Abstract
This thesis conducts a comprehensive genealogical study of the ethical and sexual subject within the Islamic tradition, utilising a Foucauldian lens by referencing Foucault’s concepts about the relationship between power, knowledge, and the self. Employing his History of Sexuality, it deploys a theoretical framework that elucidates how knowledge functions as an instrument of power in directing sexual conduct and forming one’s self while deconstructing preconceptions regarding non-Western sexualities.This dissertation analyses the changes in sexual practices and self throughout Greek, Roman, and Christian civilisations, illustrating that human sexual experience is dynamic and subject to periodic modifications shaped by cultural and historical factors. This multidimensional perspective on forming the self and its interrelation with others facilitates a reinterpretation of Islamic history as a history of the present. This thesis covers the 10th–15th centuries CE, during which Sharia matured, highlighting the emergence of the self, institutions, and sexual concepts that established the ethical and legal norms influencing the Muslim subject.
The study critically contrasts standard Western sexual science with its Islamic equivalent, ‘Ilm al-Bah, emphasising how Orientalism has constrained the comprehension of non-Western sexualities. It scrutinises the unique attributes of the Muslim subject, encompassing their perpetual relationship with the Creator and inherent approach to sex as a fundamental human necessity while addressing notions of malevolence and diabolical seduction. Focus is placed on the feminine self in Islam, exploring women’s connections to conventional sexual knowledge and confronting identity and desire within Islamic discourse.
The thesis ultimately addresses practical matters like marriage and sexual medicine. It also reviews interpretations of sodomy and lesbianism within the Islamic tradition, highlighting that these practices were seen as individual inclinations distinct from fixed identities. In doing so, it enhances scholarly comprehension of the interplay between sex, ethics, and the formation of the self in Islamic civilisation.
| Date of Award | 29 Apr 2025 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | D S Morgan (Supervisor) & Joanna M Burch-Brown (Supervisor) |