How to Breastfeed Muslim Men
As we all know, women in many Muslim countries cannot be in the company of men to whom they are not wed or related.
The problem for Muslim women who work in same premises as men, is that if they find themselves alone in the same room with an unrelated male she will be guilty of the sin of khulwa. The sin occurs even if there are no sexual intentions (1).
When the great Tabi Ibn al-Mubarak was asked, "What is the medicine of the heart?" He replied, "lack of mixing with people."
To help solve that problem in Egypt a few years ago a fatwa (a religious opinion concerning Islamic law) was issued by Egypt’s grand mufti Sheik Ali Gomaa that women who work around men should breastfeed them (2).
Now it seems Saudi women will be using a similar fatwa to allow them to drive in Saudi Arabia:
Gulf News, 20 Jun 2010,
Saudi women use fatwa in driving bidSaudi women plan to turn a controversial fatwa (religious ruling) to their advantage and launch a campaign to achieve their long-standing demand to drive in this conservative kingdom.
If the demand is not met, the women threatened to follow through the fatwa which allows them to breastfeed their drivers and turn them into their sons.
The campaign will be launched under the slogan: "We either be allowed to drive or breastfeed foreigners," a journalist told Gulf News.
Amal Zahid said that their decision follows a fatwa issued by a renowned scholar which said that Saudi women can breastfeed their foreign drivers for them to become their sons.
"As every Saudi family needs a driver, our campaign will focus on women's right to drive," she said.
The controversial fatwa, which was regarded as both funny and weird, issued recently by Shaikh Abdul Mohsin Bin Nasser Al Obaikan, member of Saudi Council of Senior Scholars and adviser to the king, has sparked a debate in society.
The renowned scholar said Saudi women can breastfeed their foreign drivers for them to be become their sons and brothers to their daughters.
Under this relationship, foreign drivers can mix freely with all members of the family without breaking the Islamic rule which does not allow mixing of genders.
I know what you are thinking: there is a catch-22 here: In order for the woman to be legally alone with a driver she first has to breastfeed him. Exactly how is she supposed to breastfeed him if they can't be alone together? Perhaps some type of glory hole needs to separate them where they are in separate rooms but her breasts can be exposed on the other side?
Sheikh Al Obeikan, an adviser to the royal court does not want the man to suckle directly. Instead, the woman should pump her breast milk into a glass and send it to the unrelated male. I'm wondering if the milk needs to be pasteurized. However, there is no clear ruling here since another high-profile sheik, Abi Ishaq Al Huwaini, said that men should suckle the breast milk directly from a woman’s breast (3).
It is ironic that the reason two unrelated, unwed people should not be alone together is to thwart the possibility of sexual relations occurring. But in my experience adult males suckling on women's breasts usually leads to sexual relations.
Perhaps in the future, Saudi women can carry a spray bottle of their milk and simply walk freely throughout the kingdom spraying milk into strangers' mouths. It certainly would make life easier for Muslim females.
Since in many cases, lactation leads to temporary infertility, I am strongly in favor of this fatwa: anything that cuts down on Muslim reproduction is to be highly recommended.
ENDNOTES
(1):
Arab News, 11 Mar 2009, Khulwa sentence against elderly widow causes uproar
JEDDAH: The sentencing of a 75-year-old Arab widow to 40 lashes and four months in prison for mingling with two young men, who were reportedly bringing her bread, has sparked fresh criticism of the Kingdom’s judiciary and the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
Khamisa Sawadi, a Syrian who was married to a Saudi, was convicted and sentenced last week for meeting men who were not her immediate relatives. The two men, including one who was Sawadi’s late husband’s nephew, were also found guilty and sentenced to prison and lashes.
...
Sawadi had told the court that she considered Al-Anzi as her son, because she breast-fed him when he was a baby. But the court denied her claim, saying she had no evidence. In Islamic tradition, breast-feeding establishes a degree of maternal relation.
(2):
Planck's Constant, OTA A Fatwa to Die For
the restriction on unmarried men and women being together could be lifted at work if the woman breast-fed her male colleagues five times. This is based on early hadiths that allow unmarried men to view the faces of a woman who has breast-fed them.
(3):
Unreasonable Faith, Saudi Clerics Advocate Breast Milk for Men
Thankfully, folks like Eman Al Nafjan of Saudiwoman’s Weblog are speaking out against fetishistic old men with religious power:
“The whole issue just shows how clueless men are,” blogger Eman Al Nafjan wrote on her website. “All this back and forth between sheiks and not one bothers to ask a woman if it’s logical, let alone possible to breastfeed a grown man five fulfilling breast milk meals.“Moreover, the thought of a huge hairy face at a woman’s breast does not evoke motherly or even brotherly feelings. It could go from the grotesque to the erotic but definitely not maternal.”
