“Sex is a matter of personal freedom,” said Egyptian director Inas Al-Degheidy on live television, stirring controversy in Egypt and the Middle East.
“After a certain age, sex…is a personal freedom. Everyone has it [sex] in accordance to their ideas, mentality, customs and traditions. I can’t generalize because some people prohibit sex before marriage [because of religious reasons],” said Inas on Deutsche-Welle Arabic, adding that you cannot impose sex on someone who believes it is against their religion and that in the end it is a personal choice.
The film director, whose movies often tackle social issues, has since been condemned by a number of Islamists in Egypt.
Dr. Mohamed El-Shahat Guindy, a member of the Islamic Research Academy, says Inas’ statements came from a Muslim that does not respect her religion’s teachings, according to Youm7. Dr. Guindy added that premarital sex is the ultimate shock to the conscience of Muslims.
Meanwhile, controversial salafist Sheikh Yasser Borhamy said that allowing premarital sex is the same as the rejection of the teachings of the Qur’an, Bible and the Torah.
On television, professor Ahmed Korayema, who works at Al-Azhar Univeristy, told the OnTV host that Inas’ statements promote “pornographic acts” that are “contrary to all heavenly laws.”
This isn’t the first time the director has caused controversy among Islamists. In 2012, Inas’ film Al-Samt (Silence) was forced to have a change in the script by the Egyptian Board of Censors after it sought to tell the story of a girl sexually abused by her father.
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