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Womens Srudrrr Forum Vol 9. No 5. pp 575-582.

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BOOK REVIEWS

MARRIAGE AND SEXUALITY IN ISLAM: A TRANSLATION OF AL-GHAZXLIS BOOK 0~ THE ETIQUETTE OF MARRIAGE FROM THE IHYA by Madelain Farah. 185 pages. University

of Utah

Press,

Salt Lake

City. Utah.

1985.

Madelain Farahs translation of al-GhazHlis Book on the Eti9uene of Marriage from the IhyH titled Marriage and Sexuali~ in Islam will aid Western readers attempting to understand Islamic culture and the roles it prescribes for women and men. Frequently individuals are critical of Middle Eastern cultures and their treatment of women based on the traditions of veiling. seclusion and arranged marriage. Unless one knows the roots of these customs one cannot be truly understand the Muslim world. The book is composed of two sections: first is Farahs own discussion of al-Ghazalis work: the latter is her translation of his writings. al-Ghazali was the first author to synthesize into one work the Koran. oral and written tradition. and the stories of and about the Prophet on the subject of marriage and sexuality. His book written in the eleventh century earned him respect and honor that continues through the present No one since has attempted such a literarv effort. In Farahsintroduction two pictures of marriage are developed. Firstly. marriage is presented as an lslamtc contract. both partners have to consent to uphold certain rights. duties. and responsibihtes. Yet. concurrently. the word nikah. the legal term for marriage. means an agreement resulting in the lawful enjoyment of a woman. Thus one rtght both husband and wife agree to at marriage is that the husband is entitled to restrict the wifes movements in a reasonable manner and to exercise marital authority This disparity between women and men is further noted in al-Ghazalis discussion of the advantages and dtsadvantages of marriage. He states. If a human being had no desire for coitus. it would still be difficult for htm to hve in his house alone: because if he were saddled wtth all the work of attending the house. he would waste most of his time and have very little of it left for learning and working. Thus a womans role is to maintain the comfort for her husband that will allow for his success. She is taught that the priortties of husband. children and home will bring her fulfilment: she will be pleasing to her husband and the saints. In her introduction Farah chooses to discuss the concept of men and women as separate but equal contributors to marital stability. This position gives value to womens role in the home which is necessary. But. I would have preferred a discussion on the ramifications of his book for all women. and particularly feminists. in the Mtddle East todav-as it was written primarily for a male reader and contains a distinct male bias. the knowledge gained by having this However.

translation of al-Ghazalis work surpasses my disappointment as to what Farah chose to explore in her introduction. The translation presents us with the marital and sexual guidelines in the lives of Muslim women and men. And most importantly it aids in comprehending the struggle with which feminists in the Middle East are faced: the dilemma of how to maintain their cultural heritage yet fight the inequalities inherent in their socio-religious system that intertwines patriarchal laws and religious traditions.
SUE ROCHMAN

NOT IN OUR GENES-BIOLOGY.


NATURE

IDEOLOGY. AND

HLWAZ
J.

Kamin.

bv R C. Lewontin. 3.?2 pages. Pantheon

Steven Rose and Leon Books. New York. 1984

REFLECTIONS ON GENDER AND SCIENCE by Evelyn

Keller.

193 pages.

Yale Untversity

Press. New York

Fox 1985

fvor In Our Genes is a collaboration of an evolutionar! geneticist (Lewontin). a neurobiologist (Rose). and a psychologist (Kamin). Self-avowed radical scientists. the authors attempt to counter a . rising tide of biological determinist writings .. allied with the recent political empowerment of the New Right. They feel the need . for a systematic exploration of the scientific and social roots of biological determinism. an analysis of its present day social functions. and an exposure of its sctentific pretensions . In the introductory chapters. the New Right (represented by Thatcher/Reagan conservattsm) ts related to the present-day resurgence of biological determmism. which promotes reductionist. mechanistic unilevel analvses of multilevel biological phenomena. In this sectton we are also given a brief (and unfortunately superficial) history of biological determinism. emphasizing its inherent biases. especially its classtsm. racism and sextsm. The sociology and psychology of science and the pohttcal roles of both good science and of scientific fraud are discussed here. 1 particularly enjoyed a short chapter in this section analysing the legttimation of inequality as a philosophically necesss- I corollary to the bourgeois revolution The state thus maintains popular support through a created ideal of equality. controlled and manipulated by an unacknowledged overstructure of scientifically determined rationals for oppression and exploitation. .. The heart of the book (and. I think. the best of it) lies in Chapters -5-8. This sections contains relevant and interesting analyses of the sociopolitics of patriarch!. the hierarchical class and racism of intelligence testing and eugemcs. and the control of social deviance through the 575

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