China's One Child Policy is a great policy.

[sapphi_snake]

izaaz101 said:

sapphi_snake said:

izaaz101 said:

sapphi_snake said:

Judaism condems sex for non-reproductive purposes too (Onan, and other things from the Bible), and I'm pretty sure Islam is no different.

Actually, no. Muslims are encouraged to engage in sex often (after marriage) not only for reproduction, but also for enjoyment (no ban on contraceptives).

Most people's ideas abour sex in Islam stem from the middle eastern countries which practice sex only when the intention is to conceive a child. This is a cultural phenomenon, not a religious one.

Out of curiosity does this imply between married couples, or can men only do this (including with women who are not their wives)?

And these practices usually are cultural, but religion and culture often interwine.

Yes, only with your spouse(s). Adultery is a sin which is viewed quite harshly, for both sexes.

And yes, religion and culture do tend to overlap, but in many instances, Middle Eastern practices have become synonymous with Islam, to the point where these practices are assumed to be a part of the religion (which then causes people like Joelcool7 to refer to my entire religion as an "extremist group").

Well, FTR lots of cultural practices have essentially become synonimous with religion over here in Romania (like wedding rituals, rituals when someone dies, honoring the dead etc.), even though they're not actually mentioned in any religious texts and practiced in other countries who practice the same religion. These things tend happen.

As for the sex in Islam thing, I thought that in more traditional societies it's impossible for a man to commit adultery, unless he has sex with a married woman, thus commiting adultery against her husband (you can only commit adultery against men). Of course I don't know much about Islam, so I can't say for certain.

Also, from what I know Abrahambic religions see sex as something dirty and impure. I read somehwere that in Islam, when a male ejaculates he needs to go through several rituals to become pure again, as sperm is viewed as impure. In other words, Abrahamic have a very sex negative attitude (as opposed to religions like hindusim, where sex is viewed as something that uplifts people), so I find it odd that you say that Islam encourages sex often. Also, does this sex have to be for reproductive puropses only?