- Published: 1 March 2013
- ISBN: 9781741668629
- Imprint: Vintage Australia
- Format: Trade Paperback
- Pages: 368
- RRP: $34.99
Sex And The Citadel
- Published: 1 March 2013
- ISBN: 9781741668629
- Imprint: Vintage Australia
- Format: Trade Paperback
- Pages: 368
- RRP: $34.99
At a fragile moment in Arab relations with the modern world, comes this book about Arab sexuality. Told with candour, humanity and a journalist's sharp eye for detail, it offers a rare insight into the secret world of sexual realities in Arab culture. The author finds messages of hope in the religious traditions of privacy and tolerance. As social networks meet traditional beliefs, to read this book is to understand part of the explosive dynamic that is at work amongst a proud people facing the challenges of truth, science and modernity.
The Honourable Michael Kirby
Shereen El Feki's book is important and timely. As we watch the unfolding of the Arab Spring she takes us into the heart of some of the toughest debates confronting people across the Arab world, in particular how to reconcile religious teachings with personal emotions and relationships. In debates that too often are marked by prejudice, ignorance and preconceptions she sheds light on a range of issues that are simultaneously personal and deeply political. Neither religious zealots nor Islamaphobes will like this book, but most of us will read it with gratitude for her clear headed insights and exposition
Dennis Altman AM, author of Global Sex, Professor of Politics and Director Institute for Human Security, LaTrobe University
This important and moving book is haunted by the power of the citadel, embodying the weight of tradition in Arab societies, but is simultaneously animated by the diverse voices of sexual need, desire, fear and hope. We are taken on a journey through cultures in rapid transition, suddenly illuminated by the Arab spring, where marriage, the family, relations between men and women, men and men and women and women are questioned as never before, and millions seek to reconcile the challenges of modernity with hallowed and respected faith. Despite all the apparently intractable issues, the book suggests that there is no incompatibility between Islam and sexual fulfilllment, as long as Muslims have the opportunity to think and act for themselves. This book is a spur to thinking and an inspiration for action.
Jeffrey Weeks, OBE, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, London South Bank University