The Crisis of Islamic Masculinities

by Amanullah De Sondy

Rigid notions of masculinity are causing crisis in the global Islamic community. These are articulated from the Qur'an, its commentary, historical precedents and societal, religious and familial obligations. Some Muslims who don't agree with narrow constructs of manliness feel forced to consider themselves secular and therefore outside the religious community.

In order to evaluate whether there really is only one valid, ideal Islamic masculinity, The Crisis of Islamic Masculinities explores key figures of the Qur'an and Indian-Pakistani Islamic history, and exposes the precariousness of tight constraints on Islamic manhood. By examining Qur'anic arguments and the strict social responsibilities advocated along with narrow Islamic masculinities, Amanullah De Sondy shows that God and women (to whom Muslim men relate but are different from) often act as foils for the construction of masculinity. He argues the constrainers of masculinity have used God and women to think with and to dominate through and that rigid gender roles are the product of a misguided the highly personal relationship between humans and God does not lend itself to the organization of society, because that relationship cannot be typified and replicated.

Discussions and debates surrounding Islamic masculinities are quickly finding their place in the study of Islam and Muslims, and The Crisis of Islamic Masculinities makes a vital contribution to this emerging field.

Genres: Islam, Nonfiction, Religion

248 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know, I just wanted more from this book. I think work on the history of masculinity is sorely needed, so I was excited to see what De Sondy had to say about its effects in Islam, but apart from a few interesting scriptural insights, this didn't do much for me. De Sondy attempts (and succeeds) at challenging the notion that Islam(s) requires and maintains a static and narrow definition of masculinity. Even just a cursory review of the Qur'an and other holy texts immediately reveal a variety of disparate masculine behaviors and norms throughout the history of Islam and across regions. De Sondy also offers some alternative interpretations of scripture in an effort to extract a more egalitarian theologically-based gender construct. One of his more interesting arguments centers around the idea of submission: that if Islam's main tenet is submission to God, then in theory that obligation should underline all human interactions and thus vitiate any sort of hierarchy. I'm not sure I follow his logic on that, but his reading of the traditional scriptural story of Satan being rejected by God centers on Satan's arrogance, not towards God, whom Satan still recognizes as superior, but towards humans. Apparently if one is not God, to whom all submission belongs (I'm assuming because of his superiority), one has no right to demand submission from others. I can dig that.

[Naima · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting a lot more from this book and was left quite disappointed. It consisted of some interesting insights from scripture and figures from history stringed together with the overarching argument that submission to God requires no hierarchy, but this is such a lukewarm take to write an entire book about. There is indeed a crisis in Islamic masculinities, but I have no increased knowledge or deeper understanding of why, for example, Muslim men are so drawn towards Andrew Tate or how the curiosity and excitement of the Islamic Golden Age shifted to fundamentalism in present day or why Muslim immigrants to Western countries are so deeply misogynistic and conservative. Ultimately, I'm not taking away anything from this book and will probably forget about it in a few days time.