Islamic law on transgenderism/transsexuality

What is it about?

The article closely examines two Islamic Fatwas (Islamic legal opinions) on sex-reassignment surgery (SRS)/ or gender-confirming surgery (GCS) issued by Khomeini and al-Tantawi. It shows that how the situation of transgender Muslims prompted the SRS/GCS fatwas. By studying the fatwas, the paper then analyses the internal legal-hermeneutical reasoning behind these fatwas.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

This study provides a nuanced discussion on Islamic legal-hermeneutical stances about trans* issue and GCS/SRS. It deals with this topic from within the (neo-)traditional juristic approaches, and thus extensively elaborates on the internal logic behind these attitudes to examine the potentiality of such legal opinions to be extended to analogous LGBTQI+ phenomena, such as homosexuality and bisexuality, and their legalisation.