I hear footsteps in the distance and can only assume it is the sound of Rogier, on his way home. Which means my period as a guest-blogger now officially ends. It’s been kind of fun, though I’m not sure I’d want to start doing this on a daily basis. It is time consuming, especially hunting down typos. Now I understand why Andrew Sullivan feels the need to take a break after several years of daily blogging; I need a break after two weeks. For one thing, it’s tough to find stories to talk about that feel fresh; in the blogosphere, everything gets old so fast. I’d love to talk about the Gannon story, for instance, but I fear I’d be beating a dead horse. (Speaking of which, does Gannon have a web site devoted to that?)
But here’s something you may not have seen: the official web site of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. You know, the guy leading Iraq into the bright shining light of democracy. It is probably not a good sign that Sistani’s first act after the election was to signal that all Iraqi law should be founded in Islamic law. (This is not what Dick Cheney had in mind, Ali! Didn’t you get the notes?) But I do want to give Sistani the benefit of the doubt, so I checked out his site, where he is nice enough to answer the following questions. (These are his real answers; if you don’t believe me, go to the site).
- Question: Please could you let me know if a plastic surgery
is permissible in Islam?
- Answer: It is permissible.
- Question: Is playing a chess allowed?
- Answer: It is absolutely unlawful.
- Question: Is there any restriction to wear pant having a
long bottom, so that it come under our feet?
- Answer: Feet should be covered and trousers should not
instigate strangers.
- Question: Are shaking of hands with girls allowed?
- Answer: It is not permissible.
- Question: Which part of strange man’s body is it allowed
for a woman to look at? Is it allowed to look at his breast? On the TV in the
western countries its very oft, that the men show their bodies till the belly?
- Answer: Looking of a woman at a stranger’s (ajnabi) body is forbidden, if it
is with lust and fear of falling in sin. It is not even permissible to look
without that (lust and fear) also as a measure of obligatory precaution except
for the parts of body which normally a man does not cover i.e. head, hand and
ankles which a woman can look at if it is without lust and without fear of
falling in sin.
- Question: Is it allowed to kiss a child?
- Answer: Itself has no problem.
- Question: What is an orgy?
- Answer: It's forbidden.
[posted by Warren; over and out]
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