Book Review: Polygyny: What It Means When African American Muslim Women Share Their Husbands

Polygyny: What It Means When African American Muslim Women Share Their Husbands, Debra Majeed, 2015, University Press of Florida: Gainesville. 194 pages Appendices and Index included. $74.95 hardcover Why would a woman remain married to someone seeking to be married to another woman? Why would a woman desire to be married to a husband already married to another woman? Is polygyny even permissible according to Islam or civil law? Polygyny: What It Means When African American Muslim Women Share Their Husbands by Debra Majeed seeks to accomplish many goals. One of the overarching goals is to highlight the findings of a study seeking to explore the variation and nuances in the lived experiences of African American Muslim women living polygyny. As with any human relationship, those "living polygyny" may experience a range of relationships from relatively harmonious to abusive. Throughout the book, Majeed does not seek to provide a judgment about living polygyny, but rather to "use a small sampling of African American Muslim life to ask readers to rethink their ideas about what constitutes a family as it encourages Muslim women and men to recognize their agency more fully and to be more cognizant of their responsibilities to one another. [Majeed invites] readers on the journey on [which she] embarked, one that compelled [her] to think more critically about gender inequality, gender responsibility, and gender justice in Muslim family life" (p.ix). The work is framed using the insights of ethnography, history, and performance. The preface of the book speaks to the academic questions regarding polygyny for African American Muslim women, but also draws the reader in with connections to the personal experiences of the author. Some Muslim leaders tried to persuade Majeed not to write about or research the topic of women's experiences living polygyny. The author embarks upon a controversial and nuanced topic. Much of the first part of the book is devoted to outlining how the work fits into the existing literature. Majeed raises many considerations to address later in the work. She hopes to provide "nuanced portrayals of the lived realities of Muslim women as complex subjects and the multilayered voices of their narratives" (p.6). She suggests that the work will focus on the experiences of women in their own voices, particularly those following Imam W.D. Mohammed. This goal is met, to some degree. Additionally, Majeed aims "to encourage further the thoughtful and important dialogue the imam desired among African American and other Muslims; to dispel myths that a single form of polygyny exists in the United States; to present multiple-wife marriage from the perspectives of Muslim women who react to and live it; and to promote 'authority of experience' as a form of Qur'anically approved liberation that Muslims must utilize if healthy family and community life is to be a permanent fixture" (p.9). The preface and introduction leave the reader ready to hear the actual experiences of women. Chapter two is an engaging presentation of the qualitative findings through the juxtaposition of the voices of study participants representing three different trends in marriage types--polygyny of liberation, polygyny of choice, and polygyny of coercion. While the women (and men) did not speak to each other outside the confines of the pages of the book, Majeed uses both interview and secondary data to construct a conversation among individuals representing a range of marriage perspectives. This section of the book allows the varied perspectives of those living polygyny to shine through. If a reader is really looking to find a condensed and engaging place to explore the nuances and range of experiences for African American Muslims living polygyny, then this is the chapter to read. Majeed stresses that the women's experiences demonstrate the need to include "women in decisions about their roles in family life"; this is related to meeting the Qur'anic mandates of fairness and justice for all wives (p. …