Masculinity, Homosexuality and the Defence of Islam: A Case Study of Yusuf al-Qaradawi’s Media Fatwa

This paper analyses how Islamic Neo-traditionalists perceive gender constructs through a distorted view of religious texts and cultural conventions. It explores the ramifications of these constructs for attitudes towards same-sex orientations and relationships. These themes are discussed with reference to a case study of a TV talk show on 5 June 2006 by one conservative scholar-activist, Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, whose teachings have an impact in the Middle-East and on Muslim minorities in the West. The paper will demonstrate how al-Qaradawi articulates his views of homophobia as part of an agenda to reinforce perceived threats to Muslim masculinity.