 Both men had several wives and children.While Westerners would view these men—and those like them—as bisexual, Muslims view them as consistent with shari’a; they maintained an outwardly conforming appearance in terms of familial and public life but happened to engage in homosexual activity.” Homosexual acts can also be well received if they allude to an expression of dominance over another, “’In Turkey, Egypt and the Maghreb, men who are ‘active’ in sexual relations with other men are not considered homosexual; the sexual domination of other men even confers a status of hyper-masculinity.’”

A distinction seems to be made between the active partner and the receiving one, the pathic.In the former category one is viewed positively because they either retain their masculinity through the active role or use it as a means toward the degradation of the pathic.