Abrahamic Influences on Anal Sex: Islam vs. Christianity

This post assumes cis- and hetero- normativity because, in the context of the Abrahamic religions, gender and orientation variance from the cis-het norm isn’t exactly a topic that is heavily covered by the canon.

I swear, this wasn’t my fault or my idea.

Via ask.fm, a video and a question.

did Muslim girls have this idea too?

In case you haven’t seen it yet but don’t want to watch the video (which is inexplicable as Garfunkel and Oates are hilarious), The Loophole is a humorous take on the real-life phenomenon of certain purity-pledging, vaginal-virginity-obsessed Christians having anal sex as a way to avoid tampering with the mythical hymen. The question-asker is wondering if Muslims also have anal sex as a way of avoiding premarital vaginal sex.

In a word: no. But there is another phenomenon regarding anal sex that I uncovered in my research for my talk on LGBT people in the Muslim world.

Anal isn’t exactly something that is allowed in Islam in the first place. Even for married Muslims, anal sex is considered haraam by the staggering majority of scholars. It’s considered makrooh (not forbidden but highly frowned upon) by only a minority of religious authorities within a minority sect of Islam, at best.

When it comes to literal, traditional, practicing Muslims, there is no loophole in terms of the prohibition on premarital romantic activity. Not only is premarital sex not permissible, but things like holding hands, kissing, and being alone without a chaperone are also forbidden. As per Muhammad, “Whenever a man is alone with a woman the Devil makes a third.” As such, dating is not really an option for many Muslims; without the privacy afforded by unchaperoned dating, there isn’t exactly any opportunity for people to have any kind of sex, let alone anal.

Of course, like young people in any culture, many Muslims sneak around and break the rules. However, since they are already violating the rules by dating at all, there doesn’t seem to be a pervasive or common Christian-esque fixation on anal sex between men and women as a way to preserve vaginal virginity. I do know that many of them will avoid vaginal intercourse by engaging in activities like frottage and oral sex.

In at least one heavily-Muslim country, anal sex is a topic of fixation — not between men and women as an alleged “virginity” preserver, but between older men and younger boys. Among male Moroccans, receiving anal sex is considered to be acceptable until about age 15 or 16, after which they are supposed to stop lest they become addicted. In other words, receiving anal is considered to be undesirable because it is seen as so pleasurable that it might render a man less likely to engage in penetrative vaginal sex.

The more you know [slightly flashing gif warning]

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Abrahamic Influences on Anal Sex: Islam vs. Christianity
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6 thoughts on “Abrahamic Influences on Anal Sex: Islam vs. Christianity

  1. 3

    First no bacon, then no beer, now no anal? That’s enough to convince me never to convert to Islam!

    You know what’s funny (besides my hilarious jokes)? That Haddith passage you quoted reflects what a lot of conservative Christians believe. A man and a woman talk alone for a few minutes, and then, oops, the clothes come off! (That must be a conservative Christian thing only, because I’ve had several one-on-one conversations with women and never slept with them.)

  2. 4

    I don’t personally find anal appealing, though if I were still in the business of seeking loopholes saddlebacking would be on the menu. This line stuck out to me, though: “In other words, receiving anal is considered to be undesirable because it is seen as so pleasurable that it might render a man less likely to engage in penetrative vaginal sex.”

    This is very much the sort of sentiment that, in the Christian tradition, ultimately stems from self-loathing gay kool-aid drinkers. I once read an article in which the writer said, “The pressure to succumb to homosexual desires is also immense. And this goes for anybody – homosexual desire is something that anybody can succumb to, just as it is something that anybody can turn away from.”

    My response? “Well, no. No it isn’t. The poor fellow has absolutely no idea how straight men think. Here’s a simple test: look at a picture of an attractive guy and imagine having sex with him. If your testicles retreat into your abdomen, then you’re straight. If, however, you think to yourself (as he does) “the seduction of homosexuality is so powerful,” then you’re not, and no amount of therapy, labeling, blogging, lying, or even getting married will change that.”

    I’m catching a similar vibe from that sentiment which you referenced.

  3. 6

    Actually, that video makes me cringe.
    It is good because it shows exactly the problem with this loophole: The two “girls” (well, women portraying girls) don’t consider anal a variation of their sex lives they could enjoy. They see it as something they have to do in order to keep the “boys” satisfied without getting any personal pleasure out of it. (Don’t touch my clitoris!).
    I’m wondering how many young women from conservative christian backgrounds “consent” to something that they don’t really want to do and that needs to be done with care and a lot of respect for your partner just in order to satisfy the guys and end up hurt and traumatised. In the end the supposed “loophole” is just another way to teach women that they don’t have bodily autonomy and that they are not sexual beings themselves who might or might not enjoy anal, but fucktoys to be used by the men in appropriate ways.

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