For Muslims, sex can be ‘an act of worship’ — yet intimacy and pleasure are often taboo topics

When Zoya Patel was in high school, dating wasn’t just a no-go, it was scandalous.

Her Muslim family hoped — even expected — that when Zoya reached adulthood, she’d enter into a consensual arranged marriage.

“Your match would have to meet certain criteria,” explains the 30-year-old writer.

“You would absolutely need to be with a Muslim, preferably one from the same culture — so, preferably Indian and … ideally from the same part of India, or Fijian-Indian, which is my family’s particular background.”

Arranged marriage went hand-in-hand with another expectation: that sex was reserved for marriage. Because of…