Somali Islamists: Shaking Hands Banned Between Men And Women

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalis say Islamist insurgents have banned unrelated men and women from shaking hands, speaking or walking together.

Residents of the southern Somali town of Jowhar said Saturday that the al-Shabab insurgents threatened to whip, imprison or execute anyone found breaking the recent edicts.

Resident Hussein Ali says he will no longer greet women he knows for fear of punishment.

Student Hamdi Osman says gunmen are searching buses for improperly dressed women or women traveling alone. She says she was once beaten for wearing Somali traditional dress instead of the long, shapeless black robes favored by the fighters.

The insurgents have already banned women from working in public, leaving many families completely destitute.

Comments

[dmherb]

05:09 PM on 01/14/2011

I see lots of comments about extremism, but the real problem stems from the fact that this country has been torn apart by wars for decades. On top of that there was/is a famine. These people are desperate for anything that even resembles something that looks like stability, because they crave it. It is about survival for them, not about personal liberties.

[carnitine]

06:22 PM on 01/11/2011

No loss, I actually refuse to shake peoples hands. I feel it's a nasty custom. I recall a customer grabbed my hand to shake after I refused. I got fired after i punched him

[Chazzam]

11:38 AM on 02/22/2011

Best of luck with your unfortunate personality disorder.

[MarcEdward]

06:00 PM on 01/11/2011

It only gets sadder if you read their history. The 20th Century was not kind to Somalia. Amazing how quickly a civilized people can taken down.

[dmherb]

04:58 PM on 01/14/2011

When people are starving they will cling to almost anything that seems stable. Extremism of any kind can appear to be stable even though at its core it is not.

[tallen]

05:07 PM on 01/11/2011

This is probably one of the least offensive and brutal and things they have done.

[MarcEdward]

05:48 PM on 01/11/2011

ITA

[Sad But True]

03:15 PM on 01/11/2011

Ain't religion grand?

[PiperSniper]

03:00 PM on 01/11/2011

Very soon 'they' will prohibit sex between husband and wife and THAT will take care of that ;)

[TYRANNASAURUS]

05:20 PM on 01/11/2011

Maybe they haven't thought of it yet.........someone should clue them in.

[whirledgonecrazy]

02:57 PM on 01/11/2011

I don't understand rules like this and am SO glad I'll never have to deal with those kinds of rules. What is it that is so intimidating about women to Islamist men? Particularly the really conservative strict ones. So much repression there's really deep issues there.

[ChrisDwane]

04:11 PM on 01/11/2011

the scary part is that there are extremist muslims out there who's soul purpose is to convert americans, europeans, and all other non muslims.

[Mark Webber]

04:30 PM on 01/11/2011

Because media doesn't tell the truth about this religion.

[Redemption Song II]

02:18 PM on 01/11/2011

...I'm surprised the allow men and women to breath the same air. (Wait: do they allow that?!)

[Mark Webber]

01:53 PM on 01/11/2011

Nothing is strange here except that we don't know the real face of the religion of peace

Can a Muslim woman shake a man's hand?

http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/1989665

In most cases, Muslim women are not permitted to shake hands with a man, according to the rules of the Koran. If a man is a close relative, however, then handshakes and other types of physical contact are normally permitted.

[MarcEdward]

06:51 PM on 01/11/2011

This is hardly a universal thing. This links sourced are from a single Fatwa, which would probably not apply to any Muslims other than those who pay attention to whomever issued that particular Fatwa.

[Mark Webber]

01:50 PM on 01/11/2011

Fatwa Online
It is not allowed for a woman to shake the hand of a non-mahram man

http://www.fatwa-online.com/fataawa/womensissues/mahram/0000206_31.htm

the Prophet said, when the women were giving the pledge of allegiance to him, "I do not shake the hands of women."

[relians]

01:44 PM on 01/11/2011

more oppression from your local superstition.

[whirledgonecrazy]

02:58 PM on 01/11/2011

word!

[4peace]

08:12 AM on 01/11/2011

What is wrong with these people?

[Mark Webber]

01:38 PM on 01/11/2011

Nothing, don't blame them that is the teaching of their religion.

[MarcEdward]

06:54 PM on 01/11/2011

Do a quick read of their long and rich history and look how the last century has treated them. 
How well off would the USA be if we'd been occupied and split up by different nations for decades? If parts of the USA became independent at different times, some parts (like the Bible Belt) might well organize around their Christian churches and have similar "Sharia" laws (like our current Blue Laws)

[mvkcfp]

12:10 AM on 02/23/2011

get real. these radical sharia are living in the 7th century. they are solely responsible for the centuries of "mistreatment". the radical muslims have not moved into the 21st century and it is their fault. the more they espouse the sharia view, the more the move backward, not forward. stoning women, cutting off hands, arms, men can do what they choose, and women have no right to equality, education, voting, shaking hands, etc. don"t speculate about what might have happened, deal with where they are not.

[Chimelle Hamiche]

07:06 AM on 01/11/2011

as a muslim myself,I really dont understand I mean wow was it that urgent and necessary especially in a country like Somalia where there are a lots of real problems going on??!
So they can’t shake hands or anything….BUT it’s cool to rape whomever, whenever???

[Manny Peddy]

02:06 PM on 01/11/2011

Yes. Is a light bulb going on?

[whirledgonecrazy]

02:58 PM on 01/11/2011

religion is the opiate of the masses....

[RobertFromMN]

05:27 AM on 01/11/2011

People, if you shake hands with someone, PLEASE wear a glove. Remember, when you shake hands with someone, you are shaking hands with everyone they've ever shaken hands with. Let's stop the spread of cooties!

[whirledgonecrazy]

02:59 PM on 01/11/2011

Oh man, they have weird issues but so do you... hahahaha!

[french queen13]

04:15 AM on 01/11/2011

Psychoanalysing men who come up with these notions would be interesting, if futile. If these Somali extremists have a similar background to the Taliban, they may have spent years, from very early in their lives, in military camps with no women around at all, and taught to hate and fear us from the get-go. (I can't cite sources for that, because it was years ago that I read it about the Taliban - apologies.)