The History of Sex: Istanbul -- Islam and the Medieval Mindset -- (Chap. II, Pt. 10)

More generally—and controversially—it strikes me that Muslim women's prospects are limited simply because Islamic culture is locked in a medieval mindset, forever harking back to the good ol' days of Mohammed (while Christians were told to look forward to the return of Christ).

That may sound overly blunt, but hear me out: Christianity began as a high-concept religion that was more about spirituality than precise rules dictating what you ate or how you washed.

Jesus and his Jewish disciples broke with the legalism of their ancestors, whereas Islam actually revived many Semitic traditions, even going so far as to reinstitute circumcision (the early Christians also considered penis checks at the pearly gates, but Paul argued that faith was more important than foreskins—not for nothing did they make him a saint).

Turkish boy about to be circumcised
(photo by Dick Osseman)

Furthermore, Judaism and Christianity had the advantage of antiquity: they're so old, they effectively built the civilizations that practice them.

Islam, on the other hand, was late to the game and superimposed on ancient cultures that already had their own patriarchal traditions.

As a result, it tends to be even more male-oriented than Christianity or Judaism.

And as for holy role models, the asexual nature of Jesus allows both men and women to identify with him and become Christians—'little Christs'—whereas the most a Muslim woman can aspire to is being a godly sidekick: marrying or giving birth to a Chosen One who follows Mohammed.

Unfortunately, it's this sexism that may be Islamic culture's main contribution to sexuality in the West (apart from the enduring titillation of the harem, belly dancers and the likes of The Perfumed Garden).

For centuries, Northern Europeans attributed the jealousy of Mediterraneans to their Muslim heritage—the 'hotheaded Spaniard' couldn't help being jealous, they thought; he was half-Arab.

'THE HONOR-SHAME SYNDROME'


In recent decades, academics have begun to restyle these chauvinistic attitudes, dressing them up in more sophisticated terms.

According to the theory of 'the honor-shame syndrome,' for instance, a woman's honor is a material good with an actual value (her dowry) that also reflects on the honor of her family.

Academics argue that this phenomenon is particularly strong in those parts of Europe with an Islamic past—notably, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Sicily.

(For the record, I doubt that Islam was entirely to blame, though it probably did reinforce existing tendencies.)

The reason it's stigmatized as a 'syndrome'—rather than a quaint custom—is that if a woman's virtue is compromised, her male kinfolk feel compelled to defend their honor by either avenging her or killing her outright.

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