Misyar temporary marriage in sunni islam daniel pipes. But in the book law of desire, shahla haeri, a boston university cultural anthropologist and granddaughter of an ayatollah, cited interviews with clerics. This book teaches reader with a focus on real projects. Although frowned upon by society, it today constitutes a loophole in the often rigid law, which young people often take advantage of. This book is a study of the institution of temporary marriage, muta, and its practice, popularly known as sigheh, in contemporary iran. Urdu book august 108 july 54 june 2 may 6 april 6 march 7 february 29 january 3.
I use the word sigheh rather than ezdevaje movaqat in this book in order. Search for library items search for lists search for. Temporary marriage in shii iran by shahla haeri 1994 business laws of iran by habib shirazi 1993 marriage on trial. Jun 22, 2003 the shiite institution of muta or sighe temporary marriage is quite well known, being the subject of an 1989 englishlanguage book by shahla haeri, law of desire. White marriage a growing trend for young couples in iran. The phenomenon of temporary marriage in the islamic republic of iran is explored in the documentary in the bazaar of sexes. Temporary marriage in iran by claudia yaghoobi january 2020. Originally, sighe in iran was geared toward widows. Travel to iran hitchhiking, tinder and a 30day marriage. Mutah or temporary marriageappendix from the book shia by allamah tabatabai and sayyed hossein nasr. Four companions chaar yaar urdu book difference between zina and mutah marriage. In tehran, you can choose a marriage that lasts for three. They describe their loving and civil partnership as a white marriage.
I took his word for it, and before i realized, i was into a lot of trouble. Feminist political scientist condemns temporary marriage as exploitation. Therefore, sigheh temporary marriages are mainly encouraged for. Mar 06, 2012 discrimination in iran s temporary marriage law goes unchecked iran s sigheh law gives men right to have as many sexual partners as they wish but discriminates against women fazel hawramy. Children main victims of irans temporary marriages. Shia islam allows a man and woman to marry for a fixed period of time, ranging from an hour to a century.
The marriage of mutah from the book questions on jurisprudence masail fiqhiyya by abd alhusayn. The report warned about the spread of homosexuality among high school students because, it said, their chances of a permanent marriage are very low. In an unusual tradition, in iran you can specify the length of your marriage, from a few minutes to 99 years. In her early 30s, author jennifer klinec heads to iran to learn everything she can about persian food. Kameel has published extensive research on sexual inequality and marriage in iran, including a study of early child marriage entitled an echo of silence pdf. A few days later i was standing on the roadside with esme preparing for a month of hitchhiking around iran. Muta, sex customs iran, temporary marriage iran publisher syracuse, n. During my stay in iran in 2005, i carried out a fieldwork on shii temporary marriage. The films female director, sudabeh morterzai, gives viewers a rare insight into a very complex society. A memoir of love and food in iran by jennifer klinec is published by virago. Some girls quit school, turn to a life of crime, or even commit suicide. The shrine, id been told, is a hangout for women seeking temporary marriage, an intriguing mechanism in shiite islam for relieving sexual frustration.
Haeris book became the inspiration for a series of papers, conference presentations, and ultimately this book. The temporary bride is half food memoir and half romance with a bit of adventure travel thrown in. A unique aspect of the iranian revolution was the dramatic presence of women. Bbc news middle east iran talks up temporary marriages. Therefore, the existence of the childrens total personality is a hoax. One proclaimed that because god banned alcohol, he allowed temporary marriage.
Muta is legally sanctioned among the twelver shiites who live predominantly in iran. According to some reports, 14,000 widowed girls in iran are younger than 18 years old. My favourite kind of writing, beautiful detailed and evocative descriptions of places, people and food. Child marriage in iran is a legal crime endorsed by.
Shahla haeri revised edition includes new postscript invitation to proper sex. But many fewer are aware of its rough equivalent in the sunni world, namely the misyar, or travelers marriage with increasing frankness, however, the englishlanguage press is taking up the issue. Gender and body politics in modern iranian film and literature the global middle east book 12 ebook. Temporary marriage in shii iran nutzerbericht lauren goodreads. The focus of the book is on the perception of the institution by some iranian men and women whose lives have been tied together by a contract of fixed term marriage. The couple agrees on the time period of the marriage, which in iran is usually between three and six months. The descriptions of the dishes were mouthwatering, i only wish they had included some recipes. In the islamic republic of iran, sex outside of marriage is a crime, punishable by up to 100 lashes or. White marriage a growing trend for young couples in iran iran has a dress code for women, and rules about conduct in public are strict. Shahrams gripping debut novel, about the shia muslim practice of temporary marriage in which the duration and dowry are arranged in advance, is more powerful for being based on reallife experiences, working as an engrossing fictional story and an expose of gender discrimination in iran. Select a visa category below to find the visa issuance fee, number of entries, and validity period for visas issued to applicants from this countryarea of authority.
Temporary marriage is hence practised today only in shia communities, mainly in iran and occasionally also in iraq. Mar 20, 20 according to boston university professor shala haeri, in her book law of desire. Mar 12, 2018 a house on the water, which looks at temporary marriage in iran, is the latest study by kameel ahmadi, an iranianbritish sociologist who lives in iran persian pdf. The practice of temporary marriage has long been common in shiite muslim communities, especially in iran. The temporary bride by jennifer klinec was wonderful. It is allowed to conclude a temporary marriage with a virgin if she is an adult, since she has the right to wed herself without the permission of her guardian, but other considerations should be taken into account like bad reputation the girl might acquire. Anonymous in the west, temporary marriage is, basically, a contractual deal between a man and a woman who decide to be married for an agreed period of time varying from one hour to 99 years. Claudia yaghoobi in iran, marriage has been crucial to the establishment of the family as a fundamental unit of society. Drawing on rich interviews that would have been denied a western anthropologist, the author describes the concept of a temporarymarriage contract, in which a man and an unmarried woman virgin, widow, or divorcee decide how long they want to stay.
A man can also have any number of temporary marriages or sigheh, as they are known. Based on analysis of novels and short stories from the. While prostitution is illegal in iran, the shiah institution of nikah mutah temporary marriage, usually called sigheh in iran allows contractual shortterm relations between both sexes. Mut a is legally sanctioned among the twelver shiites who live predominantly in iran. This article was first published on the alborz website on january 9, 2010 in iran, temporary marriage, which was. It was a decade ago in graduate school when i read shahla haeris magnificent book, law of desire, for the first time. Religiously speaking, marriage is a fundamental aspect of islam, the dominant religion in. Sigheh marriages in modern iran chapter 1 temporary marriage. Explains the practice of temporary marriage, mostly in iran. Though they are yet to become legal, chastity or morality houses are religiously sanctioned establishments that enable couples to engage in intimate relationships by performing sigheh temporary. If a marriage is temporary therefore the family this kind of marriage upholds is also temporary. Temporary marriage in iran, 2nd edition is a straightforward introduction to the core of programming.
But many fewer are aware of its rough equivalent in the sunni world, namely the misyar, or travelers marriage. Temporary marriage in shii iran, revised edition on. A single mother turned prostitutes incredibly heart breaking story of her life and others in modern iran where she exposes corruption high up and. Married men who look for an extramarital relationship. In the case of iranian women, according to soraya tremayne, marriage. Temporary marriage in iran facts culture same sex people. The type of nonimmigrant visa you are applying for. Temporary marriage in islam part 1 a shiite encyclopedia. Proposing a methodology that brings feminist theories of embodiment to bear on the iranian literary and cinematic tradition, this study examines temporary marriage in iran, not just as an institution but also as a set of practices, identities and meanings that have transformed over the course of the twentieth and twentyfirst centuries. Two decades later, irans shiite clerics continue to endorse temporary marriage as a sexual escape valve. Gender and body politics in modern iranian film and literature cambridge university press 2020 examines the representation of sigheh temporary marriage in three novels and two short stories from the pahlavi era 19241979 and two cinematic works produced after the islamic revolution 1979. Temporary marriage in shii iran, which is based on a field research made by shahla haeri, an iranian.
Cohabitation, temporary marriage, remarriage, polygamy, iran. This book is interesting and is about law and custom, religion and morality, public and private contracts, eroticism and desire. The focus is not just on women but on the perception of the institution by some iranian men and women whose lives have been tied together by a contract of temporary marriage. Will the author of this book please kindly tell me how i can convince myself to embrace islam and the iranian traditions and thinking if many put justice to polygamy. Discrimination in iran s temporary marriage law goes unchecked iran s sigheh law gives men right to have as many sexual partners as they wish but discriminates against women fazel hawramy. Permanent marriage muta marriage or temporary marriage a shia of the male sex may contract a muta marriage with a woman professing the muslim, christian or jewish religion, or even with a woman who is a fireworshiper. At first i didn t believe him, but he used sources such as bukhari and muslim. Shahla haeri this book is a study of the institution of temporary marriage, muta, and its practice, popularly known as sigheh, in contemporary iran. How temporary marriage, or sigheh, is spreading in iran. Its often used as a cover to legitimize prostitution or rape although it can be innocent, allowing an man and woman who arent related to spend time togehter free from veils and without chapperones. I was a temporary bride life and style the guardian. Whereas most first dates maybe end with an awkward peck on the lips and vague plans to call each other in a few days time, this one was different. Temporary marriage a euphemism for religiously sanctioned prostitution is an islamic custom that unites a man and an unmarried woman as husband and wife for a limited period of time.
Try searching on jstor for other items related to this book. This is the edition of the best selling the law of desire. Cambridge core middle east studies temporary marriage in iran by claudia yaghoobi. Some possible applications of muta marriage temporary marriage. The couple agrees on the time period of the marriage, which in iran.
Temporary marriage in shiite islam marginal revolution. Sigheh can last from 3days to 99 years although some islamic scholars mujtahids, say that it is impossible to marry a person, as temporary marriage, for. Mutta marriage or temporary marriage contract in shia. The only anthropological book on the topic is law of. Temporary marriage in shii iran, nika mutah is a preislamic tradition of arabia still practiced by a minority. Jun 02, 2007 iran s interior minister, mostafa pourmohammadi, has started promoting temporary marriage as a solution to the countrys social problems. A temporary marriage makes more sense than marriage for. In 2014, iranian parliaments research center published its own reportabout temporary marriage, describing it as a cure for reducing illicit sexual relations in iran persian link. But temporary marriages have actually been successfully practised for centuries, among peruvian indians in the andes, in 15thcentury indonesia, in ancient japan and the islamic world, and elsewhere. Temporary marriage in shii iran contemporary issues in the middle east 9780815624837.
In presentday iran, a significant number of divorces involve underage children. The temporary marriage is literally translated as pleasure marriage nikah mutaa and is for a limited amount of time. He told me that it was a type of temporary marriage, which was halal even in sunni books. Evidences from the sunni historyfiqhmiscellanea books.
Temporary marriage and the economy of pleasure tehran. Sep 05, 20 temporary marriage, muta marriage, mutah marriage, muta, mota, mutah, mot3a, nikah mutah, misyar, sunni, shia, seegheh, sigheh, halal, hallal, relationship. Sunni variations on the theme are also on the rise throughout the middle east. May 29, 2015 white marriage a growing trend for young couples in iran iran has a dress code for women, and rules about conduct in public are strict. Children main victims of irans temporary marriages track. No, a preislamic form of temporary marriage, muta, that has been enjoying a revival, according to shahla haeri, among the followers of twelver shiism, the dominant religion of iran. The idea is that rather than having an affair, a man who wants to be sexually involved.
Oct 04, 2000 temporary marriage is one of oddest loopholes in islamic system in iran, where people of all classes and degrees of religiosity pride selves on finding loopholes. This custom is practiced among the shiites of iran and iraq, although not a part of quranic teachings. In iran, a man bachelor or married, and a woman virgin, divorced, or widowed, can, at any time enter into a temporary marriage contract, commonly known as sigheh or nekahemonghatee. Oct 19, 2010 the practice of temporary marriage has long been common in shiite muslim communities, especially in iran.
An islamic discourse on female sexuality in iran, haeri says the response to muta is classbased lower middle class women support it while urban middle class women. As an iranian muslim woman and a granddaughter of a wellknown ayatollah, shahla haeri was accepted into the communities where she conducted her fieldwork on muta, temporary marriage. The woman has to be either muslim or from the people of the book christian or jew. It is an exploration of the culture of a place that most of us will know very, very little about iran. Proposing a methodology that brings feminist theories of embodiment to bear on the iranian literary and cinematic tradition, this study examines temporary marriage in iran, not just as an institution but also as a set of practices, identities and meanings that have transformed over the course of the. They prefer to be punished by the authorities for having a sexual relationship outside of marriage, rather than hiding behind a hypocritical sigheh agreement. Muta marriage is valid type of marriage in shia jurisprudence. Gender and body politics in modern iranian film and literature emerged out of my desire to give voice to the underdog. As an iranian muslim woman and a granddaughter of a wellknown ayatollah, shahla haeri was accepted into the communities where she conducted her fieldwork onmuta, temporary marriage. The shiite institution of muta or sighe temporary marriage is quite well known, being the subject of an 1989 englishlanguage book by shahla haeri, law of desire. The four pillars of muta muta, temporary marriage in.
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