The Perplexity of a Muslim Woman Over Inheritance, Marriage, and Homosexuality By Olfa Youssef (Lanham, MY: Lexington Books, 2017. 164 pages.)

Abstract

Olfa Youssef ’s The Perplexity of a Muslim Woman: Over Inheritance, Marriage,
and Homosexuality addresses some of the practical and conceptual
inconsistences in traditional, male-centric interpretations of inheritance,
marriage, and homosexuality. Youssef analyzes relevant questions, assumptions,
and sub-themes on each topic in separate chapters. A brief introduction
challenges common claims treated as truths. The conclusion emphasizes
that to uncritically follow past scholars’ views is idolatry and that no
one, no matter how knowledgeable, possesses an absolute reading of the
Qur’an. The book closes with an appendix on relevant Qur’anic verses and
an appendix on relevant hadiths and historical accounts.
The preface describes the origins of the translation project, offers an intellectual
biography of Olfa Youssef, and discusses the reception of Youssef
and her ideas across North Africa. It also situates Youssef ’s scholarship
between the postcolonial milieu of North Africa and patriarchal interpretations
of Islam. Recognizing the political role of translation, Lamia Benyoussef
hopes that through the translation she can show Muslim women as
agents of change, contributing to the religious and other discourses taking
place about them ...