Unintended consequences of Islam

Now here is a strange story. Fundamentalist Islam is inadvertently increasing the amount of gay sex in Islamic countries. The Los Angeles Times has run a story about why this happening.

They interview many men in Afghanistan who, while not gay, say they only have sex with men and boys. The one man said: “It’s just that we can’t see the women to see if they are beautiful. But we can see the boys, and so we can tel which of them is beautiful.”

The LA Times reported that this situation is especially obvious “here in Kandahar, which was the heartland of the puritanical Taliban movement.” Professor Justin Richardson of Columbia University has a good analysis. He teaches psychiatry but his analysis is sound economics as well --- and yes there is an “economic” science of sex. Richardson says:


"In some Muslim societies where the prohibition against premarital heterosexual intercourse is extremely high--higher than that against sex between men--you will find men having sex with other males not because they find them most attractive of all but because they find them most attractive of the limited options available to them."

For those interested in a good analysis of the economics of sexuality read Sex and Reason by Judge Richard Posner. It is readable and rational.

The article notes that the most religious group in Afghanistan is the Pushtuns and they have “a higher incidence of homosexual relations.”

The strangest remark on the subject comes from one of the mullahs --- which indicates he isn’t too bright to start with. He says that 90% of Afghani men “have the desire to commit this sin.” Hell, not even 90% of the men in San Francisco’s Castro district want to have gay sex! He reassures the reporter: “Only 20 to 50% of those who want to do this actually do it.”

That’s a lot! It is anywhere from 18% to 45% of all Afghani men. The Taliban, men after the hearts of Fred Phelps, executed men found having gay sex. Their favorite method was to have the men stand next to brick walls which were then knocked over to crush the men to death. Of course the Reconstructionist Christians want to stone gays to death as well.

It appears that the Islamics of Afghanistan have a tradition of men called halekon. The halekon is a younger, beautiful man who is partnered with an older man. One anti-Taliban told the paper: “The Taliban had halekon, but they kept it secret. They hid their halekon in their madrasas (religious schools).”

One local doctor told the paper that often the halekons are married off to a daughter of the older man so they become part of the family. He also said that a local mullah was caught using a medical examination room for a quickie with a younger man. the doctor said: “If this is our mullah, what can you say for the rest?”

The first man interviewed said that if he is ever actually allowed to see a woman’s face, and she is beautiful, he will immediately have his mother ask the girl to marry him. “I’m just waiting to see her.”

Now there are lots of studies that show that sexual repression has effects that the opposite of those intended. Sex offenders, it has been shown, are more sexually conservatives than the general population. They have see much less pornography and were generally exposed to it at a much later age.

It is likely that strident anti-sexual views popular with conservatives helps create sex offenders of various kinds. The celibacy rules for the Catholic priesthood makes it a place to where people who are sexually troubled can hide out. The pedophile priest is not only given access to children but escapes the questions of his family as to why he has not married. They don’t expect him to marry as a priest and would be upset if he did.

Posner discusses a lot of this in his book, which I highly recommend. Posner notes that banning porn would increase rape since porn is used for sexual release. When one form of sexual release is banned it does not end sexual desire but changes how it is expressed. If voluntary sex is banned then involuntary sex will rise.

In some Islamic countries prostitution has not been abolished at all but changed. A man will “marry” a prostitute, have intercourse, and then divorce her thus avoiding the stigma of adultery.

The rise of fundamentalism, Christian in the US, and Islamic elsewhere, will create millions of new sexual cripples and millions more new victims of predators. But Jehovah and Allah will be pleased.