Heba Kotb: Arab Talk Show Discussing Islam and Sex

In a religion where sex is normally not talked about openly, a Muslim woman named Heba Kotb has a talk show on the Arab TV discussing this topic. The show is called "Big Talk" and focuses on answering questions of Muslim women around the Middle East on the issues of sex. Kotb went to Maimonides University in Florida to study sexology and has combined this knowledge with what she knows of her religion, Islam, to discuss the topic of sex in Islam.

Kotb has also said her studies showed that sex was understood in Islam before it was in the rest of the world. She mentions that Islam "stresses the importance of foreplay" and attempts to convince the Muslim women to enjoy sex. Her talk show also discuses topics on oral sex (which is allowed since it is not forbidden by any religious text), sexual positions, the female orgasm and even masturbation.

As one might expect, the Muslim men were shocked by the topics discussed on her talk show while the Muslim women asked her tons of questions. Heba Kotb said "Many women know nothing about their bodies, not to mention sex, and they were raised to believe sex is for men and a dirty thing." She brings Islam clerics, along with doctors, to help explain what their religion says on different sexual issues.

There are some mixed emotions as to the context that Heba Kotb talks about on her talk show. Some of the Muslim women say that children are watching and that this information could give them the wrong idea or spark their curiosity. Feminist protester Mona Helmi believes that sex is not a religious issue, but that "sex is an emotional and human condition."

Despite these issues, Kotb believes that discussing sex in Islam will benefit both the Muslim men and women in the Arab world. She even provides sex education classes to unmarried youths, with the permission of their parents of course, and consulting practices for the adults that are married. Offering these classes has her booked solid for the next couple of months.