Egyptian Expert on Islamic Affairs Malika Zarrar Blasts Fatwas Permitting ‘Shameful’ Sexual Practices

TV host: "Today, we will talk about a Saudi Islamic scholar, who appeared on TV. This was a very strange event, which I will recap briefly. This was a televised lecture by a Saudi Islamic scholar, in which he described the black-eyed virgins of Paradise in explicit sexual terms. The sheikh described the life of comfort that Allah awards Muslim men in Paradise and the 70 black-eyed virgins who would fall all over him. The sheikh described the beauty of these virgins and their sexual drive: 'One would place her lips on his, another would lay her cheek against his, and a third would place her breasts on his chest.' [...]

"Is this description of the virgins accurate, or is it exaggerated?"

Malika Zarrar: "This amounts to challenging Allah. I have one question. Where is the Saudi Authority for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice?! Where are all the Islamic scholars of Saudi Arabia?! They let such a person make a mockery of the Book of Allah? [...] He should be executed."

TV host: "You are calling for him to be executed?"

Malika Zarrar: "Yes. I am addressing the Saudi king. What is this? The authority for prevention of Vice only knows how to catch girls without veils. Where are they now?! They should send me to Saudi Arabia." [...]

If Your Husband Is a Pervert, "You Should Divorce Him... [and] Take Him to Court"

Caller: "My problem is that my husband is a very strange man. He's not normal. He asks very bizarre things of me. He asked me to be together with him and his other wife. He put a lot of pressure on me. My problem is that I have nobody. Where would I go with my two children? I have nobody. My father is dead."

TV host: "How long have you been married?"

Caller: "I'm his second wife. We've been married three and a half years."

TV host: "During all that time, he has acted normally in bed, or has he asked bizarre things of you?"

Caller: "It happened a year ago, and I said okay once or twice."

TV host: "Twice?"

Caller: "Yes. The problem is that then he asked me to do something else. The other wife has no problem with this. She goes along with it. She does whatever he tells her to do. He wanted to watch me and her having sex."

TV host: "How old is he?"

Caller: "He's putting pressure on me, and threatening to divorce me. I don't have anybody. I haven't seen the world. He's the only man I've known."

[...]

Malika Zarrar: "Divorce is inevitable in this case, because he is a pervert. The Islamic scholars and jurisprudents concur that if during sex, a woman cannot avoid being watched, touched, or heard – she must refrain from having sex."

TV host: "This has nothing to do with obedience to the husband, right?"

Malika Zarrar: "What obedience? They are making fun of us. They took this business of obedience from Justinian, and they incorporated it in the French law of Napoleon Bonaparte. That law was abolished, but we cling to it with our teeth, because there is no clear ruling on this in Islamic law. There is no such thing as obedience to a human being while defying Allah."

TV host: "I agree, but what should she do? Should she divorce him?"

Malika Zarrar: "You should divorce him, but that's not all. You should take him to court, and I call upon the judiciary in Egypt and the judges not to rely upon the letter of the law. Even in the US, where they know nothing about Islam, matrimonial life is bound by the constitution."

TV host: "Why don't you say that the man is mentally ill and could be cured?"

Malika Zarrar: He can go get cured at his family's place or in a mental asylum. He can go to hell and take the other wife with him. What they are doing is a deliberate sin. Sexual relations between a man and a woman is a form of worship."

TV host: "We will continue to discuss the topic, but we have some phone calls."

Malika Zarrar: "What's happening in Egypt, man?"

TV host: "What do you mean?"

Malika Zarrar: "What are these catastrophes we are hearing about? I heard that those accused of wife-swapping got off scot-free."

TV host: "What?"

Malika Zarrar: "They got off scot-free because there is no law on this."

TV host: "The case of the veiled teacher? They were found innocent?"

Malika Zarrar: "That's right. There's no law on this. They left the courthouse all smug." [...]

Against Hymen Reconstruction Surgery: "They Should Use that Artificial Hymen Crap from China"

TV host: "Last week, it was said on a TV show that the female religious instructors focus so much on the hymen that high-school girls are driven to engage in lesbian relations with their peers. They think it is better for them to have perverted sexual relations – even with guys – than to have their hymen torn. Do you think that your exaggerated focus on the hymen has led to girls resorting to anal sex..."

Malika Zarrar: "Ahmad, you were in high school, just like me, and you could see for yourself. When did we ever talk about such things? By the way, you deserve the Egyptian State Prize or a Nobel Prize for raising topics that interest people. You remember the days when we would talk and they would cut us off the air..."[...]

TV host: "Let's talk about a peculiar fatwa that was discussed five years ago. We discussed it again two years ago and then again last week. The Mufti of Egypt permitted hymen reconstruction on wedding anniversaries. We are not talking about Valentine's Day or the Sham Al-Nasim holiday, but about the wedding anniversary that each couple celebrates. What is your view on this?"

Malika Zarrar: "Whose ruling was this?"

TV host: "The Mufti of Egypt, Dr. Ali Gum'a, said that this is allowed if it makes the couple happy."

Malika Zarrar: "By God, Dr. Ali Gum'a, don't deal with trivial things. Instead of undergoing surgery, she can use that crap they sell for 15 Egyptian pounds... How much does it cost now? 25 Egyptian pounds..."

TV host: "By 'crap' you are referring to the Chinese-made artificial hymen?"

Malika Zarrar: "Yes. Honorable Mufti, if you've got spare time on your hands, I'll find you something to do. [...]

"A woman should do whatever she decides. She doesn't need Dr. Ali Gom'a to adjust his turban and issue a fatwa."

TV host: "70,000 fatwas were issued by Dar Al-Iftaa. What's the problem with this fatwa?"

Malika Zarrar: "It's permitted. Anything is permitted except undergoing surgery."

TV host: "How can you reconstruct the hymen without surgery?"

Malika Zarrar: "There's an alternative – that rubbish they're bringing from China. That crap."[...]

On Fatwa Permitting Kissing Spouse's Genitals: "There Is No Shame Left!"

TV host: "Recently, Dr. Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi said that the jurisprudents had ruled that a woman may kiss her husband's genitals and vice versa. But if it is done for the purpose of ejaculation, this is detestable. Do you agree with Sheikh Al-Qaradhawi that this is permissible, or not?"

Malika Zarrar: "Agree?! What is this audacity? There is no shame left!"

TV host: "Forget about the shame for a moment – is it allowed or not?"

Malika Zarrar: "What did he say?"

TV host: "He said it was permitted."

Malika Zarrar: "Then let him bear the responsibility."

TV host: "So you think it's forbidden?"

Malika Zarrar: "Let him bear the responsibility. What is this?!"

TV host: "What do you think, Dr. Malika? Is it forbidden?"

Malika Zarrar: "Anything that goes beyond the boundaries of shame... If you have no shame, do whatever you like."

TV host: "Forbidden, then."