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1-Page Summary of Sex and the Citadel
Overview
The West often portrays the Muslim world as a place where there is no sex and lust. However, this view of sexuality in Islam is not entirely accurate. There are many examples that show it to be more complex than that.
Sexually repressive cultures used to be the norm in Muslim countries, but today those countries are more open. The author will explore how things were then and now, as well as what might happen in the future.
In this passage, you’ll learn about Gustave Flaubert’s time in Egypt during the mid-nineteenth century, as well as how many Muslim women choose to get married. You’ll also find out about a certain type of marriage that is used for prostitution in parts of the Muslim world.
Big Idea #1: The Muslim world was a place of sexual freedom before colonization led to sexual repression.
Today, many Muslim countries are known for their sexually restrictive laws. We don’t think of these places as ones where people go to have sexual adventures. Yet, that is what happened in the past. In fact, in 1849, French writer Gustave Flaubert traveled throughout Egypt and visited brothels along the Nile River to indulge in the pleasures on offer there. He enjoyed music and dancing with prostitutes at each place he went to as well as other forms of pleasure available there.”
In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Western cultures became more dominant. They began to colonize parts of Muslim culture, which led to a decline in sexual freedom. This was due to changes that were started in the fourteenth century by Muslims themselves.
After losing some battles, Muslims started to feel inferior and developed a complex. This sense of inferiority can be traced back to 1798, when Napoleon’s army crushed the Egyptian forces in battle. The complex reached its peak in 1882 with the British occupation of Egypt.
This led to a cultural movement in the Muslim world that blamed their losses on sexual immorality and homosexuality. An example of this is Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, which was founded in 1920. The Brotherhood believed that sharia law would help them regain their former greatness.
Many Muslim cultures still hold on to this idea of being modest.
Big Idea #2: Sexual repression leads to unsatisfactory sex, but, luckily, some Muslims are prepared to break taboos.
Westerners find it hard to imagine growing up in a culture that doesn’t talk about sex or offer sex education. However, this leads to unsatisfactory sexual lives for Muslims.
Women suffer the most in this culture.
In 2006, a gynecologist interviewed and examined 1000 married women in Egypt. The results showed that 70% either suffered from sexual problems or were unhappy with their sex lives. Fifty percent of the problems were related to a lack of desire or an absence of orgasm, and 30% complained about pain during intercourse.
Sexual abuse is a big problem in Egypt. It’s also common for married women to be abused by their husbands.
There is hope that these statistics may improve.
A talk show called Kalam Kabiir, or Big Talk, began in 2006 on a private Egyptian satellite channel. The show is hosted by sex therapist Heba Kotb and discusses taboo sexual subjects like internet porn, oral sex and wedding-night anxiety. She also has a counseling practice to help couples overcome difficulties in their sex lives. She’s found that many couples have no knowledge of even basic sexual anatomy and that most men don’t know how to pleasure their wives.
But, the most important reason is that there’s a lack of communication between partners.
