Nikah mut'ah
Nikah mut'ah has been used to cover child prostitution. Some Western writers have argued that mut'ah is similar to prostitution. Julie Parshall writes that mut'ah is legalised prostitution allowed by the Twelver Shia authorities. She quotes the Oxford encyclopedia of modern Islamic world to make a difference between marriage (nikah) and mut'ah. She also says that while nikah is for having children, mut'ah is just for sexual gratification.