
28 Ibid., 76.
29 Ibid., 81.
30 Ibid., 61–2.
31 Ibid., 44.
32 Abou El Fadl, Conference of the Books, 193–202.
33 See for example, Hallaq, “From Fatwas to Furu.”
34 Abou El Fadl, The Great Theft, 95–6.
35 Abou El Fadl, Reasoning with God, 55–62.
36 Ibid., 148–50.
37 Abou El Fadl, And God Knows the Soldiers, 152.
38 Abou El Fadl, Reasoning with God, 47–8.
39 Abou El Fadl, Speaking in God's Name, 39.
40 Abou El Fadl, Reasoning with God, 19–35.
41 Hamid, “The Attraction of ‘Authentic’ Islam,” 387–93.
42 Abou El Fadl, Reasoning with God, 87–97.
43 Ibid.
44 Abou El Fadl, And God Knows the Soldiers, 83–91.
45 Abou El Fadl, Speaking in God's Name, 265.
46 Abou El Fadl, Reasoning with God, 215.
47 Abou El Fadl, And God Knows the Soldiers, 44.
48 Ibid., 45–7.
49 Ibid., 54–5.
50 Ibid., 3–5.
51 Abou El Fadl, Conference of the Books, 107–22.
52 Abou El Fadl, Reasoning with God, 91–7.
53 Meijer, Global Salafism, 3–4.
54 Abou El Fadl, Reasoning with God, 87–8.
55 Ibid., 93.
56 Ibid., 96–7.
57 El Feki, Sex and the Citadel, 276–7.
58 Ramadan, Western Muslims and the Future of Islam, 6.
59 Kugle, Homosexuality in Islam, 4–5.
60 Ibid., 5.
61 Habib, Islam and Homosexuality, 214.
62 Abou El Fadl, Conference of the Books, 107–22.
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