17 December 2011

Lady, don't touch that banana, for Allah's sake!

Seems to me I've missed most of the fun. An Egyptian news website Bikya Masr** on Wednesday published a news item about a brand-new fatwa:

An Islamic cleric residing in Europe said that women should not be close to bananas or cucumbers, in order to avoid any “sexual thoughts.”

The unnamed sheikh, who was featured in an article on el-Sawsana news, was quoted saying that if women wish to eat these food items, a third party, preferably a male related to them such as their a father or husband, should cut the items into small pieces and serve.

He said that these fruits and vegetables “resemble the male penis” and hence could arouse women or “make them think of sex.”
The website mentioned above made sure to add: "Bikyamasr.com cannot independently verify the accuracy of the news item at time of writing."

Meanwhile, the story continues and we can clearly see that this new fatwa is only a beginning of a new scholastic and judicial branch of Islamic law*.
He also added carrots and zucchini to the list of forbidden foods for women.

The sheikh was asked how to “control” women when they are out shopping for groceries and if holding these items at the market would be bad for them. The cleric answered saying this matter is between them and God.
(*) To be called "The garden of forbidden delights" or something in this vein, probably.

(**) The editor of the site issued an editorial with profuse apologies for publication of the quoted piece: On Bikyamasr.com’s coverage of the “cucumber sheikh”. It has to be noted that the editorial doesn't retract the information published in the original article and that the latter still remains in place.

8 comments:

KatieNorcross said...

Isn't cutting the banana equal to channeling your inner Loretta Bobbet?

SnoopyTheGoon said...

I guess not when the husband does it.

Dick Stanley said...

I thought it was the MusselMEN who were so randy that their women had to cover up lest rape be provoked. Had no idea the MusselWOMEN were equally hot-and-bothered.

Why then I wonder are the populations of Turkey and Iran declining? Too much birth control, I suppose. Fatwa on that coming soon, no doubt.

Shaun Downey said...

Funny but as true as some of the stories about the EU that have appeared in the UK press over the years

SnoopyTheGoon said...

After all we all need something to dispel the boredom. But notice that the article is still on the site...

SnoopyTheGoon said...

But isn't birth control anti-Islamic? After all, it's anti-Christian and anti-Jewish, as it is stated in both religions.

Dick Stanley said...

Birth control is not outlawed by any religion, as far as I know, only some specific sects within religions. It certainly is popular among most Protestant Christians and Non-Orthodox Jews and, apparently, Muslim women as well.

SnoopyTheGoon said...

Well, you are right, I should have qualified that statement.