Joan Fallon
Welcome to my web page
  • JOAN FALLON - WELCOME
  • Joan Fallon - ABOUT
  • JOAN FALLON'S BLOG
  • CITY OF DREAMS historical fiction
  • Al-Andalus Historical Fiction
  • TRANSLATED BOOKS
  • JOAN FALLON NEWS
  • MAKE CONTACT WITH JOAN FALLON
  • PRIVACY
gtag('config', 'UA-167087790-1');

Sexuality in Muslim Spain

28/11/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
When writing historical fiction it is essential that all the facts are checked thoroughly. Readers want to be sure that what they are reading could have actually happened, even if it is written as fiction. So when  I was writing the al-Andalus series of historical novels and found that al-Hakem II was a homosexual I realised that I didn't know what the general attitude of the people at the time was to homosexuality or to heterosexuality either. Was sex forbidden between men? Was sex something that was endured or enjoyed? What was the law on this?

It seems that in 10th century Moorish Spain, sex was considered to be something pleasurable and to be enjoyed by all - an attitude more in line with 21st century Britain than the 19th century. Islam promoted marriage and within marriage most forms of sexual activity were allowed. Then as now, pre-marital sex and adultery were forbidden. As for homosexuality, it wasn't illegal for a Muslim to be homosexual in 10th century Spain, unlike today where in some Muslim countries it can carry the death penalty. In al-Andalus if you were part of the intellectual or political elite your sexual practices were never questioned. Homosexuality  was very common in the royal court and was reflected in the poetry written at the time. It was practised much less among the general populace however. The majority of men married - some even married women of Christian or Jewish faith. This was a fairly common practice although Muslim women were not allowed to marry non-Muslim men. (This is a problem for one of the characters in my third book in the al-Andalus trilogy, who falls in love with a Christian monk.)
Everyone knew that Hakem II was a homosexual - as well as having a harem of hundreds of beautiful women, he also had an all-male harem. The only concern for the Royal court was that he would not be able to produce an heir. Although his father al-Rahman III had many children, al-Hakim was his favourite and the one he relied upon to finish his work on building Madinat al-Zahra after he was dead. It was imperative that al-Hakim had a son to succeed him. His mother was a cunning woman and she arranged for one of his concubines to dress as a man and seduce him. As unlikely as it sounds, it worked. The concubine gave birth to two sons and became a close friend and ally of Hakem II, who once his duty was done, returned to the young men he really loved. 
Picture
The concubine, Subh, became one of the most powerful women in the land although her elder son died when he was still a boy. That left the younger one, al-Hisham II, who owing to the sudden death of his father, became caliph at the tender age of eleven-years-old. He never ruled al-Andalus and was caliph in nothing but name. His regent, al-Mansur and his mother, Subh ruled the country between them while al-Hisham remained a prisoner in his palace. He too was homosexual and produced no heir. 

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Joan Fallon is a writer and novelist living in Spain.

    Archives

    December 2020
    November 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    August 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    July 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    June 2013
    January 2013
    October 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012

    Categories

    All
    Abd Al Rahman III
    Albarino
    Al-Hakam II
    Amy Fitzpatrick
    And Al-Rahman III
    Andalusia
    Ann Victoria Roberts
    Australia
    Autobiography
    Bell Book & Candle
    Biblioteca Nordica
    Biography
    Blitz
    Blog Tour
    Book Clubs
    Books
    Cambados
    Camino De Santiago
    Canterbury Tales
    Cape Torment
    Captain Smith
    Cathedral Of Santiago De Compostela
    Celebrity Books
    Child Migrants
    Christmas
    Compostela
    Cooking
    Cornish Pasties
    Costa Del Sol
    Costa Women
    Crime Thrillers
    Daughters Of Spain
    David Lean's Dedicated Maniac
    DI Paolo Storey
    Editing
    Ernest Hemingway
    FINCA DEL NIÑO
    Frances Di Plino
    Free Kindle Books
    Galicia
    Historical Fiction
    Historical Novel Society
    Holiday Reads
    Http://larosilla.info/
    International Women's Day
    J G Harlond
    Jg Harlond
    Karen Mcmahon
    Literature
    Local Television On Costa Del Sol
    Lorraine Mace
    Madinat Al Zahra
    Madinat Al-Zahra
    Malaga
    Margaret Humphreys
    Memory Keepers Workshop49d8720cd8
    Mijas 340 Television
    Mijas International
    Moors In Spain
    Novels
    Paul Anthony
    Pilgrimage
    Police Anthology
    Publishers
    Publishing Deals
    Punctuation
    Raija Oranen
    Santiago Tales
    Sea Evacuees
    Self Publishing
    Self-publishing
    Spain
    Spanish Civil War
    Spanish Lavender
    St James
    The Chosen Man
    The Empress Emerald
    The Hemingway Project
    The Master's Tale
    The Shining City
    The Way Of St James
    Titanic
    True Story
    Umayyads
    Uncuffed
    Vlad The Inhaler
    World War Ii
    Writing
    Writing Courses
    Writing Holiday
    Writing Workshops

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly