But when I traveled in Muslim countries and was invited to join a discussion in women-only settings within Muslim homes, I learned that Muslim attitudes toward women’s appearance and sexuality are not rooted in repression, but in a strong sense of public versus private, of what is due to God and what is due to one’s husband. It is not that Islam suppresses sexuality, but that it embodies a strongly developed sense of its appropriate channeling – toward marriage, the bonds that sustain family life, and the attachment that secures a home.
西方把头巾遮脸解释为对妇女的性压抑。但是当我去穆斯林国家并被邀请到穆斯林家里做客时，在只有女性参加的讨论会上，我才明白了穆斯林对女性外表和性的态度并非源于压抑，而是源于对公众场合和私密场合、对上帝和对丈夫应尽义务之间的强烈的泾渭分明的态度。穆斯林并不压抑性，而是它体现了对性行为进行合理引导的高度智慧。穆斯林把性行为向婚姻内引导，而婚姻则是维持家庭生活的纽带和稳固家庭的感情寄托。