A first online sex shop for Muslims was recently launched in Turkey, where a variety of sex items, such as lubricants or herbal aphrodisiacs, is available; also, the shop offers advice on how to have ‘halal’ sex.
Haluk Murat Demirel, a 38-year-old Turkish entrepreneur says the idea of the shop was inspired by his friends who would often complain the content on such websites and in special stores is too explicit.
Demirel explains pornographic images make Muslims uncomfortable, and vibrators“are not approved by Islam”. The site provides information on which sexual practices are banned by Islam, and which are not.
The website, according to its owner, has proved extremely popular since its launch a week ago, and had drawn over 30,000 visitors on Sunday alone.
Turkey is a majority Muslim but constitutionally secular country, and there are relatively few sex shops, even in major cities. Last year Islamic conservative Prime MinisterRecep Tayyip Erdogan suggested the existing shops rename themselves “love shops.”