Islam is the worlds fastest-growing religion, and its followers are called Muslims. Islam predominates in the Middle East, yet it is present in many other parts of the world: One fifth of the worlds population is Muslim, and about 2.6 million Muslims live in the United States (Hodge & Nadir, 2008; Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, 2011). Muslim Americans are more affluent and integrated than are Muslim communities in other countries in the Western world.
Their average education and income are on par with those of other groups in the United States, whereas in Europe their standard of living is lower than that of many Europeans (Miller, 2007).
Muslims adhere to the teachings of the prophet Muhammad (ca. 570-632 CE), which are recorded in the Qur’an. Muhammad opposed intercourse before marriage but valued intercourse within marriage as the highest good in human life, to be enjoyed by men and women alike; he encouraged husbands to be "slow and delaying" (Abbott, 2000). Women are considered inherently sexual. Muhammad’s son-in-law proclaimed, "Almighty God created sexual desire in ten parts: then he gave nine parts to women and one to men." The Qur’an requires both men and women to show modesty in public by wearing loose-fitting, body-covering clothing. A woman in Islamic dress is said to be like "a pearl in a shell" (Jehl, 1998), too precious to be seen by men other than family members (Kotb, 2008).
Before Islam’s development, polygamy (one man having multiple wives at the same time) was a common practice. When war led to a disproportionately higher number of women than men, polygamy provided husbands for widows and fathers for orphans. The Qur’an did not subsequently prohibit polygamy. It allows a man to have up to four wives, provided that the husband is fair to each of them (Khan et al., 2007).
The Qur’an contains many passages that reconcile Islam with women’s rights, religious pluralism, and homosexuality, and moderate Muslims do not share the prejudices of radical fundamentalists who stray from the Qur’an’s teachings (Manji, 2006). Oppression of women and many of the extreme sexually related restrictions and punishments in Islamic countries do not stem from religion and the Qur’an but from Middle Eastern patriarchal cultural traditions and the emergence of fundamentalist sects. For example, Muslim fundamentalists are following patriarchal traditions, not the Qur’an, when they require girls to be genitally cut, insist that women be completely covered by clothing in public, or sanction "honor killing" (murdering a woman who has "dishonored" her husband and family by having been raped or having sex outside of marriage) (Fang, 2007).
Perspectives on Sexuality
Dr. Heba Kotb, the first licensed sexologist in Egypt, is host of a sexual advice show in Egypt, The Very BigTalk. She bases her teachings on the Qur’an, encouraging a strong sexual relationship between husband and wife. She does not discuss topics that are prohibited by Islam, including sex outside of marriage, anal sex, or sex during menstruation.
Controversy occurs between Muslims over many traditions, for example, women wearing headscarves (Salam, 2012). In an attempt to support secularism, the Muslim country of Turkey has for decades banned women from wearing headscarves in universities. In early 2008 Turkey’s Parliament lifted the ban, allowing university women to wear headscarves. However, the issue remained controversial: People opposed to women wearing headscarves protested at some campuses, while some university leaders continued to enforce the ban that Parliament had removed (Naili, 2011).
Conflicts about Muslim traditions also occur in countries where Muslims are a minority of the population. In 2001 the French government banned the wearing of veils in public, basing the policy on the country’s principles of secularism and gender equality (Mevel, 2011). Women who violate the ban can be fined $215.00 or be sent to prison. Protests against the ban are ongoing and are based on freedom of expression and religion (Colchester, 2011).