This episode briefly addresses the binary and non-binary discourse in Islamic law and ultimately inquires into the agency of intersex individuals within it.

You can read my open-access article, “Navigating Body Politics in Islam,” available at the following link: DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/15685195-bja10063

This episode explores intersexuality in Islamic law—its conceptualisation, legal and embodied dimensions—and the emergence of binary and non-binary discourses within Islamic legal thought.

In this episode, we briefly explore intersexuality, the intersex body, and its modern conceptualisation, while also examining classical concepts from pre-modern Islamic culture that remain relevant today. We further discuss the timeliness and urgency of engaging with these topics in contemporary scholarship and society.

In this episode, we explore the various methodological approaches used to study debates on gender, sex, and sexuality within Islamic contexts. We examine the methods that allow for nuanced and meaningful engagement with these sensitive topics, reflecting on how careful textual analysis and contextual understanding can produce richer insights. By sharing the approaches we apply in our research, we aim to guide listeners through the complexities of studying these debates and demonstrate how methodology shapes interpretation and discussion in the study of Islamic gender and sexuality.

In this episode, we, Asha Ali and Mehrdad Alipour, introduce ourselves and open a discussion on gender, sex, and sexuality in Islam. We highlight the timeliness and urgency of engaging with these topics and provide an overview of the general concepts that shape debates in contemporary gender studies in Islamic context.