Heba Kotb

Early life and education

Born and raised in Egypt, Kotb grew up wanting to be a surgeon. She attended medical school at Cairo University, writing a thesis named "Medicolegal Implications of Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Sexually abused Children." While writing her thesis, she realized that she had very little idea about normal sexuality. As a result, she began researching the topic, eventually coming across a passage in the Qur'an discussing sexual relations between husbands and wives that she saw as speaking to the woman's sexual rights. Of the experience, she said:

In 2003, she became the first licensed sexologist in Egypt, graduating with a degree in clinical sexology from Maimonides University. She continued her studies, eventually earning a Ph.D with her thesis, entitled "Sexuality in Islam".

The Big Talk

Kotb's show, The Big Talk, is a call-in show broadcast on Al-Mehwar, an Egyptian satellite channel, where she answers questions about common sexual topics including masturbation and foreplay. Although Kotb states that she is open to most questions, as part of her proposal she agreed to not discuss sex outside of marriage and also refuses to discuss topics which are haram, or prohibited by Islam, such as sex during a woman's menses and anal sex.

Although Kotb's show is extremely popular, it has drawn its share of conservative critics. Sheik Youssef al-Badri, a conservative cleric noted for his support of female circumcision, has criticized her show for "increas[ing] the number of sex perverts".

Beliefs about sexuality

Kotb cites Al-Baqara ("The Cow"), the longest surah (or chapter) of the Qur'an, as her inspiration for understanding human sexuality, noting that it speaks about the daily life of a man and woman and commands the man to provide pleasure to his wife. She argues that Islam in general and the Qu'ran in particular is very permissive of sex, and that discussion of the topic is suppressed not by religion but by culture.

While this stance is seen as extremely liberal in Egypt, Kotb's beliefs about sexuality tend to be conservative by Western standards. She has called homosexuality a "disorder ... an acquired thing", and compared homosexuals to "the alcoholics and the drug-takers". Although she has called for women to explore their bodies, she has also stated that women do not need to masturbate, discouraging the practice by saying that "a woman has to remain blank until she gets married and by masturbating she's forming her sexuality."

Views of sexuality in Judaism

In an interview which aired on Egypt's Al hayat TV on January 16, 2016 (as translated by MEMRI), Kotb stated that "In the Jewish faith, there must be a reason for sex. We may say that… You reminded me of this. In Jewish thought, sex has to be for a reason, and the reason could be procreation or the voracious sexual desire of a man, who cannot bear it unless he has sex with his wife." In the same interview, Kotb alleged that:

In response, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach accused Kotb of engaging in "allegations of Jewish sexual perversions", declaring: "Judaism believes that sex is sacred, holy, and the highest form of knowledge, which is why the Bible says, 'And Adam came to know his wife Eve'." He said she lacks understanding of the erotic mind, calling her "ignorant of the deep erotic longing that Jewish sexual law and the mikve brings to marriage" and even alleging that Kotb was anti-Semitic.