Law of desire : temporary marriage in Shi'i Iran / Shahla Haeri.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Haeri, Shahla, author.

Series:

Contemporary issues in the Middle East.

Contemporary issues in the Middle East

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Temporary marriage.

Muta.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 256 pages) : illustrations.

Edition:

First edition.

Other Title:

Law of desire

Place of Publication:

Syracuse, NY : Syracuse University Press, [2018]

Summary:

As an Iranian Muslim woman and a granddaughter of a well-known ayatollah, Shahla Haeri was accepted into the communities where she conducted her fieldwork on mut'a, temporary marriage. Mut'a is legally sanctioned among the Twelver Shi'ites who live predominantly in Iran. Drawing on rich interviews that would have been denied a Western anthropologist, the author describes the concept of a temporary-marriage contract, in which a man and an unmarried woman (virgin, widow, or divorcee) decide how long they want to stay married to each other (from one hour to ninety-nine years) and how much money is to be given to the temporary wife. Since the Iranian revolution of 1979, the regime has conduction an intensive campaign to revitalize this form of marriage, and Shi'i ulama (religious scholars) support it as positive, self-affirming, and cognizant of human needs. Challenged by secularly educated urban Iranian women, and men and by the West, the ulama have been called upon to address themselves to the implications of this custom for modern Iranian society, to respond to the changes that mut'a is legally equivalent to hire or lease, that it is abusive of women, and that it is in fact legalized prostitution. Law if Desire thus makes available previously untapped and undocumented data about an institution in which sexuality, morality, religious rules, secular laws, and cultural practices converge. This important work will be of interest to cultural anthropologist, religious scholars, scholars of the Middle East, and lawyers as well as to those interested in the role of women in Islamic society.

Contents:

Introduction

Part one. Law as imposed

Marriage as contract

Permanent marriage: Nikah

Temporary marriage: Mut'a

Part two. Law as local knowledge

The power of ambiguity: cultural improvisations on the theme of temporary marriages

Part three. Las as perceived

Women's life stories

Men's interviews

Conclusion

Postscript: Invitation to "proper sex": revisiting temporary marriage, Mut'a, in Iran.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Publisher Number:

2027/heb04708 hdl