Sexual Education according to Shiite and Sunnite Exegetes

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Abstract

Abstract
"Sex education" (tarbiyat-e jinsi) means paving ground for normal growth and development free from any sexual perversion and deviation. It is one of the eight educational spheres which, considering its special sensitivity, requires vision and knowledge; it is something that has long been the focus of various religions' attention. Islam being opposed to monasticism and considering sexual urges as natural, lays emphasis on the centrality of spiritual dimensions believing in and advocating healthy relationships as a way leading to worship of God. A reinvestigation of sexual and gender distinctions between man and woman, presentation of the practical instructions in harmony with those distinctions as well as offering a suitable mechanism appropriate to various stages of growth and necessary guidelines for sex education (tarbiyah) are amongst the essentials of normal growth and development of the sexual instinct.
This writing seeks to answer the question pertaining to the scientific and perceptional essentials of sex education from the perspectives of the Quran, albeit with emphasis on the views and opinions of the exegetes of the two sects. Obviously, the answer is given on the basis of exegetical methods and sources of the two schools.

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