Polygyny:What It Means When African American Muslim Women Share Their Husbands مقاله

Debra Majeed employs the term living polygyny to describe the experiences of those involved in such marriages: men with multiple wives, the first or subsequent wives, those married both civilly and religiously, those only religiously mar ried in a nikāḥ (Islamic marriage contract) ceremony, publically recognized marriages, closeted polygynous marriages not publically recognized, and “back door” marriages in which at least one wife is unknown to the other(s). Majeed presents evidence that estimates 0007% of African American Muslims live polygyny, a marginalized norm that warrants the attention of scholarly research, which is largely absent. This work challenges patriarchy by presenting alternative interpretations to the Qur’an that privilege male authority and interpretations of Islam that subordinate women to men, as well as the patriarchal structure of American, Muslim, and African American communities. ajiss34-1_ajiss 1/23/112017:56 AM Page 109 Importantly, this work examines the Qur’an and the various interpreta tions held by Muslims on plural marriage and the place of women,schools of thought within Islamic jurisprudence (e. Many African American Muslim leaders have interpreted polygyny as a way to ad dressthe “marriage squeeze” in Black communities, the phenomena whereby the number of marriageable women outnumbers the availability of marriage able men. Alternately, these same social phenomena have engendered varied social statuses and structures among African Americans, such as com parably more egalitarian relationships between Black men and women and Black women’s increased visibility, activism, and leadership roles in their re ligious and ethnic communities. Importantly, such research chal lenges a widely held assumption regarding Muslim women’s lack of agency within their families and lives.