Mut‘a as Practised by Danish Shi‘i Women

Abstract

The article is a study based on ten semi-structured interviews to show how mut‘a, known as temporary, pleasure marriage, is practised in seven different ways in present-day Denmark. Continuous conversations with Danish Shi‘i women provide a rare insight into the discourses and emotions behind making sense of a world of love, relationships and social norms formulated as divine intentions. The practices vary from relationships, dating and online relations, to tools in therapeutic settings. Mut‘a is articulated as a formalised tool to navigate a highly gender segregated world and is only practised by individuals who hold rigid views regarding gender regulations. The study demonstrates noticeable differences between cultural interpretations of related concepts such as mahr and ‘idda, thus leading to a conversation about what constitutes Muslim law and practices. The findings contribute to a wider study of how contextual settings, such as individual experience, world-making and cognitions, aid inductive productions of social norms within Muslim law.