Morocco's sex-fatwa controversy

Morocco has recently been engulfed in controversy over a number of fatwas that the public have found strange. Between the fatwa permitting the husband to have intercourse with his dead wife's corpse, another saying it is okay for pregnant women to drink alcoholic beverages, the "nursing of adults" fatwa, the fatwa to "unravel magic by magic" and other strange fatwas that have emerged in Morocco after appearing in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, some say they only express personal opinions that do not encapsulate the overall clerical opinion of the country of origin, while others have described them as no more than slips of the tongue. Arabstoday investigates the subject of controversial fatwas in Morocco, surveying the most well-known cases and hearing the opinions of religious and sociological experts on the subject. Permitting husbands to have intercourse with their dead wives' corpses: A Moroccan-flavoured fatwa: Abdulbarri al-Zamzami has acquired a great deal of fame, not only for his political remarks, but also for hid oddball fatwas which share elements of surprise and the bizarre. The most famous of these is perhaps his latest fatwa in which he permitted husbands to have intercourse with their wives' corpses. While no-one normal would think of having sex with his dead wife, al-Zamzami has continued to insist that religious permits him to, saying that a husband is permitted to do whatever he likes with his wife barring anal penetration. Permitting pregnant women to drink alcoholic beverages: The latest trend in Moroccan fatwas As al-Zamzami's fatwas veer so far off the norm where women are involved, he also allows pregnant women to drink alcoholic beverages when she is having "cravings," especially if she drank it in the past. He says this falls under the heading of the Islamic imperative for self-defence. The furore caused by al-Zamzami's fatwas can only be matched by the globally-known fatwas, such as Ezzat Attiya's opinion that permits working women to breastfeed their male co-workers. Permitting intercourse with the menstruating wife using a condom: Moroccan MP al-Zamzami insists that all sex acts are permitted barring anal penetration in accordance with the ayah: "Your wives are as a tilth unto you; so approach your tilth when or how ye will." He adds that sexual fulfillment is the general purpose of marriage. According to al-Zamzami, the anal prohibition rests on the "vile and filthy" nature of that part of the human body. Nevertheless, he permits a husband to fondle his wife's anus with his penis as long as penetration does not occur. On the Islamic prohibition on intercourse with menstruating women, al-Zamzami says that, if a husband cannot wait, he is permitted to have intercourse with her if he wears a condom, which al-Zamzami says will protect the man. He insists that a man who does this does not sin. Artificial phalli and carrots allowed, al-Zamzami says: In another much-panned fatwa, al-Zamzami said that unmarried women are permitted in Islam to use artificial phalli or carrots for sexual gratification. This, he says, is not adultery but falls under the heading of masturbatory practices that protect women's virtue and help them avoid committing adultery. Moreover, al-Zamzami also permitted use of sex dolls, considering them a masturbatory tool that does not amount to adultery, which he defines as intercourse between a man and a woman out of wedlock. In days gone by, the Moroccan preacher has said, unmarried women or women whose husbands were absent for long stretches of time, were given fatwas permitting them to masturbate using carrots or bottles to relieve themselves and avoid committing adultery. Al-Zamami likens sexual arousal with hunger and believes both should be fulfilled. Al-Zamzami's efforts in that regard have sparked a great deal of controversy in Moroccan society, with many observers denouncing this fatwa. Arabstoday has asked the opinion of Mohammed Shakour, professor of Islamic Sharia at Hassan II University. Professor Shakour says: "Those new fatwa-givers seek for bizarre fatwas that would attract attention to them. The timing of such fatwas is surprising and quite odd. Several factors contribute to the spread of these fatwas, including the satellite channels, or privately-owned media outlets. Ten years ago, for example, such leanings were not on show." Shakour adds: "We have begun to notices that every channels wants to find something to distinguish it and increase its ratings amid the intense competition between satellite channels. Unfortunately, this only happens by looking for the strange and the odd, by inviting on as guests people who are not qualified to give fatwas, at the expense of clerics who are pure and pious in deed as well as in word, are sincere in their fatwa and know the Book and the Sunnah, Koranic sciences, reasons for revelation, abrogation, the distinction between "firm" and "similar" verses, the grammatical directions of Koranic readings and other things that should be known to whomever provides fatwas to keep him from losing his way and seeing the halal as haram and the haram as halal." Shakour also says: "The new class of muftis who are living the new technological advances see appearances on satellite television as a good opportunity to achieve fame and fortune, so they seek out bizarre fatwas to attract attention to themselves." "The purpose of circulating these fatwas in this manner amounts to obfuscation and instilling division in the Ummah's body, and these things can be seen be all," he said, adding "Let us not forget that there are external media currents who see religious as the reason for the Arab world's backwardness and wishes to marginalise the role of religion in the lives of Muslim people, so we see them seeking out the bizarre and the strange in order to stoke the fires of conflict and division." Sociologist Mounir al-Adly says: "There is a dual responsibility behind the dissemination of this type of fatwa, with both parties having lost all sense of spirituality and the unsoundness of using religion as raw material for sensationalism. On the one hand, the broadcaster always seeks what is amazing and new, and on the other, there are some sheikhs who have become taken by the idea of having a media presence and the attraction that that holds, and they would not receive these things if not for such strange fatwas." Al-Adly adds: "Despite the dominance of the secular current in the media and its constant presence, it is not behind the state we are currently in: there is a knowledge vacuum when it comes to religion which has led us to this situation." The sociologist adds: "The taboo area in fatwas has ballooned and the faqih is faced with an ever-increasing list of no-go zones. If he touches on political matters, he is faced with repercussions and consequences that he does not want to deal with; if he gives a fatwa in economics, he may also face problems and if he speaks about cultural matters, there is the ever-present accusation by the supporters of the secular current that he represents 'a new priesthood' and is 'Medieval.' The result is a diminishing area in which fatwa is allowed, which has created a kind of religious vacuum. The mufti today speaks of non-consequential matters that have nothing to do with reality or the spirit of the age that the Ummah is going through."