During a discussion in my “CPRL 373 Women in Islam” class, students werebaffled by Abu Hamid al-Ghazali’s (d. 1111) candid discussion of sex in hisIḥyā’ ‘Ulūm al-Dīn.1 I was not surprised, because many assumptions are takenfor granted about medieval Muslim scholars due to their religious and sectarianreputations, cultural environments, and eras. However, without highlightingany sexual...Read More