Malaysia Muslim body issues fatwa against tomboys

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters Life!) - Malaysia's top Islamic council has decreed that tomboyish behavior and lesbian sex are forbidden in Islam, a newspaper said on Friday.

The National Fatwa Council issued the edict following what it said a spate of cases involving young women behaving like men and indulging in lesbian sex, the Malay language Berita Harian daily said.

"There are teenage girls who prefer the male lifestyle including dressing up in men's clothes," it quoted council chairman Abdul Shukor Husin as saying. "More worryingly, they have started to engage in sexual activities."

He gave no other details.

Mainly Muslim Malaysia frowns on oral and gay sex, describing them as against the order of nature. Under the civil law, offenders -- both males or females -- can be jailed for up to 20 years, caned or fined.

Just over half of Malaysia's 27 million people are Malay Muslims, practicing the moderate brand of Islam.




LOL, I really don't know where to start; either on the absolute ignorance of a religious official who obviously has not bothered to learn more about the true nature of yoga before dismissing it; or the obvious insecurity of a person who clings so tightly to his faith but is SO worried that even the slightest deviation from it will cause him to convert!! This is absolutely the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of-and by the way, who are these people to tell other muslims what to do? Did we elect him? NO! Has he done ANYTHING to benefit his fellow citizens besides extorting them to close their minds to everything else but their religion? NO! Has he contributed to the collective knowledge of mankind? Of course not...he's spent waay too much time looking for imaginary temptations, imaginary nymphs to distract his precious flock from their beliefs, never mind the fact that the "flock" never actually chose him as their shepherd....And this applies to everyone else; who are we to legislate taste? Does it matter to you if someone is a lesbian? Would a lesbian be a threat to you? We have more dangerous threats coming from terrorists who claim their religion as justification for their deeds-however deluded they may be-shouldn't they be issuing fatwas against them? have lesbians threatened your family or general society? I think there is a more serious issue at hand here-that we as a society, whether muslim or not, have let these pompous religious know-it-alls tell us how to think, and what we can or cannot do-if you want to ban something, put it through the democratic process, debate it in Parliament, and enact a Law. Religion is there to guide our actions, and its a personal thing-no one has the right to tell another person what to wear, what to eat, what music to listen to, what exercise regime to follow, what books to read, etc etc etc. Unless we throw off the chains of these fatwa issuing morons and them to the ranks of real life clowns, only then will this country progress.