The Shockingly Liberal Muslim Sex Therapist Who Warns Against Anal Sex

A new book that’s making waves in the Arab world comes from author Wedad Lootah, a Muslim who wears a full-length black niqab — and counsels couples on sex. What’s this? A Muslim woman who talks openly about how ladies can enjoy intercourse with their husbands? Top Secret: Sexual Guidance for Married Couples probably doesn’t say much more than the book Americans grew up on (The Joy of Sex), but for the United Arab Emirates, the tome is capital-C Controversial, since women 1) aren’t supposed to speak out of turn; and 2) are certainly not supposed to speak so openly about intercourse. But for all the liberating sexual advice included in the book, the one thing Lootah doesn’t approve of is anal sex.

“One of the themes of her book is the danger of anal sex and homosexuality generally, not because of AIDS but because they are banned by the Koran,” reports the NYT.

Since plenty of men have their first sexual experiences with other dudes (courtesy the strict separation of the sexes until married life), Lootah warns those men expect the same thing once the knot is tied. “Many men who had anal sex with men before marriage want the same thing with their wives, because they don’t know anything else,” she says. “This is one reason we need sex education in our schools.”

Of course Lootah ignores one other theory: That gay men who marry women because the alternative (being openly gay) would get them killed want to have anal sex because it feels right.