If you are a Hindu, Jew, Christian or other, don't gloat. For every Muslim ass there is a Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Sikh and a Buddhist ass. One more critical thing - I had the opportunity to verify one fatwa ascribe to Al-Azhar, it was never issued, but some one circulated it big time.
What is the choice we have? Make fun of these, laugh it off, if we laugh it, other's cannot do worse than that.
By definition, a fatwa is a specific ruling on a point of Islamic law given by a recognized authority, namely sheikhs.
But what happens when fatwas make little sense?
Here are eight of the weirdest religious edicts issued in the past decade:
1. Women should breastfeed their male coworkers
Dr. Izzat Atiya of Egypt's al-Azhar University found the perfect solution back in 2007 for women and men to coexist at work without any sort of tension.
His fatwa called on women to "symbolically breastfeed" their male colleagues "directly from their breasts" at least five times in order to establish a family bond between the two.
That way, they would be allowed to be alone at work together and women could even take off their veil to reveal their hair.
The head of al-Azhar University Ahmed el-Tayeb dismissed the fatwa, calling it defamatory to Islam.
2. Necrophilia is permissible
Even though necrophilia is considered a psychological disorder, Egyptian cleric Dr. Sabri Abdel Raouf doesn't seem to agree.
And for that, Egypt's Supreme Council for Media Regulation issued a decision banning the religious preacher from making TV appearances, according to Al Arabiya.
This comes after Abdel Raouf reportedly issued a controversial "fatwa (religious edict) granting husbands the right to have intercourse with their dead wives."
The latest decision bans Sheikh Sabri from appearing on private or public television channels. He has also been banned from going on radio programs.
Contrary to popular opinion, snow does fall in many countries across the Arab world. This is why this Saudi cleric attempted to forbid the building of snowmen through a fatwa issue in 2015.
Sheikh Mohammed Saleh al-Munajjid said that snowmen are "anti-Islamic" and that "it is not permitted to make a statue out of snow, even by way of play and fun."
While sex and nudity usually go hand in hand, Rashad Hassan Khalil, a former dean at al-Azhar University's faculty of Islamic law, issued a fatwa in 2006 prohibiting nudity during intercourse.
According to him, "being completely naked during the act of coitus annuls the marriage."
Was a debate ignited? Of course. During the live televised debate, Islamic scholar Abdel Muti dismissed the fatwa: "Nothing is prohibited during marital sex, except of course sodomy," according to AFP.
5. If you look like a tomboy, you should change your wardrobe, attitude, and hairstyle...
As we already know, same-sex relationships are prohibited in most Muslim countries.
However, in 2008, Malaysia's top Islamic council took the extra mile and added that "tomboyish behavior" is not allowed.
Council chairman Abdul Shukor Husin said, “There are teenage girls who prefer the male lifestyle including dressing up in men’s clothes. More worryingly, they have started to engage in sexual activities," reported Reuters.
6. If you're planning on attending an all-you-can-eat buffet, don't
This one may not go down too well with the foodies, but Saleh al-Fawzan, a Saudi cleric, announced in 2014 that going to a buffet without deciding the quantity one wants to eat beforehand "is violating Sharia law."
Will you have one shawarma sandwich or 10? Make up your mind fast.
7. Women should not eat bananas, cucumbers, carrots, and eggplants
Thanks to a cleric based in Europe who issued a fatwa in 2011, women cannot touch or eat anything that resembles male genitalia, such as bananas, cucumbers, carrots, and eggplants.
The only way women can consume such foods is for their fathers or husbands to "cut the items into small pieces" and serve it to them.
8. Do not move to Mars
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowment in the UAE stated in 2014 that a trip to Mars "was prohibited by Islam."
They claimed it is an act resembling suicide, putting one's life in danger, as well as a way "to escape punishment or evade standing before Almighty Allah for judgment."
A large number of fatwas (religious edits) have been issued of late. The majority of them have nothing to do with Islam. They are instead expressing the psychological mood of a certain society at a given time or place. Many of these fatwas are of a political or social nature. They also reflect the cultural and geographical situation of a society and its norms and traditions.
I have deep reservations about all of these fatwas which have no connection to our religion in any way. For instance, in Egypt, a recent fatwa was issued allowing husbands to run for their lives if they fear that they might be killed defending their wives. In Islam a man is considered to be a martyr if he is killed while defending his honor or that of his wife. However, this fatwa says the husband may run for his life if he believes that the attackers wishing to rape his wife may turn against him.
Another Egyptian fatwa says a husband can divorce his wife by means of a text message or a telephone call. There is another fatwa giving the army and the police the right to kill political opponents.
In Saudi Arabia there is a fatwa prohibiting Muslims from traveling to Western countries. Another fatwa says it is against Islam to travel to Dubai. Other Saudi fatwas prohibit women from working, prevent women from marrying their drivers and declare that it is against Islam to exchange gifts of red roses on Valentine’s Day.
There are also alleged fatwas in the Kingdom permitting employees to bribe their superiors in order to get promotions.
In Iraq a fatwa was issued asking people to fight for Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. Before this an Iraqi fatwa asked Iraqis to kill American soldiers.
In Syria, a fatwa called all Syrians to support President Assad in his war against his own people. Another fatwa gave people permission to eat dog and cat meat in case of a famine. In Lebanon there is a fatwa permitting the killing of Syrian refugees who have sought refuge in the country. A fatwa in Jordan says Muslims from outside Arab and Muslim countries can visit Al-Quds (Jerusalem).
In Morocco, a fatwa was issued permitting pregnant women who have a craving for alcohol to drink it without any reservations. In the same country, another fatwa permitted close contact between men and women in crowded buses during the fasting month of Ramadan. The fatwa says that a man may have an orgasm while touching a woman in the bus without breaking his fasting.
A fatwa in Libya says it is “halal” to kill the supporters of former leader Muammar Gaddafi.
In Yemen a recent fatwa said sleeping in the Square of Change during the revolution is similar to spending the night in Mina and Muzdalifah during the Haj.
These are some of the fatwas which I have recently read in newspapers. They are all false and have nothing to do with Islam. They were issued for political or social reasons. Islam is a great religion and has nothing to do with these trivialities.
Only women allowed to work female saloons in
Saudi Arabia
Published Sunday, April 19, 2015
Saudi police
arrested a Filipino disguised as a female hairdresser at a women’s saloon in the
conservative Gulf Kingdom.
A YouTube film published in the Saudi Arabic
language daily 'Sada 'showed the Filipino wore a wig, make up and women’s dress
at the saloon in the capital Riyadh.
The paper said the film was
circulated on local social media networks, but that it could not be
verified.
Only women are allowed to work at female saloons in Saudi
Arabia in line with laws banning gender mixing in public places.
Saudi Arabia’s influential
religious police shut a restaurant in the conservative Gulf kingdom for massive
violations including allowing gender-mixing.
Members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice,
backed by other police men and municipality inspectors, raided the restaurant in
the western Red Sea port of Jeddah and ordered it shut indefinitely.
“Sources said they shut the restaurant after it was found to be violating
local laws, including allowing mixing between men and women, operating obscene
TV channels and serving shisha in closed places,” Sabq daily said.
Gender-mixing is strictly banned in schools, universities and most other
places in the oil-rich kingdom.
Saudi Arabia’s feared religious police entered a public park in the Gulf
Kingdom and told women to stop using swings, an act that drew applause and
criticism by viewers of a picture showing the men warning some women at the
swings. The picture went viral on social networks in Saudi Arabia before it was
published by newspapers showing two men from the Commission for the Promotion of
Virtue and Prevention of Vice warning women against using the swings. “Some viewers of the picture supported the move by the Commission members on
the grounds women using the swing could encourage men to harass or molest them,”
the Saudi Arabic language daily ‘ Al Sada’ said. “Others said they believe the act is not acceptable as it amounted to an
unjustified interference and repression of women by the Commission.”
Saudi Arabia's religious police arrested an expatriate Asian tailor three
days after a film showing him taking the measurements of a local veiled woman
triggered public uproar after going viral on social media networks.
The YouTube film, published by Sada and other Saudi newspapers, showed the
man was sticking to the woman inside his shop in the Western Saudi town of
Makkah as he took measurements of her body.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yW_JVT4EXqo
Makkah police spokesman Atti Al Qirshi said the tailor, in his 40s, would be
charged with violating local regulations and Islamic values.
Saudi Arabia, one of the most conservative Moslem nations, bans gender-mixing
in public places does not allow men to work at women's tailor and lingerie
shops.
