A mixed bag. I had been eager to read this after spotting it at the bookstore. El Feki has a hilarious introduction about discussing sex toys with some women and that had me hooked. Throughout the book she discusses different aspects of sexuality, gender and gender roles and other issues. However, the book is slightly misnamed. It's not really about those topics in the Arab world, as El Feki looks through the topics with the frame of Egypt and the Arab Spring specifically in Egypt, rather than across the region. Other countries do get some focus, but Egypt is her main focus.

However, the book is still a very interesting read. The author discusses marital relations, adultery, LGBT issues, dating, courtship, prostitution, etc. in various chapters. Unsurprisingly, much of what I read could easily could have taken place in more conservative parts of the United States: from the lack of sex education to the strict guidelines for dating to struggle for some who are gay and lesbian. "Conversion" therapy is apparently practiced in Arab countries as well, which surprised me to read about but in retrospect really shouldn't have.

Yet I found the book occasionally a struggle to get through. I feel like the author tried to tackle a bit too much at once: viewing intimacy through what people in majority Muslim countries do and especially with what the Arab Spring brought for people. However, the book is not a political one and the Arab Spring is backdrop to her work. The book is occasionally very academic and dry reading, but sometimes has some great/interesting/moving/sad anecdotes and stories from people who discuss various aspects of their stories to El Feki. Islam itself isn't certainly hammered over the reader's head: the Koran is quoted occasionally, but the author makes no judgements, other than providing what the Koran might say about particular situations.

The topic was really fascinating, but I couldn't help but feel disappointed with the end product. However, I think it's a really interesting read and people who have any sort of interest in Islam or sexuality or LGBT issues might want to take a look. The stories and anecdotes also aren't very lurid or titillating. If anything, I got second-hand embarrassment at some of the awkward situations (the sex toy story is probably a good example) and clear lack of sex education in some of the anecdotes.

Check it out from the library to see if you want to buy. Might be a good reference for an essay/paper/article. ( )

I was disappointed in this book because it was mostly about Egypt...which is not the Middle East. I don't think Egyptians are even Arabs. This is an interesting study and a very interesting topic...especially if you live in the M.E. like I do...it's too bad the author didn't do her research properly. I feel that the title is a bit of a rip-off because the editors thought no one would read about Egypt. ( )

Since 2011, much has been written about the Arab Spring and Egypt in particular. Most have covered politics, history, the east-west paradigm, or religion, but Canadian-Egyptian writer Shereen El Feki chose a very different point of departure. In her book, Sex and the Citadel: Intimate Life in a Changing Arab World, she explores sexuality in the Middle East and the taboos and customs that go with it.

"If you really want to know a people, start by looking inside their bedrooms", El Feki says, explaining her interest in the topic. And she's got a point; insight into the rites and rituals surrounding people's attitudes and behaviour towards sex indeed provides a wealth of knowledge about their culture.

Sex and the Citadel serves up a collection of depressing statistics: a third of Egyptian women are domestically abused and around ten percent of those are also the victim of sexual abuse, while more than 90 percent of Egyptian women are circumcised and up to ten percent of maternal deaths are due to abortion – a practice that is severely restricted in Islam.

Unfortunately, surveys are unreliable in the Arab world, as many people provide answers they believe are expected of them – especially in government surveys. A good example of this is that over a third of Arab men claim to be sexually active, while at the same time over 80 percent of Arab women say they are not. So who are all these young men having sex with?

An additional problem is that surveys financed by the government don't address certain topics; for instance, delicate subjects such as abortion, homosexuality and prostitution are usually avoided. El Feki rightly recognises and explains this, but provides the facts and figures anyway.

Some people think that it is the time for change and to demand rights in the Arab world, but El Feki argues that societies are currently too unstable to realise big change or obtain sexual rights. Change should come slowly and progress takes time; if one immediately starts discussing gay rights, it gives ground for Islamists to attack morals.

However, one of the main themes of the book is that if the solutions aren't local, they aren't going to work. A gay rights worker quoted in the book, sees that embracing sexuality in the Arab world nowadays is largely seen as 'selling out to the west', but to claim that the west has all the solutions to issues regarding sexuality is, according to them, 'imperialist', 'extremely condescending' and 'just another form of colonisation'.

Education is the answer, El Feki believes. If creative thought is encouraged, especially about religion, then change will come. It won't come in the form of a revolution, but more in the shape of sexual re-evaluation, in which people could one day feel free enough to have a clear view of themselves and their choices.

Although the title of the book reads 'Arab World', El Feki's main focus is on Egypt. Not only because of her heritage, but also because Egypt is an important player in the region, both politically and culturally.

The book is a fairly easy read, however, it is annoying that El Feki quotes her sources directly, grammar mistakes and all, so you end up reading botched sentences such as, "It is more better than" and "I am too much direct".

A fair amount of Arabic terms are used throughout the book, which are explained only once but keep recurring – we found that an Arabic glossary would have been very useful.

In the footnotes, El Feki often refers to a website that goes with the book, simply titled, sexandthecitadel.com, which offers interesting additional information and links to other useful websites.

For those who have already read extensively on this topic, the book offers few new insights, but for the layman, it provides a good introduction. Lots of research still needs to be done, but this book could serve as a useful stepping stone. In order to propel a discussion on sexuality in the Middle East, ranslating books like these could be a big step, seeing as it would then be accessible to the people it most concerns.

A good survey of how Egyptians, Tunisians and Moroccans view sex and sexuality (marriage, singletons, prostitution, sex ed and LGTB rights). Most material centered around Egypt and how the recent uprising affected views on sexuality with interviews serving as the primary source. Overall very enjoyable with the basic thesis bring that until equal rights (mundane and sexual) can be achieved for Egyptian and Arabian women, LGTB rights remain underground. ( )