Muslim masculinities: what is the prescription of the Qur’an?

Abstract

ABSTRACTOrientalist art and literature have historically associated Islam with violence, but since the 1990s, this association gathered greater depth. Muslim men started to be stereotyped as terrorists, and various armed Muslim groups further cemented this stereotype. Although committing violence, for religion or other causes, is not limited to Muslim men, recent developments reinforced the popular notion that Islam encourages male violence. This paper examines the message of Muslim masculinities conveyed in the Qur’an – the sacred text that is regarded by Muslims as the word of God and as the highest authority for moral guidance. The content analysis of the Qur’an reveals at least five salient character traits that may be taken as prescriptions of masculinities. These traits – submissiveness, altruism, righteousness, steadfastness and combativeness – however, are not only overlapping but are also contradictory, depending on the institutional context in which the people are acting, as well as their religious status (e.g. prophet, believer, hypocrite, etc.). Thus, the message of the Qur’an is complex, and it can be put into practice properly only when it is examined and absorbed holistically.