ABSTRACT
This chapter represents one of the earliest post-Genesis associations of Eve with the entrance of sin and death into the world. It is tempting to explain this astonishing derailment of the Genesis story by appealing to garden-variety male prejudice, sexual pathology, especially among the clergy, and prebiblical cultural traditions that influenced biblical commentators, whether consciously or not. Without doubt, the overly literal interpretation of the Bible is the most widespread malady afflicting all the so-called People of the Book. The members of the Abrahamic tradition are, after all, defined by an adherence to a more or less common written text that is considered to be holy. Islam was last to turn on Eve. It did not take place until after the death of its prophet, following a host of mostly unflattering commentaries about people's first ancestress. Misconceptions about Islamic views on sexual identity are rampant, both outside and inside the tradition, for diametrically different reasons.
