Gender Relations, Sex and Perversion: The Dark Underside of Saudi Arabia
as-salamu ‘alaykum,
This is an excellent first hand account of the hypocricy of the strictly segregated Saudi society. It is quite disgusting to read about the behaviour of Saudi men (and even women!) even in such places as the haramain. The blog is called SAFspace:
“One of the puzzles that arise out of the Muslim?s obsession with modesty is that in a rather subverse manner it breeds an over-sexualized, perverse society. Women wear the veil and stick close to home, and yet Saudi society places the imperative on women to observe modesty, to keep themselves in check so that men don?t have to do so. Well, how far will we go? There are parts of Medina where young men with gelled hair and tight shirts stand about idly and whistle at any black veil that walks by. Sadly, the only body parts visible are the eyes. So what must we do? Hide ourselves away from sight lest the men, God forbid, find themselves unable to control their insatiable urges?”
“But it?s even more aggravating when men do the staring because they?re supposed to be lowering their gazes, at least in the metaphorical sense. Instead it really does feel as if they?re brazenly undressing every woman with their eyes, memorizing her shape, her form, every visible and non-visible feature as she stands there helplessly, unable to protect herself from their roving eyes. I found myself becoming strangely disgusted by the men I encountered in Saudi Arabia, so much so that I simply didn?t care to engage in any sort of transaction with them regardless of how innocent it might be.”
wa’as-salam
Mas’ud
www.masud.co.uk
5 thoughts on “Gender Relations, Sex and Perversion: The Dark Underside of Saudi Arabia”
I understand that you have a seriously bad relationship with Saudi Arabia and I am sure that you hate it more than Israel, but for the sake of Islam and Muslims, don’t publicly promote these things. For God’s Sake, Saudis are Muslims and your brothers.
Its disgusting that an educated man like you is so filled with Hate like the Nazis.
After your bashing of Saudis and the hate you have for them, I have no respect for you at all.
Well, isn’t it sad that people like you want to brush these things under the carpet. These were not my comments, they were the experiences of one of OUR SISTERS who visited Saudi who was nothing short of molested by some Saudi men. You have missed the point of her post entirely instead you want to focus on my “hatred” of Saudi Arabia and my “Nazi” like hate (lol). How sad is it that in the holiest of places and under such a segragated society these things are rife, should we not be dealing with this issue instead of making excuses for manifest perverts? This should be a wake-up call to those in positions of power in this kingdom.
I am not denying there were wrong doings, but it seems quite odd that you are so quick so publish one account of your sister’s experience. It was one act and the way you seem to put it, ‘ Saudi Arabia is full of Saudi Men molesting women’. Come on give me a break, dont tell me other Muslim countries are pure and all is great, just Saudi Arabia is a worse place. I am making no excuse for any bad things happening in Saudi, it should not be happening and there are problems, but the way you clearly single out Saudi Arabia as the Worst Place in the World is so clear. I have been to worse places where our so called Muslim brothers drink openly and prostitute areas are also publicly open, but I never see you critisize them ( only because they are not ‘Wahhabi’). Come on brother, be fair and just atleast.
Oh dear, how melodramatic. Well if you bother reading her account it was not one act, she witnessed numerous acts. I wonder how you would feel of your mother/sister/daughter suffered molestation?
How you can jump to the (illogical) conclusion that I consider Saudi Arabia “the worst place in the world” is beyond me! Yes there may be worst places but none of these other places have rather zealous religious police, extreme segragation and the spiritual significance that the Haram has.
Fairness and justness should be a lesson that you learn first before preaching to others, you have been neither fair nor just in your anonymous correspondence with me.
Firstly which part of Saudi did this sister visit aprt from makkah and Medina?
Alhamdualliah i have just returned from saudi, i went for 5 weeks with my sisters, four sisters, and i am planning to move there inshallah.
So this sister had a bad run-in and now her story, touching it may be is widely publicised for all to read. But what statistics does she base her whole episode on?
Did my sisters experience any molestation from “saudi’ men who the sister very nicely sterotypes fitting them into a nice box, labelled ‘sexually depraved men”
I’m sory sister and you brother i’m just not going to buy that. Certainly it did happen but on what virtue do you like to put our muslim brothers in such a box?
Because you think they are “salafis” and on that basis deserve contempt?
No, and i put my hand on my heart and say they ARE NOT LIKE THAT. Exceptions there will always be.
I’ll tell you who fit this sisters so “informed,researched and educated experience” (like “iv lived with them for 60 years of my life to makes such comments”) sister says:
“But it?s even more aggravating when men do the staring because they?re supposed to be lowering their gazes, at least in the metaphorical sense. Instead it really does feel as if they?re brazenly undressing every woman with their eyes, memorizing her shape, her form, every visible and non-visible feature as she stands there helplessly, unable to protect herself from their roving eyes. I found myself becoming strangely disgusted by the men I encountered in Saudi Arabia, so much so that I simply didn?t care to engage in any sort of transaction with them regardless of how innocent it might be.” -many asian men who go from the asian counteriesl, western asians who go from western counteries and again unlike the sister i’d like to say the numbers are significantly low and not all our asian men and western brothers are like that.
So how did the sister know as she so eloquently discribes:
“hey?re brazenly undressing every woman with their eyes, memorizing her shape, her form, every visible and non-visible feature as she stands there helplessly, unable to protect herself from their roving eyes’
Wow, a mind reader? so sister you got a raw deal but atleast Allah has kept them near His house and his prophet (peace be upon him) so much we can say for ourselves stuck in the totally decedent west which stands hollow and only because there stands no real alternative to replace it except Islam yet we are here to busy fighting between ourselves over “salafis” and “jihadis”.
I would love to ask the sister “So would you want to live in Saudi Arabia or would you prefer the doomed Britain or America..oh yeah “Our Homes”?
I am not being a pro-saudi but i’m a pro-muslim and pro-sharia. And alhamdulliah they kingdom has done alot in its reign and Allah has given that reign to them,power is in His hands and gives to whom He wishes.
For example, the strict stanch on innovations etc. strict it may be, but better than rather having a “loose” code of pratice where our so called brothers walk in to prostrate to graves and our so called sufi brothers walk in with the musical bands dancing away in ecstasy and our so called “lovers” of the Prophet (peace be uopn him) walk in to offer their salutations in a manner totally against Islam.
“This is an excellent first hand account of the hypocricy of the strictly segregated Saudi society” hypocrisy it may be but what about the hypocrisy of the pakistani grave worshippers and their ‘peers” in the “islamic Republic of pakistan”? The hypocricy of the so called muslims in the “Islamic republic of iran”?
The so called hypocricy of the WESTERN MUSLIMS, booted and suited, the “spokepersons of islam” walking about as if they are the greatest champions of islam yet when it comes to the crunch its all about “tea-parties” and “cross-table dialogues” talking to deaf, hard-hearted politicians?
Did my four sisters feel harassed by the wandering eyes and “become disgusted by the men I encountered in Saudi Arabi”. ALHAMDULILLAH NO. the brothers right thru from immigration, to all the coppers, to the moque officials work tirelessly to insure the safety of the hujjaj and mutamireen, to ensure all their needs are attended to and Allah will rewardly them rightly for at the end of the day Allah did give them space in the holy lands unlike us thrown in the midst of corruption,adultery, pornography,alcohol,drugs etc and made to call it our “homes”, yet it can never be the home of the true muslim for the true muslims heart is always longing to be closer to the prophet (upon him be peace) and to the house of Allah.
and no we didn’t just stay in a fancy hotel during our trip like typical “tourists from the west” style, Allah gave us the opportunity to live further away, with the locals in a apartment, in a buliding full of arab families. And alhamdulillah Allah reward and grant blessings to the saudis.
“There are parts of Medina where young men with gelled hair and tight shirts stand about idly and whistle at any black veil that walks by.” true, i will certainly believe the sister only for the fact she is muslim..so be it. They will reap their own fruits, its no point issuing a crime watch uk style warning to our sisters out there just because one sisters had a “bad experience” and can you please provide me with the name of the place so i can talk to some saudis myself and may be even go live there to find out if all the men in that part of medina are part of an “over-sexualized, perverse society’. save these lyrics for the so called british and american country folk who are very “welcoming” “friends and neighbours” who get “intimidated” when they see a sister in hijab! Maybe they are so used to looking at women, it cause great grief just to know they for once can’t? hey wait up, am i talking about “OUR homes and OUR counteries in the sexually depraved west?” “Say NO!”
Maybe we ought to be better responders to our sisters grief here by comforting her hardship with the hadith of the prophet (upon him be peace):
“no one will remain constant in the face of hunger and meager income and hardship therein (medina), except I will be an intercessor or a witness for him on the day of judgement” muslim
instead of just degrading our own communities and not just any community, this is the blessed community of medina.
Waht did tthe prophet say:
“Whoever plots against the people of al-madina, the plots will dissolve as salt dissolves in water” bukhari
“none wishes to harm the people of al-madina except allah will cause him to be melted in the fire as lead melts or as salt melts in water” muslim
sidi masud a man of your high rank and calibre, one would expect are more educated,fair and mature attitude to a problem which this sister no doubt must have experienced and certainly no sister deserves such treatment, espcially when its a sensitive issue when the honour and reputation of our own brothers, and not just any brothers,we are talking about the brothers who have been blessed to live in the holyland, is at stake.