this is probably two questions but feel free to ask however. do you know any queer muslim or middle eastern centered literature? If not, any sci fi literature that incorporates Islam that's not Dune?
Hi!
Yes, I know of a few books on Queer Muslims from the SWANA region, though they are on the academic side of prose and many other fellow Muslims quite probably know about them as well: Female Homosexuality in the Middle East: Histories and Representations by Samar Habib; an essay compilation named Islamic Homosexualities: Culture, History, and Literature edited by Stephen O. Murray (now deceased) and Will Roscoe; and Before Homosexuality in the Arab-Islamic World, 1500-1800 by Khaled el-Rouayheb.
The second one (now perceivably dated, it was published in the late 1990s) isn't a very rewarding reading though, as the editors' understanding of Queerness is a Western modern one, with all of its intersections with Liberal identity politics, orientalist subjecting exoticisation, and expression as an end-in-itself; which is especially noticeable by the treatment given to Lesbian sexualities perhaps coming off as disingenuous for Lesbian Muslimas when compared to how relatable Samar Habib's book might be (and I say "might" because I'd also prefer to read a Lesbian Muslima's take on it to be sure whether I understood it well or not). You could still read it just for the sake of criticism though.
el-Rouayheb's book is the most thorough one out of these three, it draws from many literary genres; but Habib's book is a very worthy (I'd even say necessary) read because of its non-male gazing focus.
I also know about a fiction book, though I know about it only through reviews (it wasn't yet available in digital formats when I first learned about it and haven't looked it up ever since, though I should) and it's not Sci-fi in genre, as I'm admittedly not very knowledgeable about Sci-fi literature generally 😅 It's You Exist Too Much by Palestinian author Zaina Arafat.
The closest to Islamically-themed Sci-fi I could suggest are the Assassin's Creed novel renditions set in SWANA after the Prophet Muhāmmad's ﷺ lifetime, and only insofar as they borrow from Īsma3īlī Shī3īsm: The Secret Crusade, Revelations, The Golden City, and Mirage — Daughter of No One.
When it comes to Islamically-themed Sci-fi fiction, whether containing Queer characters or not in vindicating ways, you're better off assuming there's just about everything to be attempted, due to how much censorship and gate-keeping Islamic media is usually subjected to by both Islamic and non-Islamic institutions unless it helps furthering contemporary imperialism in one way or another. I wouldn't say there is nothing out there (I've got no way to prove it) but that, whatever has actually been released and distributed, is not very well-known due to that.
If anybody else's got anything to contribute to this, you're very much welcomed and encouraged to do so, ٱللَّٰهُمَّ بَارِك.
