#Medieval Arabia

[historysideblog]

Online History Short-Courses offered by Universities Masterpost

Categories: Classical Studies, Egyptology, Medieval, Renaissance, The Americas, Asia, Other, Linguistics, Archaeology

How to get Coursera courses for free: There are several types of courses on Coursera, some will allow you to study the full course and only charge for the optional-certificate, for others you will need to audit it and you may have limited access (usually just to assignments), and thirdly some courses charge a monthly subscription in this case a 7 day free trial is available.

Classical Studies 🏛️🏺

At the Origins of the Mediterranean Civilization: Archeology of the City from the Levant to the West 3rd-1st millennium BC - Sapienza University of Rome

Greek and Roman Mythology - University of Pennsylvania

Health and Wellbeing in the Ancient World - Open University

Roman Architecture - Yale

Roman Art and Archeology - University of Arizona

Rome: A Virtual Tour of the Ancient City - University of Reading

The Ancient Greeks - Wesleyan University

The Changing Landscape of Ancient Rome. Archeology and History of Palatine Hill - Sapienza University of Rome

Uncovering Roman Britain in Old Museum Collections - University of Reading

Egyptology 𓂀⚱️

Egypt before and after pharaohs - Sapienza University of Rome

Introduction to Ancient Egypt and Its Civilization - University of Pennsylvania

Wonders of Ancient Egypt - University of Pennsylvania

Medieval 🗡️🏰

Age of Cathedrals - Yale

Coexistence in Medieval Spain: Jews, Christians, and Muslims - University of Colorado

Deciphering Secrets: The Illuminated Manuscripts of Medieval Europe - University of Colorado

Enlightening the Dark Ages: Early Medieval Archaeology in Italy - University of Padova

Lancaster Castle and Northern English History: The View from the Stronghold - Lancaster University

Magic in the Middle Ages - University of Barcelona

Old Norse Mythology in the Sources - University of Colorado Bolder

Preserving Norwegian Stave Churches - Norwegian University of Science and Technology

The Book of Kells: Exploring an Irish Medieval Masterpiece - Trinity College Dublin

The Cosmopolitan Medival Arabic World - University of Leiden

Renaissance ⚜️🃏

Black Tudors: The Untold Story

European Empires: An Introduction, 1400–1522 - University of Newcastle

The Mediterranean, a Space of Exchange (from Renaissance to Enlightenment) - University of Barcelona

The Life and Afterlife of Mary Queen of Scots - University of Glasgow

The Tudors - University of Roehampton London

The Americas 🪶🦙🛖

History of Slavery in the British Caribbean - University of Glasgow

Indigeneity as a Global Concept - University of Newcastle

Indigenous Canada - University of Alberta

Indigenous Religions & Ecology - Yale

Asia 🏯🛕

Contemporary India - University of Melbourne

Introduction to Korean Philosophy - Sung Kyun Kwan University

Japanese Culture Through Rare Books - University of Keio

Sino-Japanese Interactions Through Rare Books - University of Keio

The History and Culture of Chinese Silk - University for the Creative Arts

Travelling Books: History in Europe and Japan - University of Keio

Other

A Global History of Sex and Gender: Bodies and Power in the Modern World - University of Glasgow

A History of Royal Fashion - University of Glasgow

Anarchy in the UK: A History of Punk from 1976-78 - University of Reading

Biodiversity, Guardianship, and the Natural History of New Zealand: A Museum Perspective - Te Papa

Empire: the Controversies of British Imperialism - University of Exeter

Great South Land: Introducing Australian History - University of Newcastle

Indigeneity as a Global Concept - University of Newcastle

New Zealand History, Culture and Conflict: A Museum Perspective - Te Papa

Organising an Empire: The Assyrian Way - LMU Munich

Plagues, Witches, and War: The Worlds of Historical Fiction - University of Virginia

Russian History: from Lenin to Putin - University of California Santa Cruz

Linguistics 🗣️

Introduction to Comparative Indo-European Linguistics - University of Leiden - Coursera version

Miracles of Human Language: An Introduction to Linguistics - University of Leiden

Archeology 💀

Archeoastronomy - University of Milan

Archaeology and the Battle of Dunbar 1650 - Durham University

Archaeology: from Dig to Lab and Beyond - University of Reading

Archeology: Recovering the Humankind's Past and Saving the Universal Heritage - Sapienza University of Rome

Change of Era: The Origins of Christian Culture through the Lens of Archaeology - University of Padova

Endangered Archaeology: Using Remote Sensing to Protect Cultural Heritage - Universities of Durham, Leicester & Oxford

Enlightening the Dark Ages: Early Medieval Archaeology in Italy - University of Padova

Exploring Stone Age Archaeology: The Mysteries of Star Carr - University of York

Forensic Archaeology and Anthropology - Durham University

Roman Art and Archeology - University of Arizona

The Changing Landscape of Ancient Rome. Archeology and History of Palatine Hill - Sapienza University of Rome

[thetemplarknight]

The Knights Templar and the Arab world

The Knights Templar were the poster boys of the Crusades but were also accused of collaborating with their Arab opponents reports Tony McMahon

The Knights Templar were held up as the shock troops of Christendom against the Muslim rulers of the Middle East, North Africa, and the Iberian Peninsula. An order of warrior monks governed by strict rules and answerable only to the Pope in Rome. But after two centuries of crusading in the Arab world, they were accused of being too close to the enemy. This led to horrific consequences for the…

[ker4unos]

THE ARABIAN PENINSULA RESOURCES

The Anthropological Masterlist is HERE.

The Arabian Peninsula, or Arabia, is a West Asian peninsula that includes Yemen, Iraq, and Jordan.

ASSYRIA ─ “The Assyrian people are a Middle Eastern people. They are native to Assyria.” ─ Assyrian Information ─ Assyrian Culture ─ Assyrian History

HIMYARITE ─ “The Himyarite Kingdom, or Himyar, was an Arabian civilization that lived from 110 B.C.E. to 570 C.E. They lived in the southern highlands of Yemen.” ─ Ancient Yemen

MEDIEVAL ISLAM ─ “Medieval Islam, or the Islamic Golden Age, is an Islamic period of time that dates from the 8th century C.E. to the 14th century C.E.” ─ The Islamic Golden Age ─ Technology in Medieval Islam ─ Islamic Philosophy

MOAB ─ “The Kingdom of Moab was a Levantine civilization that lived from the 13th century B.C.E. to the 4th century B.C.E. They lived in modern-day Jordan.” ─ Moab Information ─ Moab History

NABATAEA ─ “The Nabataeans, or Nabateans, were an Arab people that lived from 169 B.C.E. to 106 C.E. They lived in northern Arabia and the southern Levant.” ─ Nabataean Information ─ Nabataean History

NURISTAN ─ “The Nuristani people are a Middle Eastern people. They are native to the Nuristan Province in Afghanistan.” ─ Nuristani Information ─ Nuristani Information

SABA’ ─ “The Sabeans, or the Kingdom of Saba’, were a South Arabian people that lived from the Iron Age to Antiquity, from 1200 B.C.E. to 270 C.E. They lived in modern-day Yemen.” ─ Sabean Culture ─ Pre-Islamic Yemeni Culture

YEMEN ─ “The Yemeni, or Yemenite, people are an Arabian people that share the Yemeni culture. They are native to Yemen.” ─ Yemeni Information ─ Yemeni Culture ─ Yemeni Cultural Zones

[darrylcalmandstrong09]

New Vocal Article. Africa’s Most Flamboyant Emperor: “King of Kings” Mansa Musa of the Mali Empire

“You’ve heard about the extraordinary wealth of Bill Gates, J.P. Morgan, and the sultan of Brunei, but have you heard of Mansa Musa, one of the richest men who ever lived?” - Cynthia Crossen

To find out more about the richest man who ever lived, Emperor Mansa Musa from medieval West Africa, click here: https://rb.gy/ueof7

[luxury-factory]

Where can I buy a Prada necklace? @Prada 

[menalez]

one of my favourite fun facts is the knowledge that in medieval islamic arabia, lesbianism was thought to be an illness which can only be treated with a regular prescription of rubbing one's vulva against another woman's. they really said "you're sick with lesbianism, please have lesbian sex to treat it. and if your lesbianism is acting up again, have more lesbian sex"

[aircalib-arts]

*infodumps about my unfinished novel on you*

[worldhistoryfacts]

During the early Ming Dynasty, about 75 years before Christopher Columbus sailed the Atlantic, China set out to explore the Indian Ocean, putting an admiral named Zheng He in command of a massive fleet of ships much bigger than Columbus’ to visit southeast Asia, India, Arabia, and east Africa. He brought back lavish tribute from the kingdoms he visited, some of which were living, breathing creatures.

The animal that seemed to fascinate Chinese people the most during this period was the giraffe. This is probably because it resembled a mythical creature, the qilin, that was supposed to be a good omen for China and its rulers.

The Yongle Emperor, who ruled from 1402–1424, ended up in possession of two giraffes. The first was a gift from the ruler of Bengal, whose giraffe had attracted the notice of Chinese visitors. This poor giraffe was been shipped across the ocean twice, once from East Africa, and then again from Bengal to Beijing. The second giraffe was a direct gift to Zheng He from the ruler of Malindi in East Africa.

Here are some images of one of the giraffes -- these were widely copied, often with variations in the patterns on the animals' fur.

{WHF} {Ko-Fi} {Medium}

[alpaca-clouds]

DnD's World Problem - It's a bit of a waste

Okay, let me talk about the main world of DnD: Toril. And about the thing that it mostly gets reduced to Faerûn - which is in fact a continent - and specifically the Sword Coast, so the western coast of Faerûn.

And that is exactly what I want to talk about: There is an entire world there - but DnD has barely done anything with it in 4th edition and nothing with it in 5th edition. And I absolutely understand why, but I also think that ignoring these parts of the world is not the best way to go about it.

A World filled with Clichés

Now, anyone who knows a bit about the worldbuilding of DnD, will be able to tell you that this worldbuilding is not exactly creatives in the regard of the different continents. We basically have the following:

Faerûn = Fantasy-Europe

Anchorome = Fantasy-North America

Maztika = Fantasy-Meso America

Katashaka = Fantasy-Africa

Zakhara = Fantasy-Arabia

Kara-Tur = Fantasy-Asia (let's face it: Mostly Fantasy-China and Fantasy-Japan)

Osse = Fantasy-Australia

Faerûn has a lot more worldbuilding to it than any of the other continents. More than that: Faerûn is the one continent that is not based mostly on (racist) clichés of some non-white culture. Duh. Because Faerûn is obviously the European part of the world, and the mostly white people constructing this world were able to imagine a "European world" with a lot more details than they were able to imagine any non-white fantasy world.

And let's make this pretty darn clear: These other continents are not only fairly loose in terms of worldbuilding - a lot of it really is just "this is Fantasy-China, so just... uhm, imagine China but as fantasy!!!" Anchorome and Osse are probably the parts of the world that are most underdeveloped, with nearly no information available that goes past "Oh, this is pre-columbian North America with tribes living on the land" and "Yeah, Australia, uhm, yeah, that's it!"

And yes, this is very much "these parts of the world as imagined by white people in the 90s", as the 80s and 90s were the time when most of this was being created. And yes, that means all the problematic stuff that you imagine now about it... Yeah, that's true.

Let me tell you...

Racist Stereotypes

Okay, fellow white person. When I say "Africa", what do you imagine? I will take a guess: Savana, animals like lions and elephants, people living in mud huts and dressing in like, animal pelts or something. The typical racist "Africa is a country" thing that we saw in a lot of media and still see today, even though recently it has gotten a bit better with some own voices getting to create this media.

Meanwhile Kara-Tur is basically the boiled down version of the China and Japan popularized in Western Kung Fu movies - with maybe a bit of the Jackie Chan stuff thrown into it. It is really just the kind of western stuff, that if you grew up with Marvel comics for example you can find there, too.

Like, Katashaka is basically that Africa that some of the older Black Panther stuff displayed. And Kara-Tur is the kind of Asia that once upon a time Dr. Strange travelled to - and that the Mandarin came from. Like, it really is that bad.

Which probably is why they have not used any of these settings outside of Faerûn since 2000 with very few exceptions. Because by now people actually interacting with this, would rightfully call them out for the racism in it.

So, basically what they are doing right now is, to just act as if those settings do not exist. But... I actually do think that is in a way a bad thing for several reasons.

First and foremost it is obviously a bit iffy that the world got now reduced onto only the "European" part of the world. And sure, Faerûn is supposed to be quite diverse ethnically diverse, but that does not change the fact that it is "medieval Europe, with some Rennaissance stuff thrown in" for the most part.

Because it basically also implies that any non-white cultures are... unimportant for the world.

WotC, take a page out of Marvel's book

Okay, so, what should WotC/Hasbro do, if they actually cared about the franchise (which they clearly do not do, but that's beside the point)?

Well, simple: Do, what Marvel at some point did.

There is a reason I took the Marvel stuff as a reference above, because Marvel at some point realized that what they had done in the way they depicted basically anything that was not mainstream western culture was not okay. So... They hired people from the respective cultures to write about these non-western cultures, do the art and so on.

With all the criticism I have on the MCU, this did show there as well. With Black Panther being the most obvious example of course. A movie that went ahead to actually honor and even celebrate different African cultures.

And... well, DnD could do the same thing. It could not only help to actually worldbuild the entire world of Toril some more, but it also would create super interesting campaign settings for it as well.

Because I could absolutely imagine some interesting campaigns that could take place within an Africa-inspired setting, or some Indigenous-American-inspired setting. That could be very, very fun to play in, if the cultures were created by people from the real-world equivalent of those cultures.

And yes, this brings us back to the issue of: "For fuck's sake, let's just do a bit more with the lore?! Please!"

*sighs* Of course I know that this will probably not happen under Hasbro, because Hasbro mostly thinks about how to implement micro transactions into DnD... Yeah...

[tanadrin]

How similar would you say the House of Saud are in personality and behavior to the average medieval European monarch? Since they're one of the few remaining examples of a surviving absolute monarchy in the modern era that is also relevant on the world stage power-wise.

i don't know much about how the government of saudi arabia works, but based on what i do know, very different.

one key difference is that european monarchies had much smaller families, what with christianity generally requiring monogamy--the house of saud by contrast has a much larger pool of dynasts to draw from to help staff its state bureaucracy, which in theory should make coordinating around common interests easier. not that there couldn't be infighting and competing power centers within the family, but i would expect fewer.

similarly, i do not expect the politics of early modern (let alone medieval) agrarian states to look much like the politics of an industrialized petroleum-based economy. the non-royal interest groups are going to be different, as are the way those groups are distributed around the country. i don't know anything about, like, the ground-level political climate in saudi arabia, but i imagine it's very different from the historical european examples you have in mind.

(btw: people think absolute monarchy is a medieval thing. it's not. absolutism is very much an early modern phenomenon. medieval rulers absolutely used religion as a justifying ideology for their power, but you couldn't run a medieval state as an absolute monarch, because state capacity was too low and communication too slow. monarchs relied on distributed power centers--often formalized through institutions like parliaments or the sejm or the kreise of the HRE--and the costs of sieges were so high that building castles was an effective way to resist central control. baronial revolts could win considerable concessions from the monarchs. gunpowder, increasing state capacity, and the european wars of religion changed all that--after the middle ages had ended.)

[lgbtqiamuslimpedia]

Mukhannath

Mukhannath/مخنثون (plural: Mukhannathun) was a gender & sexual-diverse community of Pre-Islamic & Classical Islamic Societies. Transgender & gender variant identities & practices are diverse and vary across different cultures and societies, including within Muslim communities. In Classical Arabia, these people were refer to as 1.)Effeminate men, 2.) people of ambiguous sexual characteristics and gender non-confirmity, who appeared as more feminine, 3.) who socially had roles typically played by women. There is no monolithic interpretation or understanding of gender identity or expression within Islam, as the religion encompasses a wide range of beliefs and cultural contexts. The existence of mukhannathun has been acknowledged in many historical islamic texts, and their status within Islamic society has been subject to varying interpretations.

Etymology

According to the lexicographers, the term mukhannath derived from the verb Kha-na-tha in the first form means to fold back the mouth of a waterskin for drinking. Derived term develop the basic idea of bending or folding in the direction of pliability,suppleness,languidness,tenderness& delicacy.

According to 9th century Arabic scholar, philologist Abn Ubayd mukhannathun were so called on their account of effeminacy (takassur, elsewhere usually paired with tathanni,suppleness).[citation needed]

Later lexicographers define the term mukhannath as a man who resembles or imitates as woman in the languidness of his limbs or the softness of his voice.This definition rose to prominence among Islamic scholars until medieval times, when the term became associated with passive homosexuality.

While the term "Mukhannath al-Jins" has been used to refer to individuals who do not conform to traditional gender norms associated with their assigned sex.

History

Pre-Islamic Arab Society:

Mukhannathun's gender expression & existence were much tolerated in Pre-Islamic Arab world.Mukhannathun from the city of Medina (Saudi Arabia), are frequently mentioned in the hadith literature & in the works of many Early Arabic and Islamic writers.Mukhannaths were used as domestic worker,domestic helper,hairdresser in the early days of Islam.Mukhannath were allowed to access in both male & female quarters.Al-'Ayni quotes from al-Tabarani that in the days of the Prophet Muhammad,the mukhannathun spoke languidly,dyed their hands and feet (with henna), but were not accused of immoral acts (fahisha).

In the Rashidun and Umayyad caliphates, various mukhannathun of Medina established themselves as celebrated entertainers,artists.One particularly prominent mukhannath, Abū ʿAbd al-Munʿim ʿĪsā ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Dhāʾib, who had the Arabic name Ṭuwais ("Little Peacock"), was born in Medina on the day Prophet Muhammad died (8 June 632).

Ṭuwais is described as the first mukhannath person to perform "perfect singing" characterized by definitive rhythmic patterns in Medina.He was also known for his sharp wit and his skill with the tambourine (which had previously been associated only with female musicians).No sources describe his sexuality as immoral or imply that he was attracted to men.But it is reported that he was married with a woman.

While Ṭuwais is typically described as the leading mukhannath musician of Medina during his lifetime.Another Mukhannath who was known by the name al-Dalāl ("the Coquettish") is mentioned as one of Ṭuwais's favorite pupils.He is portrayed as a witty but sometimes crude man who "loved women," but did not have sex with them.Unlike Ṭuwais, some tales involving al-Dalāl do suggest that he was attracted to men.Furthermore Ṭuwais and other mukhannathun musicians formed an intermediary stage in the social class most associated with musical performance: women in pre-Islamic Arabia, mukhannathun in the Rashidun and early Umayyad caliphates, and mainly non-mukhannath men in later time periods.

In the early Umayyad period, Mukhannathun enjoyed an exceptional visibility and prestige in Medina & Mecca.Religious persecution of mukhannathun first started at the reigns of Caliph Marwan I. The governor of Mecca serving under al-Walīd I “issued a proclamation against the mukhannathun”, in addition to other entertainers. Two mukhannath musicians named Ibn Surayj and al-Gharīḍ are specifically referred to as being impacted by this proclamation. Mukhannath al-Gharīḍ fled to Yemen and never came back to Saudi Arabia.The most severe instance of persecution is typically dated to the time of al-Walīd I's brother and successor Sulaymān ibn ʿAbd al-Malik, (7th caliph of the Umayyad caliphate).According to several variants of this story, the caliph Sulayman ordered the full castration of the mukhannathun of Medina.Some versions of the tale say that all of them were forcefully undergo the castration procedure. Consequently, mukhannath or queer folks of Medina & Mecca begin to fade from historical sources, and the next generation of singers and musicians had few mukhannathun in their ranks.

Abbasid Period

During the Abbasid caliphate, the word itself was used as a descriptor for men who are entertainer and submissive or effeminate gay.Mukhannath were employed as dancers, musicians, comedian & guards of Abbasid harems.In later eras Mukhannath term has been mostly associated with effeminate homosexuality.

Safavid Period

Safavid Dynasty (1501–1736) was a Twelver Shia dynasty of Iran.Mukhannathun also appeared in Safavid Era.

Acceptance of transgender and gender non-conforming individuals within Islam can be highly influenced by cultural, social, political & regional factors. Different Muslim majority countries & communities may have differing attitudes towards gender identity and expression, ranging from acceptance to stigmatization.

Hadith Literature

Almost all references of ahadith literature justifies animosity toward queer people & have been quoted out of context; Islamic clerics,scholars wrongly condemn trans folks, despite so many major Islamic scholars having argued that the Hadith actually refer to cross-dressers (who want to deceitfully gain access to women’s spaces).

According to Sahih Bukhari 4324, Narated by Umm Salama narrated that ''Prophet (ﷺ) came to me while there was an mukhannath (Hit) sitting with me, and I heard him (i.e. the effeminate man) saying to `Abdullah bin Abi Umaiya, "O `Abdullah! See if Allah should make you conquer Ta'if tomorrow,then take the daughter of Ghailan (in marriage) as (she is so beautiful and fat that) she shows four folds of flesh when facing you, and eight when she turns her back." The Prophet (ﷺ) then said, "These (effeminate men) should never enter upon you (O women!)."

Al-Tabari (1978) took it as an example that the Prophet did not forbid a particular mukhanath, Hit, from entering the women’s quarters until he heard Hit giving a description of the women’s bodies in great detail.Hit was later prohibited from the house because ze had breached the trust of the Prophet, but not because of her gender identity or expression.According to Dr. Scott Siraj Kugle the mukhannath hadiths were so grossly taken out of context by many muslim conservatives,that what appeared to be a prophetic wisdom of protecting and sanctifying the privacy of women’s spaces; devolved into a punitive condemnation of gender & sexual diversity.

Its also known that Prophet Muhammad protect a Mukhannath (or trans woman) from death sentence.

According to a Sunan Abu Dawud 4910,narrated by Abu Hurayrah that,

''A mukhannath who had dyed his hands and feet with henna was brought to the Prophet (ﷺ).He asked: What is the matter with this man? He was told: "Messenger of Allah! He imitates the look of women." So he issued an order regarding him & he was banished to an-Naqi. The people said: Messenger of Allah! Should we not kill him? He said: I have been prohibited from killing people who pray.

According to Abu Usamah said: Naqi' is a region near Medina and not a Baqi ''.

According to Progressive Muslim scholar Mahdia Lynn, ''One group interprets this hadith as a transgressor banished: this person being sent away clearly teaches us that gender diverse people are not welcome in the Prophet’s community. According to this interpretation, living out the prophetic example today means that excluding gender and sexual diversity from Islam is right and good.

Another group looks at this story and sees a life saved: it’s clear there was a group of men ready to murder this person and so the Prophet saved their life by sending them away (to an-Naqi, a location between Mecca and Medina, which is interpreted to mean “within the bounds of Islam”). Living out prophetic example means not only accepting gender & sexual diversity as a valid part of the ummah, but being called upon to protect LGBTQI+ Muslims.''

Opinions

Within Islamic history and scholarship, there have been discussions and debates surrounding gender identities and expressions that transcends the gender binary.In the pre-modern period, muslim societies were aware of several gender non-confirmities: this can be seen through figures such as the khaasi (eunuch), the hijra (non-binary,trans), the mukhannath (trans-feminine),the mutarajjilat (trans male), the mamsuh (agender),the bissu (non-binary, polygender),the sida-sida (bigender) and the khuntha (intersex). Some Islamic scholars have explored the concept of "mukhannathun," which actually refers to individuals assigned male at birth but who exhibit feminine characteristics or behaviors.

Several scholars such as Mehrdad Alipour (2017) & Everett K. Rowson (1991) point to references in the Hadith to the existence of mukhannath: a man who carries femininity in his movements,in his appearance, and in the softness of his voice.Western scholars Aisya Aymanee M. Zaharin & Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli see the term mukhannath as referring to men who are behave like women,but do not want to undergo sex reassignment surgery,in contrast to transgender or intersex people.

Mukhannath term may use as an umbrella term for gender & sexual diverse.While sometimes Mukhannath classified as transgender people,the Mukhannathun as a group do not neatly fit into the western categories of gender or sexuality.There was too much variety from one Mukhannath to the next to establish a specific label for their gender or sexual identity, & the meaning of the term has changed over time.The Arabic term for a trans woman is Mukhannith, as they want to change their sex, while mukhannaths presumably don't.

In Popular Culture

Books

The Effeminates of Early Medina - Everett K. Rowson

Homosexuality,Transidentity and Islam -Ludovic Ahmad Zahed

Before homosexuality in Arab-Islamic World - Khaled El-Rouayheb

Sexual Ethics and Islam - Kecia Ali

Living Out Islam:Voices of Gay, Lesbian & Transgender Muslims - Scott Siraj Kugle

Homosexuality in Islam:Critical reflection on gay, lesbian & transgender muslims - Scott Siraj Kugle

Que(e)ring Religion:A Critical Anthology - Gary David Comstock, Susan E. Henking

Islam and Homosexuality - Samar Habib [volume 1], [volume 2]

Sexual and Gender Diversity in Muslim World - Vanja Hamzić

Islamic Homosexualities - Stephen O. Murray, Will Roscoe

Islamicate Sexualities:Translations across Temporal Geographies of Desire - Afsaneh Najmabadi,Kathryn Babayan

Queens, Eunuchs and Concubines in Islamic history - Taef El-Azhari

The Diesel (الديزل) by Thani al-Suwaidi

The Delight of Hearts - Ahmad Al-Tifashi

Governing Thirdness: State, Society and Non-Binary Identities - Muhammad Azfar Nisar

Films & TV

Allah Loves Equality - Wajahat Abbas Kazmi

Be Like Others - Tanaz Eshaghian

[b3llb00]

" We Pull The Tail, Now We See Who Bites. "

Robin of Loxley/ The Hood X Fem!reader.

Summary: Robin got injured during a chase to get some coins for the commoners, so Y/N offers to heal his wounds if she gets something else in return from him. ;)

A/N: I need to stop watching this movie, I’m obsessed and it’s gotten the better of me.

Contains: Kissing, 50% dom/sub reader and 50% dom/sub Rob, mentions of sex, injuries. [WILL INCLUDE: Smut, Unprotected Sex (Use Protection, Yall.) P In V, Oral (Male/Fem. Receiving) , Fingering, Creampie, Multiple Rounds. Mild Dirty Talk.]

Wc: 1.2k * I think. * (Will Prob Change.) IM COPY AND PASTING AND EDITING THIS FROM MY OLD ACCOUNT, SO DONT SAY IM A COPYCAT. THE FINISHED IMAGE WILL BE UPLOADED HERE. IF YOU WANT TO LIKE AND FOLLOW ME, LIKE AND FOLLOW THIS ACCOUNT.

DONT REPOST OR COPY MY WORK, YOU CAN REPOST WITH PERMISSION, ENJOY.

(Btw sorry if this picture is bad, just ignore John and pretend it's you lol.)

»»———-　🏹　———-««

You are setting up traps for Robin to shoot at later, when all of a sudden you hear a loud, groan from him coming upstairs, making a shiver run down your spine. When Robin was back in Arabia and you had to fight him, you ended up sparing his life, but your mercy to him didn’t do much as you still got captured and was set sail in a boat with him for 3 weeks. Surprisingly, you too starting talking and some would even call you " friends " .

You decide to go upstairs to see what Rob was groaning about, and there you saw him, shirtless, his toned torso on display. In nothing but his pants with a wet, bloody rag resting on his massive thigh where he been impaled. You had to close your eyes for a second, trying to push the weird desire you had for him to the back of your mind.

I wasn’t joking when I said the treasury itself was a hard target. You say, slowly walking toward him, this made him look up from his leg to look at you. He decides to ignore your statement and press his rag into his thigh further, making him hiss through gritted teeth. You decide to go grab your medical supplies you used whenever you two got hurt. You always had wanted to be a nurse, but ever since the Sherif of Nottingham drafted you, things changed. But I guess it’s pretty useful to know how to properly treat somebody’s wounds.

Hey! You heard Rob say from across the room, Where are you goin-

I'm getting my medical supplies, dumbass. You say back with a bit of an attitude, not wanting to be told where you’re going or what you’re doing when all you trying to do is help. Oh, sorry, love. Carry on. He said, making you turn your head to see a light smile adorning his features.

As much as you sometimes hated Robin's attitude and sarcasm, you just can’t help yourself to be mad at him. It’s almost like you're drawn under a spell that will keep you from ever getting into any sort of confrontation.

You finally got all your medical supplies and you headed to the small table that he sat in on. Letting the supplies fall from your hands, you organized it quickly, while Rob eyed you carefully the whole time.

Once you got everything ready and set up the way you wanted it, you took one more look at his thigh. ' Shit. ' You thought, his cut is too deep to get a good look at what’s going on, so you’re gonna have to find a way to ask him to take his pants off.

The cuts- uhm. You stutter, Your gonna have to take your pants off if you want me to get a good look at it and fix it.

You were looking everywhere except his face, not wanting him to see your blush-coated cheeks. Even though you weren’t looking at him, you could still feel his gaze burning a hole into the side of your head.

Just the pants or the braies too, love.? He winked at you, causing you to basically turn into putty right in front of him. (Keep in mind they didn’t really have ' boxers ' in medieval England, but they did have what were called braies. They were basically the same thing.)

You decided to try and flirt back to the best of your abilities by saying. Well, first, take your pants off, and then I’ll tell you.

This earned you a chuckle from the handsome man as he threw the bloody rag to the side and very carefully came up from his spot on the table, you watched him intently as you noticed some of the blood continued to trickle down his clothed thigh. He didn’t seem to care, he kept eye contact with you the whole time as he slowly took his pants off. To be honest it felt like an entity had passed when his pants finally hit the floor, and you weren’t disappointed, let’s just say that.. there was definitely a buldge hidden underneath the fabric of his braies, and you could actually see it growing..

You could practically hear Robin’s smirk as he called out to you, his voice low and teasing. Hey, my eyes are up here, love..

You immediately snap your gaze back up to his face, and he just has an amused expression painted all over his features. You could feel the heat start to radiate off your cheeks and your heartbeat start to pick up as you mumble out defensively. Yeah, yeah, I know.. You close your eyes for a second, trying to recompose yourself.

He takes a step forward, biting his lip to hold back a groan from the wave of pain that just shot up his leg. He cocks an eyebrow and says in a lower octave. You sure about that?

[I am currently editing this, and right here is my stopping point. If the story shifts or changes I’m sorry, I will fix it soon.]

" Hmm. If I fix up your thigh, will you give me a kiss? " You say before continuing, " I’ve always wondered if your a good kisser or not. "

He let out a small chuckle when his eyes kept flicking down to your lips. Then he finally spoke up and said, " Sure, love. " You blushed at the pet name. " Maybe I’ll give you something more than just a kiss. " He winked, making you roll your eyes at his audacity to be this flirty when he’s impaled.

" Fine, let me get my stuff.. " You say, heading away to get your medical supplies while Rob just watch you leave with a smile on his lips.

~

" Mkay, done. " You say as you wrap up his leg and stand up straight, pretty of yourself.

" Well, here’s the kiss that you wanted. " He said as he grabbed your arms, lightly pulling you in before his lips collided with yours.

It feels amazing, and you wanted to be immersed in this feeling forever. You didn’t know what to do, but you were able to make room by spreading his thighs wider so you get closer to him, which made him moan into your mouth. You smiled into the kiss, knowing it could be any moment when John could walk upstairs and see you two start to make out like teenagers, you didn’t care. You just wanted to feel Rob, you wanted his weight on top of you, you wanted him to pin you against the wall and fuck you till your legs went numb and you were cockdrunk.

He wrapped his muscular arms around your waist, pulling you closer and you felt his buldge in his pants grow. You let go of his lips for air and you almost whined at the loss of contact.

" Sorry, love. I don’t want us to get caught. " Rob said with a frown. You cupped his cheek with your hand and kiss him again softly before saying. " It’s fine, we can continue later. "

~

[traumendesmadchen]

✨ Chronotopia Spotlight 6 - The King & Magical Dresses ✨

Now that all of Chronotopia's main characters are introduced, I’d like to talk about the 3 dresses from the fairytale! (And the king. Maybe. A little 😬.)

Said father, the mad king. All designs by Anako.

In the original Donkeyskin, they're merely excuses made by the princess to gain time and avoid the dreaded wedding with her father. Which gives her a perfect reason to have extraordinarily beautiful clothes!

☁️ ⏳ The 1st one is the most mysterious as you can interpret its name in 2 different ways. I wanted to go for a time dress but it ultimately became a weather dress.

🌙 The 2nd one is a moon dress & it's the most incredible one in my opinion 🤩. Anako’s idea was to mix French medieval fashion with other countries’ fashion to create unique and mystical outfits. The previous dress was European in design, this one takes inspiration from China!

☀️ The 3rd one is a sun dress & it's the most dazzling of them all. While the moon dress was inspired by China, this one is inspired by Arabia. Anako did a stellar job at coming up with a vision for all of them 🙂.

👗 Which one of the dresses is your favourite? 😃

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

✨You can learn more about the dresses (and Donkeyskin in general) by reading the full article on itchio!✨

💜 Wishlist us on Steam💜

[menalez]

can I confess? I envy how some people can know about lgb(t) history/culture in their country. I don't really know how to explain this tbh. It's like, if someone asks me about lgb(t) history in my country, I simply have nothing to say, because I don't know. if I try google anything it is all about how much we were oppressed and still are oppressed, and if it is something good, then it's never about lesbians. it feels like we just don't have any history or culture or anything at all, yet or already.

but there's so much I can find about lgb(t) in US, for example. in past and present, positive and negative. I understand that this is something people fought for and not just something they always had, but I can't help but feel sad when I think about this. idk if what I wrote even makes sense, sorry.

to be fair, we also don't know much of the US lgb history before a certain timepoint either. we mostly know the comparatively recent history. and for many of eastern nations, you could find some of our limited history if you really dig for it, but mostly quite ancient history (for example, for lesbianism in arabia you can find some stuff from medieval times, not much for our recent history however). the issue is that with the rise of homophobia in more recent history, a lot of our history has been intentionally erased and buried or even destroyed.

it is sad though. we can only get very blurry ideas of our history within our nations, and that's absolutely sad. i also find it sad that when we look at world history of lgb people, there are many gaps and things we do not know. not because we did not exist, bc there are traces of more ancient and medieval history there although it exists with gaps that prove we've always been around, but because of homophobia

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Brice Laemle

Published: Sep 5, 2023

Charlie Hebdo is back on crusading for freedom of expression. While the Danish government presented a bill to Parliament on Friday, September 1, banning public defacing of religious objects, the secular satirical French weekly is criticizing Copenhagen's decision to reinstate the crime of blasphemy. The subject will feature on the front page of the Wednesday, September 6, issue.

The newspaper is launching an appeal to "warn citizens committed to democratic values" alongside eight Scandinavian media outlets. Among them, seven Norwegian newspapers and online sites and one Danish media outlet are criticizing the return of this 334-year-old law, which was repealed in 2017.

In recent months, there has been one controversy after another in northern Europe, with Iraqi political refugees repeatedly burning Qurans in front of the press. The Scandinavian far right is exultant at other similar degradations carried out within its ranks. The emotion that swept through the Muslim world at these images of book burning led, for example, to a hundred people attacking the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on July 20.

'An outrageous law'

Against this backdrop of heightened tensions, Danish Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard has championed a law designed to "prohibit the inappropriate treatment of objects of significant religious significance to a religious community." Anyone publicly desecrating a Bible, Torah, Quran or religious symbols such as a crucifix will soon face a fine or up to two years imprisonment.

For the editorial staff of Charlie Hebdo, who were targeted by an Islamist attack on January 7, 2015, this "ad hoc legislation" is worrying. "It's serious that a European country should decide to reinstate a medieval offense," warned the publication's director, Riss, who sees it as all the more symbolically important given that Denmark was the scene of the Muhammad cartoons affair in 2005.

"In doing this, the Danish government is bowing to pressure from Muslim countries," complained Gérard Biard, the weekly's editor-in-chief. "With this scandalous law, the Danish government is being dictated to by authoritarian regimes such as Iran, Saudi Arabia and Taliban Afghanistan. The vagueness surrounding this bill, which in reality concerns only the Quran, leaves the door open to all interpretations and therefore all penalties," even though the Danish minister of justice has assured that the law will not cover cartoons.

By embarking on this new battle, and at the risk of being accused of encouraging book-burners, Charlie Hebdo will surprise neither its supporters nor its detractors. "We're not trying to export French-style secularism but to support freedom of expression, which is threatened by this law. Everyone has the right to practise their religion, it's not about the Quran, it's about fighting religious fundamentalism," Riss said. The newspaper is currently in difficulty. Only 17,000 copies were sold on newsstands per week in August, compared with 20,000 in January 2023 and 25,000 in May 2022. Subscribers still hover around 30,000, but this is 3,000 fewer than nine months ago, and 7,000 fewer than in May 2022.

[ Via: https://archive.is/TsBUi ]

==

Never set a precedent of complying with religious demands.

Unless it's a demand for secularism.