'Pleasure marriages' regain popularity in Iraq

[Barrett808]

In the days when it could land him in jail, Rahim Al-Zaidi would whisper details of his muta'a only to his closest confidants and the occasional cousin. Never his wife.

Al-Zaidi hopes to soon finalize his third muta'a, or "pleasure marriage," with a green-eyed neighbor. This time, he talks about it openly and with obvious relish. Even so, he says, he probably still won't tell his wife.

The 1,400-year-old practice of muta'a- "ecstasy" in Arabic - is as old as Islam itself. It was permitted by the prophet Mohammed as a way to ensure a respectable means of income for widowed women.

Pleasure marriages were outlawed under Saddam Hussein but have begun to flourish again. The contracts, lasting anywhere from one hour to 10 years, generally stipulate that the man will pay the woman in exchange for sexual intimacy. Now some Iraqi clerics and women's rights activists are complaining that the contracts have become less a mechanism for taking care of widows than an outlet for male sexual desires.

(more)

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usatoday/20050505/ts_usatoday/pleasuremarriagesregainpopularityiniraq

[DrDebug]

1. Even so, he says, he probably still won't tell his wife...

I'm just doing it for the sex... I love that part that "Men can void the contract at any time".

[hector459]

48. Where I come from they call it "prostitution."

Great. Now the US is a supporter of foreign prostitution.

[demnan]

2. I'm with Saddam on this one

Let's not call this 'Pleasure Marriages' let's call it what it is, prostitution.

[DrDebug]

3. No, it's "halal" so it can't be prostitution

The woman gets paid eh... the woman can refuse sex... that's the word I was looking for :sarcasm:

[Teaser]

9. Either way I'm OK with it, in the abstract.

I'm not really into sticking my nose into the sexual habits of other cultures. Of course, this issue bleeds over into other issues I do want to stick my nose into, physical abuse, etc.

[LisaM]

14. Do the women get to take "pleasure husbands?"

If not, you should be against it.

[DrDebug]

16. It's just for man

And the rules for man are different as well. First of all a woman can only have one husband, but the husband can theoretically take another three pleasure wives

Some clippings:
Married women can't enter a muta'a, although a married man can. Men can void the contract at any time; women don't have that option unless it's negotiated at the outset. The couple agrees not to have children. A woman who unintentionally gets pregnant can have an abortion but must then pay a fine to a cleric.

[LiberalFighter]

54. A fine to the cleric? Geesh

Does this apply only to those belonging to that religion or anyone in Iraq?

[Teaser]

21. Nope. And don't tell me what I should think, dig?

What I shouldn't do is impose myself on a particular religion's sexual politics. If someone doesn't like a religion, change religions. In the real world of Iraq, that's difficult without physical consequnces, which is why I supported it only in the abstract.

In the abstract, I don't think that Roman Catholicism should be forced to ordain women priests, for example. If someone doesn't like that rule, they should try and schism from the Church and found a new one. It worked for the reformation.

[LisaM]

23. Ah, well, I only meant "you should" in the abstract as well

my views on plural marriages have shifted drastically over the past couple of years (after reading "Under the Banner of Heaven.") However, the Roman Catholic church (to which I belong) used to be far more liberal than it is now. The draconian measures to which they subscribe all came about after hundreds of years and were more connected to division of property than anything else. I think they should evolve towards having women priests.

[LiberalFighter]

53. I suppose that is why they Saddam so much

[Mizmoon]

4. "You'll Never Make Love in this Town Again"

Anyone ever read that book? It's written by some Hollywood hookers, one of whom talks about being shipped to Saudi Arabia as a hooker to King Fahd. Turns out the Saudi royals have hookers from all over the world shipped in for their pleasure. But it's all ok with God because they did this "pleasure marriage" thing.

Uh huh ... God LOVES loopholes ... He laughs and says, "Oh, you got Me on that one, Fahd!"

[Ian David]

47. Can "Pleasure Marriage" be used as a defense here under religious freedom

Just a thought.

[xultar]

5. Ahhhh the SMELL of Democracy! (stanks like sack sheets to me)

:puke:

[Karenina]

11. It's the stench of patriarchal structures you're smelling...

NOT your upper lip. ;-)

[Ilsa]

6. George will probably want to import this "religious" custom.

Only, the contract he'll get will be with unemployed Talon reporters.

[Spinzonner]

22. George already has two wives

though one appears to be Desperate

[BadGimp]

7. makes sense to me...

[kclown]

8. Moral values n/t

[AnneD]

10. So what about any

'pleasure' children? As much as the the RWCC and Muslim are so gung ho pro life-this seems against their principles (ie, why are we fighting to establish a theocracy).

[daleo]

12. I don't know how Muslims feel about this in North America

Perhaps they are against it. But, last weekend there was a multi-faith rally in my city by Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, and Jews (that was the claim in the newspaper anyway) against same sex marriage, and in favor of 'traditional marriage'.

Traditional marriage can cover a lot of ground, it seems. I checked out Leviticus's prohibition against homosexuality - in the same verse was an admonition not to sleep with 'any of your father's wives'. I don't usually hear religious folk calling for a return to polygamy, though. Using a 3000 year old holy book to define today's institutions still allows for all kinds of 'moral relativism'.

[customerserviceguy]

13. Why does the term "pleasure marriage"

seem like an oxymoron to me??

[losdiablosgato]

19. Marriage is not a word it is a sentence

[maxsolomon]

15. gee, islam is so great

and never ever hypocritical, just like the other 2 abrahamic monotheirms.

i think i'll convert from my own cobbled-together ethical, feminist panentheism. i'd get laid more.

[LynnTheDem]

17. Uh oh...bush's rightwingnut fundie base ain't gonna like this.

I'd think the irony of all this shit is HILARIOUS...if only so many hundreds of thousands of people weren't dead, dying, ruined forever.

[megatherium]

26. uh, they're not exactly fans of Islam.

Go into any evangelical bookstore, you'll see a variety of titles about how evil and dangerous this religion is.

[LynnTheDem]

27. Oh they'll be far more upset over the "prostitution sex" thang.

bush never told them THIS could happen in America's newest state!

$300 billion, fundies! For legalized prostitution. LOVING it.

[Megahurtz]

18. Bizzare!

n/t

[pie]

20. I wonder how the women feel about this arrangement?

Sounds horrible to me.

[Barrett808]

24. Riverbend has discussed it

She's not down with it.

http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/

[Jacobin]

25. Cool. Rent don't buy?

I guess if you can dodge the bombs and the rockets and are a guy with some spare change, its a fun thing.

I expect that the lot of a woman in IraqNam is going downhill very very fast. No longer going to be a secular government.

[NNN0LHI]

28. 'Pleasure marriages' regain popularity in Iraq

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2005-05-04-pleasure-marriage_x.htm

BAGHDAD — In the days when it could land him in jail, Rahim Al-Zaidi would whisper details of his muta'a only to his closest confidants and the occasional cousin. Never his wife.

Al-Zaidi hopes to soon finalize his third muta'a, or "pleasure marriage," with a green-eyed neighbor. This time, he talks about it openly and with obvious relish. Even so, he says, he probably still won't tell his wife.

The 1,400-year-old practice of muta'a— "ecstasy" in Arabic — is as old as Islam itself. It was permitted by the prophet Mohammed as a way to ensure a respectable means of income for widowed women.

Pleasure marriages were outlawed under Saddam Hussein but have begun to flourish again. The contracts, lasting anywhere from one hour to 10 years, generally stipulate that the man will pay the woman in exchange for sexual intimacy. Now some Iraqi clerics and women's rights activists are complaining that the contracts have become less a mechanism for taking care of widows than an outlet for male sexual desires.

more

[Streetdoc270]

29. ???

So is this legalized prostitution under the guise of marriage?

[yankeeinlouisiana]

31. Yep, seems like it

to me. An hour to 10 year contract?? And he's not telling his wife?? I think she might find out.

[Goldmund]

33. How much do you think Gannon would charge for 10 years?

A seat in the press corps?

[jpak]

38. She might take a "contract" out on him

Ya think????

[napi21]

34. Yup. Sure sounds like legalized prostitution to me.

Suppose that's viewed as a good thing by ShrubCo and his followers? After all, they do want the Iraqi's to be free...don't they?

[Goldmund]

39. How is legalized prostitution incompatible with freedom?

I'd think it's the opposite.

[napi21]

41. I didn't say it was incompatible with freedom. I just don't think the

Pubs think it's permissable and certainly not part of freedom! I am trying to understand how Shrubs supporters would view his success in Iraq, and it seems that legal prostitution wouldn't be part of the freedom they wanted to see.

[Goldmund]

43. I see -- good points.

[Goldmund]

30. Wickid.

[orwell]

32. Freedom...

is on the march...

[erichzann]

42. Freedom is a new kind of "messy" :)

[Ratty]

35. I like how they call it a marriage

So it's not sinful. It isn't prostitution, it's a marriage! Why does this sound an awful lot like the bizarre loopholes the Catholic church used to employ to catch God in some technicality or other and thus avoid sin?

[NNN0LHI]

37. The loophole in the Catholic church...

...is called "confession" and "penance". There wasn't too much that a few Hail Mary's and Our Father's couldn't get you "absolved" of.

Don

[wellst0nev0ter]

36. Welp, We Did Say Over Half The Country Is Filled WIth Womenand Children

This seems like a logical conclusion.

[highnooner]

40. Now you see why they are resisting Christianity

That and the 70 virgins stuff....

[stanwyck]

44. So the wingnuts, so insistent

on traditional marriage and attacks on marriage within the U.S., have now "spread the freedom" of adultery to the Mideast. Will we hear all the Bushies who crow about how wonderful life is in Iraq now extoll the benefits of the "comfort" marriages? Maybe so. Haven't these guys been enjoying the same type of arrangements themselves? Will Laura Bush be reminding us how much better life is for Iraqi women...and mention the resurgence of muta'a?
Can't wait for that discussion.

[rodeodance]

45. perhaps bush should tell the people about this new freedom at his next

press conference.

[napi21]

46. Great idea! Sendd an email to Karl!

I'm sure all the Pubs will be impressed!

[Barrett808]

49. Might be worth sending an email to our Reps and Senators

But it's just the latest outrage. Maybe we should compile a list of recent, pervasive horrors resulting from the invasion and get a petition going.

[undeterred]

50. Well its good to hear that freedom and democracy are breaking out

ALL over...

[democracyindanger]

51. While acknowledging Saddam outlawed it to oppress Shiites,

were they necessary when he was in power? Was religious cover not required for extramarital sex then, but required now?

[Djinn]

52. not "as old as" Islam

it pre-dates Islam, in Iran it is known as sigheh, and basically yes it's legalised prostitution which you might not like but is also legal in plenty of other nations too.

I'm not going to suggest it's a pro-feminist tradition but it does actually provide a certain amount of protection, like every nation on earth, Islamic nations have people working as prostitutes, if you're a prostitute working in Iran you are FAR better off if you enter into a sigheh with a regular client than if you simply get paid for sex.