The Quest of a Curious Muslim — Page 65
65 What does Islam say about platonic relationships? The idea that men and women can be in a platonic relationship—a relationship that is only a friendship and nothing more—is a relatively modern concept. More recently, psychologists have started to research this form of relationship and the results are far from promising, at least from an Islamic perspective. One study, published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, for instance, notes that 62 percent of men and women reported that “sexual tension was present in their cross-sex friendships”. 40 Similarly, a survey of 1450 members of the Match. com dating site revealed that 62 percent of respondents admitted that the platonic friendship “crossed the line and became romantic or sexual”. 41 Another researcher, Dr. Jeremy Nicholson, writes in Psychology Today :