Bending the Third Rail
Because We Should, We Can, We Do
Monday, January 16, 2006
A Rose By Any Other Name.....
Without comment:
NAJAF, Iraq (UPI) -- Mutaa, a Shiite Muslim tradition known as pleasure marriage or temporary marriage, is regaining popularity in Iraq.

The practice was outlawed by the Sunni regime of Saddam Hussein, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Shiite religious law says unmarried women may enter into pleasure marriages with men for periods as brief as a few minutes or as long as a lifetime. Dowries range from virtually nothing to millions of Iraqi dinars.

Women`s rights activists call mutaa an exploitative arrangement. Aida Nasser Hussein Mosawi, who runs a Najaf-based women`s rights center, said many women entered into the marriages not for pleasure but for financial reasons.

'The clerics issue fatwas condoning this practice that allows men to treat women like prostitutes. They take her for a short time and then he leaves her -- it`s all up to him,' she told the newspaper.

Sheik Adel Amir Tureihi, a Shiite cleric in Najaf, said the practice was designed to provide Muslims with a lawful outlet for natural sexual desires.

'People need sex just like they need food,' he said. 'Islam is a natural, organic religion.'
Written at 8:49 AM by Greyhair.
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