Gender and Sexuality in the Work of Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad Hussayn Fadlallah (1935-2010): Transformations of Religious Conceptions in Modern Shiite Islam

• Applicant: Dr. Doris Decker
• Subject Area: Religious Studies and Jewish Studies
• Term: from 2017 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 328283147

This application is for a continuation of my project "Gender and Sexuality in the Work of the Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥussayn Faḍlallāh (1935-2010): Transformations of Religious Conceptions in Modern Shi’ite Islam". My research focuses on transformations of religious concepts of gender and sexuality using the example of Muḥammad Ḥussayn Faḍlallāh, one of the most important modern Shi’ite Islamic scholars, aiming to make negotiation processes about gender and sexuality in the Islamic world visible. Two contributions with preliminary results from the current project phase are already in print. During research phase II in Faḍlallāh's archive in Beirut from September to November 2019, the archive provided additional source material for my project due to technical innovations (installation of a database) and inventory expansion (material procurement from newspapers, magazines, etc.): 230 documents, of which I classified 120 - mostly interviews published in newspapers and magazines - as relevant in terms of content. The source genre "Interview", which had hardly been available to me until then, is an eminently important extension for the project context, since Faḍlallāh was confronted with topics that he either rarely addressed in his publications or not at all. This includes, for example, the important issue of “sexual freedom” which was raised in relation to Western societies. An analysis of this aspect provides essential insights gaining deeper understanding of Faḍlallāh's handling of “sexual modernity” (Schmidt 2014). Crucial to the inclusion of this new document base is: Faḍlallāh's statements on individual topics expand tremendous, time gaps close, new aspects and perspectives in Faḍlallāh's thinking appear. This enables the development of Faḍlallāh's views and legal assessments to be better understood. In addition, new insights into Faḍlallāh's legal rulings for men and women are expected with the expanded analysis. For the first perusal of the documents, beside my initial thesis that Faḍlallāh's positions are multidimensional, another thesis arised that I would like to pursue: Faḍlallāh has gradually aligned the rights of women and men in many areas (labor and divorce law, witnesses, inheritance). A considerable amount of time is essential for the analysis and interpretation of the additional material in the context of the previous material. Since this will exceed the originally planned project duration, I request the continuation of the project for another research year.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants