CAIRO: An Islamic cleric residing in Europe said that women should not be close to bananas or cucumbers, in order to avoid any "sexual thoughts."
| A perennial concern among the overly religious set. |
The unnamed sheikh, who was featured in an article on el-Senousa 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.
| Oh brilliant! Set the menfolk to cutting up the symbolic pen1ses themselves, then serving their women as if they were not men but mere wives themselves -- the perfect recipe for a happy Muslim home. |
He said that these fruits and vegetables "resemble the male penis" and hence could arouse women or "make them think of sex."
| I guess it'll work if it's presented as foreplay... |
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.
Answering another question about what to do if women in the family like these foods, the sheikh advised the interviewer to take the food and cut it for them in a hidden place so they cannot see it.
The opinion has stirred a storm of irony and denouncement among Muslims online, with hundreds of comments mocking the cleric.
One reader said that these religious "leaders" give Islam "a bad name" and another commented said that he is a "retarded" person and he must quite his post immediately.
Others called him a seeker of fame, but no official responses from renowned Islamic scholars have been published on the statements.
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