Monday, June 7, 2010

NOT FAR ENOUGH!

Over at Boing Boing:
Sheikh Al Obeikan, an adviser to the royal court and consultant to the Ministry of Justice, set off a firestorm of controversy recently when he said on TV that women who come into regular contact with men who aren't related to them ought to give them their breast milk so they will be considered relatives.

"The man should take the milk, but not directly from the breast of the woman," Al Obeikan said, according to Gulf News. "He should drink it and then becomes a relative of the family, a fact that allows him to come in contact with the women without breaking Islam's rules about mixing."
In the spirit of brotherhood all men should drink the breast milk of all women. This way, we will all be related and peace will reign forever more.

Perhaps there is a role for homeopaths in all of this or does me swimming in the ocean mean everyone who has ever tasted water is totally eating my ass anyway?

21 comments:

Smut Clyde said...

P.Z. Myers was all over this story weeks ago.

In the original BBC story, Egypt's minister of religious affairs, Mahmoud Zaqzouq, [who] called for future fatwas to "be compatible with logic and human nature", which (as P.Z. pointed out) is rather missing the point of religion.

Substance McGravitas said...

P.Z.'s was Egypt, the Boing Boing one is Saudia Arabia. IT'S NEW.

Smut Clyde said...

I was reading an Orac thread yesterday that wandered onto the topic of breast-milk banking so the infrastructure is there.

What's the situation if the milk is processed into cheese? I'm asking for a friend.

Substance McGravitas said...

The Saudi guy is primarily interested in direct contact - as are many - so I think this step-removal may go against the grain unless all breat-milk cheese production and distribution is done by the woman herself. Imagine if a mouse ate it. YOU WOULD BE RELATED TO A MOUSE.

mikey said...

Ahh. I see.

Reductio ad Absurdium as a plan for world peace.

In a world where delivering humanitarian supplies is terrorism, and extrajudicial murder is diplomacy, it's hard to fault the guy who found the breast milk loophole...

Marita said...

Geez. Here I have the capacity to vastly increase the number of Christmas cards I receive every year hidden within my shirt, and I didn't even know it.

Substance McGravitas said...

Welcome Marita. Hope all is well.

Substance McGravitas said...

Also if I was your relative you would have to give me food and stuff.

Hamish Mack said...

Oh God, there's going to be a big communal milk jug in SA workplaces so that everyone can have a sip everyday so that people can be in the same building together and not make baby Allah cry.
Ya know I'm all for peace and brotherhood and such but I fucking wonder why, somedays.

Substance McGravitas said...

It's really really hard to figure out if women would be better or worse off in Saudi Arabia if this caught on.

Did you see the story about the woman who beat the shit out of the religious cop?

Smut Clyde said...

The Saudi guy is primarily interested in direct contact

No, no, your man Al Obeikan was quite certain that "The man should take the milk, but not directly from the breast of the woman," so some layers of indirection are fine.

Also if you are ever invited to dinner by my friend Bruce then DO NOT EAT THE WHITE SAUCE. Just saying.

mikey said...

Dood,come ON.

They don't call it a "Mother Sauce" for nuthin....

Substance McGravitas said...

My man Abi Ishaq Al Huwaini likes the direct contact, but yeah, Saudi #1 is more discreet.

M. Bouffant said...

A guy I knew when I was in high school advised me once that if women's breasts gave smoke (I don't think he cared what kind) the world would be just about perfect.

Smut Clyde said...

BEER.

Smut Clyde said...

Related.
Hmph. They were related already.

Marita said...

Also if I was your relative you would have to give me food and stuff.

You mean food beyond just the milk? Man, family can be so demanding!

Gratuitous Baby Picture Link

Also, captcha: muntspoo

What's a munt? What's so special about its poo?

Substance McGravitas said...

The chain-link fence is disturbing.

Marita said...

Cuteness that extreme must be contained.

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

Hmph. They were related already.

LIKE I SAID

hell, Smut, can't you READ?

Smut Clyde said...

The chain-link fence is disturbing.

It was nice of Marita to photoshopically remove the electric-fence warning sign.