Living Out Islam: Voices of Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Muslims

Glossary of Terms

>> 235 Glossary of Terms adab: respectful behavior. ‘adl: justice–—al-‘Adl or “the Just One” is one of the ninety-nine names of God in Islam. ‘alim: scholar—see ‘ulama. allochtoonen: ethnic minority group members—a Dutch term for non-European immigrants as a racial minority. Amazigh: Free People—the original population of North Africa, now predominantly Muslims, who are popularly known as “Berbers” and inhabited the region before the Romans and Arabs. apartheid: Racial segregation—a Dutch term for the social system that enforced separate legal rights and living spaces for people based on racial classification; it was enforced by the National Party government in South Africa from 1948 (after independence from British imperial rule) until 1994 (after an uprising led by the African National Congress). ‘aqd al-nikah: contract of marriage; a legal written document that includes signatures of witnesses (also called nikah-nama in South Asia) ‘ayb: shameful act—a wrongdoing or sin. Coloured: racial classification—in South Africa under apartheid, “Coloured” was the racial classification of Muslims of mixed ancestry; the “Coloured” community was placed above Black Africans and below White Europeans in the racial hierarchy. dar al-ulum: religious academy—a large madrasa in South Asian contexts. dars: learning—sessions of organized religious education, usually for adults as continuing education above and beyond basic madrasa training. da‘wa: mission work—individual or organized activity to spread Islam; many modern groups organize gatherings to missionize, like the Tablighi Jama‘at, a vast international movement that began in South Asia (known as Rijal alDa ‘wa in Arabic lands). 236 > 237 Hanafi: a legal school—one of four major Sunni legal schools (see madhhab) which is prevalent in South Asia. hijra: nonman in South Asia—a person born with male sex organs and raised as a boy who identifies as female, taking on female behavior, name, and dress, and who voluntarily undergoes a ritual castration to remove both testicles and penis (compare to khasi). Hudood Ordinances: the Pakistani legal decree of 1979 that stipulates the death penalty for adultery, fornication, and homosexual intercourse. iftar: meal to break fast—the meal after a day of fasting during the month of Ramadan when Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. ijtihad: striving—intellectual effort and ethical discretion in the interpretation of religion. imam: leader—one who leads communal prayer; among Shi‘i Muslims, Imam (with a capital I) means a leader descended from the Prophet Muhammad’s family with both religious and political authority. iman: faith. irba: hidden sexual desire—used in the Qur’an to describe men who “have no wiles with women” and feel no sexual attraction toward them. Isma‘ili: a number of smaller Shi‘i sects whose followers have a living spiritual guide descended from Ali ibn Abi Talib. isnad: chain of transmission—the list of people who have narrated a hadith report. istinja’: purification—washing after using the toilet in order to restore a state of ritual purity. jami‘a: institution of Islamic higher learning—a large madrasa which offers higher degrees. janaza: funeral prayer—the last communal ritual for a deceased Muslim before burial; often Islamic leaders carry out an “excommunication” by threatening to refuse burial rites and final prayer to a member of their Muslim community. jum‘a: congregational prayer—the noon prayer on Fridays during which the whole community should gather for a sermon. junusiyya: same-gender sexual orientation—a newly coined term to describe homosexuality in Arabic. karamat: miracle places—tombs of holy people that are the object of pilgrimage in South Africa (known as dargah or mazar or ziyarat in other Islamic regions). 238 > 239 murshid: spiritual guide—a spiritual elder in the Sufi tradition (see also shaykh). murtadd: apostate—one who renounces the religion of Islam. mutarrajula: woman who behaves like a man in speech, gesture, gait, or dress (compare to mukhannath). na‘at sharif: noble description—devotional songs of love for the Prophet Muhammad; a genre of Urdu poetry. nabi: prophet—Islam recognizes many prophets, including Noah, Abraham, Lot, Moses, and Jesus, with Muhammad being the last and final prophet. namaz: prayer—five daily prayers in Islam; called salat (in Arabic) or namaz (in Urdu). nikah: marriage—acceptable sexual intercourse legalized by a contractual relationship. niyaz: offering—making a vow or request at a saint’s tomb. niyya: intention—the intent by which any action is judged. Qur’an: Islamic scripture—speech of God as transmitted by the Angel Gabriel to Muhammad in Arabic; originally an oral message, it...