Description:
This is the first book with multidisciplinary perspectives on religion and homosexuality in Africa. It presents case studies from across the continent, from Egypt to Zimbabwe and from Senegal to Kenya, and covers religious traditions such as Islam, Christianity and Rastafarianism. The contributors explore the role of religion in the politicisation of homosexuality, investigate local and global mobilisations of power, critically examine dominant religious discourses, and highlight the emergence of counter-discourses. Hence they reveal the crucial yet ambivalent public role of religion in matters of sexuality, social justice and human rights in contemporary Africa.
Review Quotes:
"This volume succeeds in exposing the politics of religion in Africa. It is an invaluable resource for those seeking to construct an alternative, counter hegemonic narrative about African sexualities--one that resets the logic of its 'common sense' for transformative scholarship." - Sylvia Tamale, Makerere University, Uganda
"This timely, scholarly, wide-ranging and deeply empathetic collection, forcefully challenges a range of hurtful stereotypes including: the supposed non-existence of homosexuality in African traditional cultures, the notion that African religions are uniformly intolerant toward sexual diversity, and the un-truth that African intellectuals are not particularly concerned about the oppression of sexual minorities. The wealth of evidence and astute analysis presented here, reveals complex factors underlying the apparent rise of religious and political homophobia in much of Africa in recent decades." - Marc Epprecht, Queen's University, Canada