Sexuality and Islamic Spirituality in Early Malay Writings

Based on Malay manuscripts and publications, this book examines the relationship between sex and Islamic spirituality since the seventeenth century in Southeast Asia.

There are few studies on the historical relationship between gender and Islam in Southeast Asia. This book argues that between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries - before the formalisation of sharia laws - Islam was heavily influenced by elements of enchantment and mysticism, and that this was mirrored in the portrayal and experience of gender relations and sexuality.

The analysis is based on handwritten manuscripts and published books about the body, sex and sexuality written in the Malay language. These include sex manuals from the seventeenth century, translated from the original Arabic or Persian and adapted for local relevance, as well as advice literature and prescriptions on topics such as male impotency and low libido. Also included is analysis of the first Malay language dictionaries from the nineteenth century - where there are lengthy descriptions of terms surrounding heterosexual, transgender and homosexual acts - and a nineteenth-century text on sex and women’s sexual pleasure, written by a woman from the island on Riau.

The author's analysis of these primary texts highlight the changing sexual norms and attitudes held in the Malay world and the ways in which sex and sexuality were configured as a component of faith and spirituality.