Muslim Sex Ed Book Sparks Controversy

Pakistani doctor says nothing un-Islamic about discussing sex
By Mark Russell,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 10, 2011 4:22 AM CST
Muslim Sex Ed Book Sparks Controversy
Pakistani children need better sex education, says Dr. Mobin Aktar, who has written a book.   (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Sexual ignorance in Pakistan is harming and even killing people, says an 81-year-old Pakistani doctor who just wrote a sex-ed book from a Muslim perspective for his countrymen. "Ignorance about sexual matters is causing a lot of our young people unnecessary psychological distress," including suicide, and "we have to change that," said Dr. Mobin Aktar. "When I started to study what the Koran, Islamic law, and religious scholars had to say about it, I realized there is so much discussion about sex in Islam. One would be surprised."

His book uses many quotes from the Prophet Muhammad and from the Koran, but still many of his conservative countrymen are taking great offense, calling the book pornographic and threatening him. He had to tone down the book's Urdu version, taking the world "sex" out of the title, entitling it instead: Special Problems for Young People. "It is a very sad reaction," Aktar said. For more details, see the BBC story.
(More Pakistan stories.)

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