Maldives To Prohibit Indecent, Un-Islamic Mixed Gender Dancing

Although the Maldives is an Islamic Republic island nation in the Indian ocean, and there is no freedom of religion there, it has been known for it's "liberal lifestyle", probably because it relies so heavily on tourism. But all that's about to change. Like so many other Muslim-majority countries that are trending towards religious conservatism, and succumbing to the hardliners in their midst, so is the Maldives.

The Islamic affairs ministry sent a circular “to all government institutions banning the holding of any mixed-gender dance events,” the private Minivan newspaper said, quoting guidelines issued on Thursday.

 ministry also ordered a ban on events where adolescent girls were required to dance, the report said, adding that the directives were intended for both state bodies and individual citizens.

It was not immediately clear if the move was legally enforceable under existing regulations, and Minivan said there were exemptions.

Events such as children’s activities, performances exhibiting military skills, parades, playing the national anthem, boy scouts and girl guides performances... were acceptable forms of entertainment,” it said.

There was no immediate comment from the president’s office or the foreign ministry, but Youth Affairs Minister Mohamed Shareef said the "guidelines" were only targeting “indecent” behavior.

“There is a public debate on music and dance and what is permissible according to religion and culture,” Shareef said when contacted by telephone.“What the guidelines are saying is that if people are dancing in an indecent manner, it should not be allowed.”

Members of the Adhaalath Party (fashioned after Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood), and the Islamists of the Maldives, form the bulk of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, which recently declared that music is a very bad influence on the nation's youth.

"The worst of all is our youth’s addiction to music and songs, something that is 'haram' (forbidden),” the party said in messages on its Twitter account which also condemned homosexuals.

Cigarettes, music and Internet are gateways to higher addictions like alcohol, pornography and hard drugs. Attack root cause and save our kids.”

They have a Twitter account?

The hardliners have also been trying to shut down all those fancy tourist resorts that serve pork and alcohol, but naturally the more secular types have refused, at least so far.  They realize that with approximately 28% of the GDP coming from tourism, and a whopping 90% of the government's tax revenue derived from tourist taxes and import duties, they need to keep those sun and sand worshippers coming.

Who knows what will come next, but it will come. The trouble in paradise started early this year, and will only get worse.

Shariah Tourism In Egypt!

Cairo-based travel agency Shouq Travel, is making travel in Egypt shariah compliant.  Yes, bring your kids, and drag along the wife all decked out in her niqab for a jaunt on a jet ski. Maybe you'll get lucky enough to have her hijab get sucked into the propeller and she'll drown.  At least they let them drive.
Or if the ocean isn't your thing, and you like sand flying into your nostrils (though a burqa might be a good thing in that case), how about some fun on an ATV in the Sinai?  Maybe wife's hijab will get stuck in the wheels and she'll make an exit like Isadora Duncan.



Shouq will also arrange all the hotels for you, separate swimming pools (why not just leave the wife at home), halal food and all:

Family Tourism

It is known also with Halal Tourism, we organize family trips that agrees with our traditions , our Egyptian culture and our El-Sharia teachings. We are dealing with a large number of hotels that provides Halal Meat (Animal slaughtered according to our Islamic teaches), and doesn’t present alcoholic beverages on board, or pork. We also provide other alternatives for women like covered swimming pools or other places reserved only for women. And since Egypt has a lot of touristic sites we in Shouq Travel are so keen to organize trips that cover different sites of Egypt. We also present through our trips entertaining activities for children and cultural and religious seminars for adults.

The women get to sweat under their swathes of black cloth, no less- while the males get to dress comfortably-note the bare arms. What's wrong with a burqini?

And that black blob on the back of the jet ski?  Oh yes, it's the wife.

Thanks to those Muslim Brotherhood types who are now the leaders of Egypt, there will probably be a proliferation of travel agencies popping up to cater to the Shariah lovers around the world who want to travel to the land of the Pyramids.

According to Al Arabiya Muslim travel is a booming business:

From halal spas to prayer rooms at airport terminals, the global tourism industry is gearing up for a projected boom in Muslim travel over the next decade, experts say.

Spending by Muslim tourists is growing faster than the global rate and is forecast to reach $192 billion a year by 2020, up from $126 billion in 2011, according to a study conducted in 47 countries by Singapore-based halal travel specialist Crescentrating, along with DinarStandard, a U.S.-based firm that tracks the Muslim lifestyle market.

Everyone deserves to travel, but why does religion have to factor into it?!  Halal spas?  And special Muslim prayer rooms?  What's wrong with a non-denominational chapel? 

Wow.  Just, wow! 

UPDATE: Woman Fired - Drunk Couple In Dubai Accused Of Having Sex In Taxi

A foreign couple in Dubai were allegedly caught having sex in the back seat of a taxi, but were they really going at it? One can never tell when dealing with Emiratis. They find any public displays of affection offensive, and an innocuous peck on the cheek can actually land a couple in prison. In 2010, expats 24-year-old Ayman Najafi and 25-year-old Charlotte Adams found themselves spending a month in jail, fined £200 for drinking alcohol, and then deported to England after a woman snitched on them to the police. Apparently, her very young son  had seen the couple "kissing" in a restaurant where they were all eating, and that was enough to send them to jail.

This latest couple was also drunk, but deny they were having sex. The Irish man and British woman identified only as C.M. and R.B. (27) were in a taxi driven by an Asian man, but whether the driver snitched on them or they were pulled over by a policeman that "saw" what they were doing has not been determined yet.  The couple are being investigated and face charges of consuming alcohol, consensual sex, and public indecency- all no-nos in Dubai.

"C.M. and R.B. were boozed up when they were reported to a nearby police patrol that they indulged in sexual activity in the taxi's rear seat in an area close to Dubai Marina," a source told Gulf News.

According to primary police interrogations, the arresting police officer alleged that the woman was not wearing a shirt when he arrested the couple.

"Meanwhile C.M. countered those claims, according to his statement, contending that R.B. is his fiancée and that she was sad when he hugged her only."

"They couple deny involving in any form of sexual intimacy or public indecency."

The source added: "The suspects were said to have been sitting behind the driver's seat.

"It took nearly two minutes from the point where the taxi picked them up till the point where the police patrol stopped them.

"It would have been impossible for the woman to have taken off her shirt and initiated a sexual activity within a time span of two minutes.

"They admitted that they consumed alcohol… but they remained dressed and were not caught naked or involved in any form of sexual interaction."

It's quite obvious where the United Arab Emirates (UAE) stand on public displays of affection, but the whole alcohol issue is very confusing considering it is allowed for non-Muslims.  So why couples are being fined for consuming liquour like Najafi and Adams, or facing charges like the Irish and Brit couple is baffling.

As for the couple's alleged sexual activity, a  prosecution source told Gulf News,

"We are still waiting for forensic reports to prove whether the couple had sex or indulged in any form of sexual activity."

"On May 30, the investigating prosecutor will hear the statements of the Asian driver, Q.K., who is believed to have reported the incident, and the arresting officer.

"The suspects were released on bail after spending five days in detention in Jebel Ali police station."

The incident happened some time after midnight. It could not be confirmed whether the driver reported the matter or whether police officers on patrol spotted the couple engaged in an indecent act.

"Apparently DNA and forensic tests seem to be negative so far," the source said.

I'm not sure I even want to know what forensic exams they performed on the couple.

It's still my contention that you have to be pretty stupid, or pretty drunk, to break UAE laws, and even more stupid for going to Dubai in the first place. Far too many restrictions that can land you in jail, fined or both. Including bad language. No thank you!

UPDATE 5/28/12:

They've now identified the couple: 29-year-old Rebecca Blake and Conor McRedmond. Since the initial report, Rebecca has been fired from her cushy £100,000 per annum job, and now admits she had been on an all day drinking binge. Though she still contends she did not have sex in the taxi, she claims everything that day was a "blur."   Apparently she started off her day at the Rotana Hotel at midday for its "all you can drink" brunch. Yes, instead of an "all you can eat" buffet, there is a hotel in a Muslim country (that will jail you for being drunk) that serves alcohol instead. Rebecca continued drinking throughout the day and into the evening.  The alleged "deed" occurred when Conor and Rebecca decided to head home.   She also complained about cockroaches biting her during her 5 day prison stay.

This latest news about the incident is a game changer. She does not have my sympathies.  First of all, if most of the day is a blur, then in her drunken stupor she very well could have been going at it with Conor in the back seat of that taxi. And living in that country, she should have known what the consequences of being caught would be.  Same goes for spending the whole day drinking. Though jailing someone for being drunk or having sex outside of marriage is outrageous, it is their country and their rules. 

I still wouldn't recommend going there.