The beauty of the houri: heavenly virgins, feminine ideals

"The fascination with the houri, the pure female of Islamic paradise, began long before September 11, 2001. Beauty of the Houri: Heavenly Virgins, Earthly Jihad, and the Feminine Models of Islam demonstrates how the ambiguous reward of the houri, mentioned in the Qurʼan and developed in Islamic...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Rustomji, Nerina (Author)
Format: Print Book
Language:English
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Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: New York Oxford University Press [2021]
In:Year: 2021
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Islam / Paradise / Huri / Reception
Further subjects:B Paradise Islam
B Islamic eschatology
Online Access: Inhaltsverzeichnis (Aggregator)
Parallel Edition:Electronic
Description
Summary:"The fascination with the houri, the pure female of Islamic paradise, began long before September 11, 2001. Beauty of the Houri: Heavenly Virgins, Earthly Jihad, and the Feminine Models of Islam demonstrates how the ambiguous reward of the houri, mentioned in the Qurʼan and developed in Islamic theological writings, has gained a distinctive place in English and French literature from the seventeenth to the twenty-first century and in digital material in the twenty-first century. The houri had multiple functions in Islamic texts that ranged from caretaker to pure companion to entertainment. French, English, and American writers used the houri to critique Islam and Muslim societies while also adopting the houri as a model of feminine beauty. Unlike earlier texts that presented different forms of the houri or universalized the houri for all women, writings about the houri after September 11th offer contradictory messages about Islam. In the twenty-first century, the image of the houri symbolizes a reward for violence and the possibility of gender parity. As a cosmic figure that inspires enduring questions about the promise of paradise and the idealized feminine form, the houri has a singular past and potential for future interpretation"--
Item Description:Includes bibliographical references and index
ISBN:019024934X