Female 'Marriage Mediator" Gets Jail And Lashes In Saudi Arabia

"Temporary marriages" are popular in the Muslim world as a means of legitimizing sexual relations between men and women in the eyes of Allah. It really is nothing more than a form of prostitution, but heck, they don't see it that way. Most, anyway. In Saudi Arabia, however, a foreign woman who was allowing meetings between men and woman on her premises, and claiming she was arranging misya marriages, has been handed a 6 month jail sentence, 50 lashes, and will be deported when released. She was charged with "immoral and unlawful activities and acting as a pimp."

She wasn't the only one arrested and sentenced to jail time.

Three other women were arrested at her house were also sentenced. One of the women was found to be in possession of hashish.

All three were sentenced to four months in prison and 50 lashes because they agreed to meet men for marriage without the presence of their male guardians. According to Saudi law, women are not allowed to marry without a legal marriage contract and they also cannot meet strange men even for discussing a marriage relationship.

They were caught after someone tipped off the police about the woman's little business venture.

A police officer called the woman mediator and claimed that he wanted to marry two women at the same time.

The mediator allegedly told him that she could accommodate his request, even if he wanted three women at the same time.

She then gave him the number of another marriage mediator who asked him to visit her house to see the women.

When he arrived at her house, she brought four women for him to choose from and told him that their dowry was between SR15,000 and SR20,000. Her commission was SR1,000 for each woman. The officer then signaled a security team waiting outside and they arrested everyone.

One of the women was married and was a legal resident, while the other women were illegals.

It's hard to tell if they were arrested simply because there was gender mixing, which is illegal in backwards Saudi Arabia, because temporary marriages are sanctioned under Islam, or whether she really was acting as a pimp for a bunch of prostitutes.

Source: Al Arabiya