Wedad Lootah
Encyclopedia
Wedad Nasser Lootah is an Emirati marriage counselor working for Dubai
's main courthouse
, and the author of the Arabic sex guide Top Secret: Sexual Guidance for Married Couples, published in 2009. She caused a controversy in the Islamic world by discussing sensitive topics in her book, such as oral sex
, the danger of anal sex
, female orgasm, the necessity of sex education
, and homosexuality in Islamic societies
. Although Lootah's frankness earned praise from liberal Muslims, it also drew death threats from fundamentalists who consider the book blasphemorous and her "an infidel
, and a sinner". However, Lootah claims that none of her advice in the book violates the teachings of the Qur'an
and that the book was published after the Mufti
of Dubai gave an approval, even though he warned her that "Arab readers might not be ready for such a book".
Lootah wrote in her book that many men have their first sexual experiences with other men in Saudi Arabia
and other Muslim countries with strict gender segregation, which she claims negatively affects their sex life in marriage later. In her interview with The New York Times
, Lootah commented that "many men who had anal sex with men before marriage want the same thing with their wives, because they don't know anything else. This is one reason we need sex education in our schools."
Lootah has been working as a marriage counseller at the Family Guidance section in the Dubai Courthouse since its opening in 2001, and remains the only female counseller there. Her Top Secret is the first sexual guidebook published in the United Arab Emirates
.
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
's main courthouse
Courthouse
A courthouse is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English speaking countries, buildings which house courts of law are simply...
, and the author of the Arabic sex guide Top Secret: Sexual Guidance for Married Couples, published in 2009. She caused a controversy in the Islamic world by discussing sensitive topics in her book, such as oral sex
Oral sex in Islamic law
Oral sex in Islam is controversial among Islamic theologians. Some allow the practice, and some disapprove.-Knowledge of oral sex:The concept of oral sex is as old as the Hudaibiya Treaty in Islamic tradition, as cited below by Sahih al-Bukhari. This shows that the Arabs at the time of Muhammad...
, the danger of anal sex
Islamic view of anal sex
Anal sex is identified in Islam with liwat, the "sin of Lot's people." Although the Quran expresses clear disapproval of lutis , it does not contain a specific punishment or guidance for a luti...
, female orgasm, the necessity of sex education
Sex education
Sex education refers to formal programs of instruction on a wide range of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual intercourse, reproductive health, emotional relations, reproductive rights and responsibilities, abstinence, contraception, and...
, and homosexuality in Islamic societies
Homosexuality and Islam
LGBT topics and Islam are influenced by both the cultural-legal history of the nations with a large Muslim population, along with how specific passages in the Qur'an and statements attributed to the prophet Muhammad are interpreted. The mainstream interpretation of Qur'anic verses and hadith...
. Although Lootah's frankness earned praise from liberal Muslims, it also drew death threats from fundamentalists who consider the book blasphemorous and her "an infidel
Infidel
An infidel is one who has no religious beliefs, or who doubts or rejects the central tenets of a particular religion – especially in reference to Christianity or Islam....
, and a sinner". However, Lootah claims that none of her advice in the book violates the teachings of the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
and that the book was published after the Mufti
Mufti
A mufti is a Sunni Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law . In religious administrative terms, a mufti is roughly equivalent to a deacon to a Sunni population...
of Dubai gave an approval, even though he warned her that "Arab readers might not be ready for such a book".
Lootah wrote in her book that many men have their first sexual experiences with other men in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
and other Muslim countries with strict gender segregation, which she claims negatively affects their sex life in marriage later. In her interview with The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Lootah commented that "many men who had anal sex with men before marriage want the same thing with their wives, because they don't know anything else. This is one reason we need sex education in our schools."
Lootah has been working as a marriage counseller at the Family Guidance section in the Dubai Courthouse since its opening in 2001, and remains the only female counseller there. Her Top Secret is the first sexual guidebook published in the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
.
External links
- Wedad Lootah's interview with QatarQatarQatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
's Middle East Media Research InstituteMiddle East Media Research InstituteThe Middle East Media Research Institute is a Middle Eastern not for profit press monitoring organization with headquarters located in Washington, DC. MEMRI was co-founded in 1998 by Yigal Carmon, a former colonel in the Israeli military intelligence and Meyrav Wurmser, an Israeli-born, American...
(MEMRI) in 2005