Marital and Sexual Ethics in Islamic Law: Rethinking Temporary Marriage--Dr. Roshan Iqbal in conversation with Reem Bailony

This event takes place in person at Charis and on crowdcast, Charis' virtual event platform. This event is free, but registration is required for virtual attendance. Click here to register to attend virtually. Please read the in-person event guidelines at the bottom of this page to be sure you can participate in the event.

Charis and Agnes Scott College welcomes Dr. Roshan Iqbal in conversation with Reem Bailony for a discussion of Marital and Sexual Ethics in Islamic Law: Rethinking Temporary Marriage. In Marital and Sexual Ethics in Islamic Law, Iqbal reveals the ambiguities in the interpretation of mut'a, challenging the accepted sexual ethics in Islamic thought-as presented by most classical and many modern Muslim scholars-and thus opens up space to theorize Islamic sexual ethics anew and contribute to this crucial conversation from the perspective of Muslim feminism. 

Roshan Iqbal traces the intellectual legacy of the exegesis of Qur'an 4:24, which is used as the proof text for the permissibility of mut'a (temporary marriage) and asks if the use of verse 4.24 for the permissibility of mut'a marriage is justified within the rules and regulations of Qur'anic hermeneutics. Iqbal examines seventeen Qur'an commentaries, the chronological span of which extends from the first extant commentary to the present day in three major Islamicate languages. Iqbal concludes that doctrinal self-identity, rather than strictly philological analyses, shaped the interpretation of this verse. As Western academia's first comprehensive work concerning the intellectual history of mut'a marriage and sexual ethics, this work illustrates the power of sectarian influences on how scholars have interpreted verse 4:24. This book is the only work in English that includes a plurality of voices from minor schools (Ibadi, Ashari, Zaidi, and Ismaili) largely neglected by Western scholars, alongside major schools, and draws from all available sub-genres of exegesis. 

The Agnes Scott College and Charis Communities are invited to a reception of light snacks and beverages on the front porch of Charis Books & More beginning at 12:00 pm. Seating for the program begins at 12:30 pm and masks are required at all times indoors. The program will begin promptly at 1:00 pm.

Dr. Roshan Iqbal hails from a small hamlet of 20 million–Karachi, Pakistan. She received her PhD in Islamic Studies from Georgetown University.  Prior to this she read for her MPhil at the University of Cambridge. She has studied in Pakistan, the US, Morocco, Egypt, Jordon, the UK, and Iran. Her research interests include gender and sexuality in the Qur’an, Islamic Law, Film and Media Studies, and modern Muslim intellectuals. Her most recent book is titled, Marital and Sexual Ethics in Islamic Law: Rethinking Temporary Marriage. As an associate professor at Agnes Scott College, she teaches classes in the Religious Studies department and also classes that are cross-listed with Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Film Studies. When she is not working, she loves talking to her family and friends on the phone (thank you, unlimited plans), tracking fashion (sartorial flourishes are such fun), watching films (love! love! love!), reading novels (never enough), painting watercolors (less and less poorly), and cooking new dishes (sometimes successfully). 

Reem Bailony is a historian of the modern Middle East with a focus on Middle East migrations and transnationalism. Her research explores the history of Syrian-Lebanese diaspora politics during the interwar period. Her book, Transnational Rebellion: The Syrian-Revolt of 1925-1927 and the Syrian-Lebanese Diaspora, forthcoming with Edinburgh University Press, explores the diasporic and transnational dimensions of the Syrian Revolt of 1925-1927, a watershed moment in anti-colonialism during the French Mandate-era. The book situates the history of the 1925 Syrian revolt in the broader internationalism of the 1920s. Dr. Bailony's second project will explore the history of Syrian-Lebanese transnational family dynamics after World War I, and how migrant families parented and educated their children in the diaspora as part of a broader project in constructing their national-selves.