Behind the Veil of Vice

"Bradley crushes the popular perception of the Middle East as erotically stifled, and the West as the land of sexual expression and freedom. The more nuanced truth, he says, is that these seemingly oppositional cultures have far more in common than we often admit: Both "live under rulers who, under different pretexts and with varying degrees of severity, seek to curb the unruly sex urge as a way of maintaining social control." This fascinating and comprehensive book guides readers through the seedy underbelly of the Middle East."—Salon

"Bradley's book seeks to avoid the usual cultural myopia and self-righteousness. He travels to Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria, Morocco and Yemen, to examine the sex-trade in urban centers, from the Shia practice of temporary marriages in Iran, to child brides and casual (though covert) homosexuality across the region."—The Independent

"Bradley finds East and West united in adherence to an ecumenical creed of "Do as I say, not as I do". Not that there aren't differences in the lies we tell ourselves: hence the institution of misyar - temporary marriages, which enable a society like Iran to work around its own self-denying strictures; or the freedom of relations between men and adolescent boys in Morocco (as long as no one comes out or calls it gay). Bradley finds both sleazy secrets and what he... calls higher hypocrisies in this revelatory and thought-provoking book."—The Scotsman

"After ten years writing and traveling through the Middle East, Bradley decided to tackle the subject that everyone talks about without saying much: sex. He reveals the many different ways countries across the region talk about and regulate sex, covering legal prostitution in Tunisia, hour-long marriages in Saudi Arabia, and what West and East have in common when it comes to sex."—Zócalo Public Square

"Recommend... for its accessibility, wealth of detailed content, and its potential appeal for scholars working in the fields of sex work and Middle East studies.... Bradley succeeds in his aim to effectively uncover the mysteries surrounding the business and culture of sex in the Middle East. He presents a very nuanced account of the realities of prostitution in various Middle Eastern countries, supplemented statistically and anecdotally. Bradley identifies a range of existent liberal cultural identities and attitudes towards sex in the countries he has visited, accompanied by an underground culture of sex that is often not as shrouded in mystery as western media so commonly depicts."—LSE Review of Books

"Drawing on extensive research as well as the author's own substantial firsthand knowledge of the region, the book offers an essential corrective to the fantasies and misinformation about Middle Eastern cultures." —Publishers Weekly