Arrangements between religion, sexuality and mental health: Muslim women’s conceptions and experiences

Abstract

For the composition of this article, a clipping was made of two ethnographies conducted by the authors, both inserted in the broader theme of Islamic health and well-being. The first, already finished, sought to understand the Islamic point of view about sex; the second, still in progress, aims to access the hegemonic Islamic discourse on mental health issues, through the dialogue with Muslim women about their experiences of suffering. In this article, we seek to highlight the guiding thread that makes us to understand an ethnography as unfolding of the previous one: the emergence of different conceptions of health in the narratives of Brazilian Muslim women. Islam is understood as a religion that values the health of men and women. The understanding of health is holistic because it necessarily encompasses the physical, mental, and spiritual components. Apart from the bodily dimension, there is the psychic and sacred dimension of sexuality; similarly, it is not possible to ignore the strong presence of the spiritual dimension when dealing with the mental theme: health in Islam connects all aspects.