# Overview In today's Arabic, there are two terms for homosexuality: shudhudh jinsi (sexual deviance) and mithlyah jinsiah (same-sex sexuality). Historically, Islamic thought viewed same-sex acts as behaviors that violated divine law, punishable in specific contexts but not inherently tied to an identity. Terms like “liwat” focused on actions rather than people. For more than a millennium, pre-modern (before the 19th century) Arab-Islamic thought discussed all kinds of sexual relations without using terms implying deviancy. Same-sex relationships were often discussed in literature and public life without stigma. Pre-modern Arab-Islamic thought did not have a term equivalent to modern “homosexuality.” Same-sex relationships were described without condemnation, using terms like “liwat” (male-male acts) and “sihaq” (female-female acts). Terms like “mukhanath” (effeminate men), “mabun” (passive partner), and "luti" (active partner) describe roles rather than identities, often without strong moral judgment. The rise of the Nahda (Arab Renaissance) in the late 19th century coincided with the Victorian moral framework that pathologized non-reproductive sexualities. This led to Arab discomfort with pre-modern Arab norms around same-sex love. In the early 20th century, terms like "shudhudh jinsi" are introduced into Arabic during translation of European sexological texts. >Shudhudh is a translation of a modern Western concept that was developed in the late 19th century within an emergent medical-scientific preoccupation with sexuality in Western Europe when anti-hedonist, Victorian morality of austerity, restraint and prohibition on expressing sexual desires was dominant. >mithlyah is not a recent translation of homosexuality that aimed to replace the term shudhudh and normalize homosexuality. Rather, it was the original term that earlier Arab translators chose for homosexuality, coined at the same time as the term shudhudh and within the same movement of translating modern European psychological and sexologist literature. In the mid-20th century, "shudhudh" becomes increasingly associated exclusively with homosexuality. In the late 20th century, Islamist perspectives begin to oppose homosexuality. Writers like Muhammad Jalal Kushk reinterpret homosexuality as a symptom of Western individualism and decadence but oppose its criminalization. The global AIDS crisis fuels anti-homosexuality rhetoric in the Arab world, solidifying "shudhudh" as a derogatory term.  In the early 21st century, anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric has become central to moral and political agendas in authoritarian Arab regimes, especially as a way to assert moral authority after the Arab Spring. In the 2010s to 2020s, public and state discourse intensify, framing homosexuality as an existential threat to Arab and Islamic values. Social media amplifies debates, often with polarized echo chambers. #### "Shudhudh Jinsi" (Sexual deviance) - "Sexual deviance" or "sexual abnormality" - “Shudhudh” (شذوذ) translates to “deviance,” “abnormality,” or “perversion.” - “Jinsi” (جنسي) means “sexual” or “related to sex.” - Often used pejoratively in anti-LGBTQ+ Arab discourse. - Considered more authentic and less conciliatory to Western values. - The Quran does not use "shudhudh" to describe homosexuality. Instead, it uses terms like "fahisha" (lewdness, indecency, or obscenity), as in the story of the people of Lut. - Introduced into Arabic in the early 20th century as a Western-informed medical category which included a range of "deviant" (non-procreative) sexuality, like masturbation, BDSM, etc. - "shadh" is the linguistic root for shudhudh. - "Shadh has several meanings, and homosexuality is not among them. Instead, shudhudh means 'becoming different from the majority, or rare' or being a stranger from one’s home and neighborhood." - Pronounced as: shoo-DOOTH jin-SEE #### "Mithlyah Jinsiah" (Same-sex sexuality) - "same-sex sexuality" - “Mithlyah” (مثلية) refers to “same-sex” or “likeness.” - comes from “mithl” (مثل), meaning “same” or “similar.” - “Jinsiah” (جنسية) means “sexual” or “relating to sex.” - This term is more neutral and descriptive, typically used in scientific or progressive contexts. - The original term earlier Arab translators used for homosexuality. - However, Arab anti-homosexual discourse wrongly considers mithlyah a recent in - Pronounced as: MITH-lee-yah jin-SEE-yah # Three transformations of Shudhudh's meaning #### Nawal El Saadawi's transformation from psychological to sociological El Saadawi, a feminist scholar, argued that homosexuality, particularly among schoolgirls, was not due to internal psychological issues, but was shaped by societal and political pressures. El Saadawi began using “inhiraf” (another term for deviance) to describe other sexual abnormalities, leaving “shudhudh” more associated with homosexuality. #### Muhammad Jalal Kushk’s Islamist civilizational transformation Kushk argued that homosexuality symbolized moral and ethical decay of civilizations, wherein homosexuality was the consequence of individualism and detachment from traditional, communal responsibilities like reproduction. #### Anti-homosexuality discourse to authoritarian tool After the Arab Spring, authoritarian regimes shifted their strategies to adapt to new challenges. By moving away from religion and women as primary sources of moral legitimacy, they adopted anti-homosexuality and anti-atheism discourses to maintain control, consolidate power, and distract from deeper societal issues. Many regimes sought to reduce reliance on Islam as a political tool to distance themselves from Islamist movements, which were seen as threats (e.g., the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt). Additionally, some regimes adopted token advancements in women’s rights to present themselves as progressive on the global stage. A secular-conservative approach allowed them to maintain moral control without directly relying on religious rhetoric.