[update below]
This is one of those stories that goes in the “For real, not from The Onion” category. A former parliamentary candidate in Kuwait named Salwa al Mutairi (she’s a she) said last month that
sex slaves should be legal and prisoners from war-torn countries, such as Chechnya, would make suitable concubines.
In support of her position a Saudi mufti
told her it is not haram, or forbidden…’The context must be that of a Muslim nation conquering a non-Muslim nation, so these jawari [concubines/sex slaves] have to be prisoners of war.”
Lovely. In this vein Mme Mutairi continued
“One of the countries where [I see this trade is possible] is Chechnya. The country is at war with another state, so there are some captives for sure. I say go and buy those captives, they might just die of hunger over there. I say go and buy them and sell them to merchants here in Kuwait who may otherwise commit a sin.”
Problem: Chechens are Muslims, so they in principle cannot put up for sale (though a fatwa could no doubt be arranged rendering this halal). Perhaps Mme Mutairi has Russians in mind. I doubt Vladimir Putin & Co would appreciate this (then again, who knows). She went on
“I don’t see anything wrong with it, nothing at all”… adding that the caliph Haroun al Rashid had one wife and more than 2,000 concubines in his possession when he died.
I noted the reference to the great Abbasid caliph, as this has practically become my nickname. Almost every Arab I have ever met in my life—and the numbers are countless, going back decades—exclaims upon introduction, “Ah, Haroun al-Rashid!” I have been called this more than anything apart from my actual name (which I find curious, as the name Haroun is almost non-existent among Arabs). I thus tell Arab friends that they can call me Haroun. I am not as regal as the real one, though (see above). And I never got his harem. Drat!
UPDATE: The Islam-bashing sector of the right is having a field day with this story.
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