Islam dares, Europe censors

In his renowned In Search of Lost Time, Marcel Proust recalls his mother’s hesitation to offer him one of the two available translations of One Thousand and One Nights: the first, more or less faithful to the original Arabic text, or another version, pruned and purged of all erotic or homosexual content. For these European societies, perversion, libertinism, and moral corruption came from the Other—the Muslim. Arabic, Persian, and Turkish literature was then viewed with suspicion. Arab mores could shock: in the 17th century, Joseph Pitts, a young Englishman captured by Algerian corsairs, wrote with revulsion and horror in his memoirs about how in Algiers “men fall in love with boys, as in England they would with women.”

These examples might elicit a smile or annoyance—especially given the widely held notion today that homosexuality is a foreign trend, a Western graft, a perversion introduced by malicious forces into our supposedly chaste Muslim lands. Proponents of this conservative and binary narrative sidestep a whole segment of Muslim history and culture. The libertine poetry of Arabic and Persian literature is disregarded, erotic treatises—authored by Muslim theologians, no less—are brushed aside. As for Abou Nuwas, Omar Khayyam, and Al-Jahiz—great writers of texts with homosexual themes—they simply never existed. And yet, there is a Muslim history of homosexuality, shedding light on the evolving relationship between Muslim societies, sexuality, and pleasure.

As a religion and according to its sacred texts, Islam prohibits homosexuality, viewing it as a vice and a moral corruption. In this respect, Islam aligns with other monotheistic religions, drawing on the story of Sodom and the fate of the people of Lot to denounce and forbid homosexual practices.

The founding myth of Sodom

As the Tunisian scholar Abdelwahab Boudhiba explains in La sexualité en islam (1975, Éditions PUF), Islam views the relationship between men and women as founded on the « preordained and deliberate harmony of the sexes. » This concept rests on the essential complementarity of masculinity and femininity. While this complementarity’s goal includes enjoyment and pleasure, it primarily focuses on procreation and the perpetuation of the human race. From this perspective, homosexuality is seen as a disruption of natural harmony and a potential source of disorder and imbalance.

The Qur’an does not specify a particular punishment for homosexual acts, leaving room for theological debate over the nature of such sanctions. A hadith attributed to the Prophet suggests the death penalty, mirroring the divine punishment inflicted on the people of Lot. However, some Muslim jurists draw a parallel with zina (fornication) to argue for variations in punishment: stoning for a married homosexual and flogging for an unmarried one.

Female homosexuality, on the other hand, is treated with relative leniency. It is not equated with fornication or male homosexuality. Lesbianism, known as sihakyate, typically warrants only a mild reprimand left to the discretion of the judge. The absence of anal penetration, which Muslim theologians commonly use to define male homosexuality, likely explains this more lenient attitude.

In Islamic jurisprudence, proving homosexual acts requires the same stringent evidence as proving fornication: either the testimony of four witnesses who clearly saw and recognized the act of penetration, or an unrecanted confession from the individuals involved. These rigorous requirements make it nearly impossible to enforce punishments for homosexual behavior. As Frédéric Lagrange notes in his book Islam d’interdits, Islam de Jouissance (Éditions Tétraèdre, 2008), Muslim jurists often thank God for “concealing the faults of believers who do not publicly flaunt their transgressions of divine law.”

However, as Muslim societies expanded through military conquests and contact with other civilizations, new realities and lifestyles emerged, diverging from religious prescriptions and prohibitions. The territorial and cultural expansion of the Muslim empire, particularly under the Abbasid dynasty, brought changes in values and norms. New customs arose, and male love was no longer hidden, suppressed, or punished. It became openly expressed, acknowledged, and sometimes even tolerated. These relationships were not only physical and sexual but also philosophical and mystical.

Amorous Caliphs

In his History of the Caliphs, the Egyptian theologian and historian Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti provides the following description of the Abbasid caliph Al-Amin: “He spent lavishly on eunuchs whom he kept for his pleasure, thereby renouncing his wives and concubines.” Al-Amin, the son and successor of the great Caliph Harun al-Rashid, was deeply enamored with certain male slaves and composed passionate poems in their honor. In one such poem, Al-Amin describes his servant Kawthar: “Kawthar is my religion and my life, my illness and my remedy. It is unjust to blame a heart for its love.”

Other Abbasid caliphs, such as Al-Mu‘tasim and Al-Wathiq, also penned love poems dedicated to young boys and ephebes. Al-Suyuti, a noted Maliki theologian, informs us that Caliph Al-Mu‘tasim had “a beloved of exceptional beauty named Ajib, with whom he was madly in love.”

These examples reflect the societal transformations that took place as the Muslim world transitioned from a small desert state to a global empire. Attitudes toward homosexuality shifted as well. What had once been considered a shameful vice to be hidden became a commonplace practice, even embraced by the caliphs who held political as well as spiritual and religious authority.

In his historical work Al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya, the 14th-century Syrian jurist and theologian Ibn Kathir laments that homosexuality affected “the majority of kings and princes, as well as merchants, ordinary people, writers, scholars, and judges—except for those whom God chose to protect from this vice.” Similarly, the 15th-century Egyptian historian Al-Maqrizi (as cited by Malek Chebel in Le Dictionnaire amoureux de l’Islam, Editions Plon, 2004) remarks that in his time, “homosexuality was so widespread that women had to dress as men to attract suitors.”

This cultural and mental shift can be attributed to the influence of the various cultures and civilizations encountered through Muslim military conquests. Greek, Persian, and Indian legacies were particularly significant in bringing about this cultural transformation.

The Ephebes of Paradise

One of the earliest Arabic literary texts addressing homosexuality is Mofakharat Alghilman wa Aljawari by Al-Jahiz (translated into French by Moroccan writer Maâti Kabbal under the title Éphèbes et courtisanes, Payot, 2008). In this work, written as a dialogue, two men debate their sexual preferences: one explains his love for young boys, while the other defends his passion for women.

The dialogue is a masterful example of the art of debate, a highly esteemed tradition in classical Arabic literature. Each participant draws upon a wide range of references to outwit the other and bolster his arguments—poetry, history, amusing and colorful anecdotes, and even hadiths and Qur’anic verses. The advocate for women readily cites sayings of the Prophet that praise women and their virtues. In contrast, the man who prefers boys supports his position by referring to two Qur’anic verses that describe the delights awaiting believers in paradise. Among these pleasures, the verses promise “boys beautiful like hidden pearls,” as the Qur’anic expression goes, to serve the blessed.

This argument might seem surprising, but it frequently appears in historical and literary accounts to justify affection for ephebes. Yahya Ibn Aktham, the Qadi al-Qudat (the highest judicial authority) under Caliph Al-Ma’mun, also used this reasoning to defend his sexual tastes and his attraction to boys. Speaking in a lighthearted tone, this brilliant theologian, as described in historical sources, would argue: “Why not desire on earth what God promises His faithful in paradise?” Remarkably, Muslim writers—often ulema and religious scholars—felt no discomfort or shame in recounting stories and poems celebrating homosexuality. For many, such references were simply a display of encyclopedic knowledge and erudition.

Celebrating masculine beauty and declaring love for a young ephebe did not always carry sexual implications or signify a desire for physical gratification. In some instances, it was merely a literary exercise, a demonstration of eloquence and verbal mastery in various scenarios. Certain forms of homosexual passion in Muslim history resemble more of a platonic love, not necessarily culminating in sexual relations. These expressions of platonic love between individuals of the same sex are deeply rooted in Muslim mystical literature.

Sex, love, and chastity

The Necklace of the Dove, written by the Andalusian Ibn Hazm, is arguably one of the most beautiful Arabic works on the theme of love—a text filled with delicacy, melancholy, and sensitivity. Ibn Hazm was also a man of religion and the founder of a very strict, ultra-orthodox legal school. In The Necklace of the Dove, this jurist and theologian mentions homosexual passions alongside heterosexual loves without judgment or distinction. For him, any story, anecdote, or poem was worth citing as long as it pertained to chaste and platonic love. Ibn Hazm had a romantic and melancholic view of love, which he defined as the turmoil of emotions and the passion for the beloved, untainted by physical desires—especially when such desires occurred outside the bounds of what is permissible. Love between a man and someone of the same sex fit this definition, which explains the examples of homosexual love described in Ibn Hazm’s work.

On this point, Muslim literature reflects themes found among the ancient Greeks, particularly what Frédéric Lagrange calls “the exaltation of romantic friendship for ephebes.” In Plato’s Symposium, the dialogue centers on the ideal and passionate love that connected the philosopher Socrates and his young, handsome disciple Alcibiades. Socrates teaches his pupil that spiritual and intellectual love is more intense and enduring than physical relationships, which will inevitably weaken over time. This notion lies at the heart of what we now call platonic love.

This idea strongly resonates in Muslim mysticism, where mentoring a young man is often seen as a spiritual initiation, and love between two men can be viewed as a form of divine love. In Massarii Al’ochaq (The Fates of Lovers), Sheikh Abu Mohammed Al-Qari recounts the story of a Muslim Sufi deeply affected by the death of a young companion who was always by his side. The Sufi wept uncontrollably after his friend’s passing, spending entire days standing by the youth’s grave. One day, he was found dead at the foot of his beloved’s tomb.

Likewise, One Thousand and One Nights contains many stories of mystics madly in love with young boys, though always in a chaste and platonic way.

Stories of lesbians…

An object of orientalist fantasy and often associated with hammams and harems, lesbianism in Muslim history remains poorly understood. Sources are extremely rare, and in a heavily male-dominated society, women were unable to openly discuss the subject. Nevertheless, female homosexuality was met with less severe sanctions than male homosexuality.

Chihab al-Din al-Tifashi, a 13th-century Tunisian jurist, dedicated part of his book Nuzhat al-Albab (The Delight of Hearts) to lesbianism. In this section, the Tunisian judge offered “scientific” explanations for the biological origins of female homosexuality and provided detailed and surprising descriptions of the lesbians of his time. Al-Tifashi explained that these women “use excessive perfume and are meticulous about cleanliness and hygiene. They purchase only the most expensive and rarest furniture, food, and jewelry.” According to his portrayal, the elegance and refinement of women who engaged in sapphic love suggested they mostly came from wealthy social classes. Al-Tifashi did not shy away from describing sexual positions and techniques used by lesbians. Following in the footsteps of Al-Jahiz’s work on the comparative advantages of male homosexuality versus heterosexuality, Al-Tifashi dedicated several pages to a debate between advocates and critics of lesbianism. The absence of pregnancy risk and the discretion in cases of adultery were cited among the “virtues” of female homosexuality.

One of the key historical references on sapphism is the work of a 16th-century Moroccan author, Muhammad Hassan al-Wazzan, originally from Fez. Captured by Italian corsairs, he was sold to the Pope, who adopted him and baptized him as Jean Léon de Médicis, known as Leo Africanus. In his Description of Africa, Hassan al-Wazzan described the cunning ways in which lesbians in Fez seduced other women, often married ones. Writing his book for the Vatican’s ruler, he recounted—and condemned with a hint of humor—the strategies of these women. In the same work, the papal diplomat also described another group of homosexuals he encountered in Moroccan territory: cross-dressers. “They are men who dress as women and wear women’s ornaments. They shave their beards and even imitate women’s manner of speaking… Each of these abominable creatures has a partner and acts with him exactly as a woman would with her husband,” Hassan al-Wazzan raged. Who ever said homosexuality was a “Western invention”?

Written in French by Abdellah Tourabi, edited in English by Eric Nielson