Bananas and Carrots and Cukes, oh my!

Every time I think I have heard it all from Islam, another episode happens where another smack on the side of my head is in order. An unnamed Sheikh residing in Europe has come out and said that women need not handle, touch or even look at those veggies which, as most of us know have been used as substitutes for the phallus.

OK, stop giggling.

This is serious.

The Sheikh says if women enjoy these foods, a related male should take them into a room where the woman cannot see them being cut up. Then they can be served to the woman.

Goulash bin Bobbitt now being served.

From Bikyamasr December 6

Islamic cleric bans women from touching bananas, cucumbers for sexual resemblance

Sliced and diced the old fashioned way

CAIRO: An Islamic cleric residing in Europe said that women should not be close to bananas or cucumbers, in order to avoid any “sexual thoughts.”

The unnamed sheikh, who was featured in an article on el-Senousa news, was quoted saying that if women wish to eat these food items, a third party, preferably a male related to them such as their a father or husband, should cut the items into small pieces and serve.

He said that these fruits and vegetables “resemble the male penis” and hence could arouse women or “make them think of sex.”

He also added carrots and zucchini to the list of forbidden foods for women.

The sheikh was asked how to “control” women when they are out shopping for groceries and if holding these items at the market would be bad for them. The cleric answered saying this matter is between them and God.

And the produce clerk.

Answering another question about what to do if women in the family like these foods, the sheikh advised the interviewer to take the food and cut it for them in a hidden place so they cannot see it.

The opinion has stirred a storm of irony and denouncement among Muslims online, with hundreds of comments mocking the cleric.

One reader said that these religious “leaders” give Islam “a bad name” and another commented said that he is a “retarded” person and he must quite his post immediately.

Others called him a seeker of fame, but no official responses from renowned Islamic scholars have been published on the statements.