Sharks and Underwear
Two things happened yesterday that caught my attention – and I wonder if everyone knows about these things except for me, or if others are also caught by surprise.
First, on the way to go shopping, my good friend told me that shark is no longer available in the fish souks. We don’t eat a lot of shark, but we often buy it to fill in a good bouillabaisse (if you are superstitious and believe there must be seven different fish in your bouillabaisse) or to cook up to feed the feral cats in the neighborhood. Even the heads make a big hit with the local cats. 🙂
“No, a recent religious decision says that shark is ‘haram’, ” she said, as I gaped in disbelief. “Their skin has no scales.”
“But the Kuwaitis eat shrimp!” I responded, “and shrimp are also haram according to some Muslims. Who is going to tell Kuwaitis not to eat shrimp?”
“I don’t make the rules,” she responded. “I am just letting you know. The fishman said that because sharks have no scales and something about the male sexual organ, I don’t know, but now they can’t sell shark anymore.”
She paused, thoughtfully.
“What will the poor people do?” she asked. “Most of the people who buy shark can’t afford anything better.”
Later, our marketing accomplished, our goods safely in cupboards and refrigerators, I read the news. This is from yesterday’s Kuwait Times:
Shops Banned from Displaying Lingerie
Kuwait: The Minister of Commerce and Trade and Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs Ahmad Baqer last week issued decision No. 430/2008 which bans any display of women’s underwear in shop windows or at the front of shops.
It is permissible, however, to display such garments inside outlets.
The decision also banned any unclothed display of mannequins used for modeling underwear in order to protect the moral well being of passersby, with legal penalties to be taken against shops which violate the new regulations.
I’m sorry if this offends you, but it just made me laugh. Even Saudi Arabia, the most traditional of the traditional, allows underwear to be displayed. Even Qatar, more conservative than Kuwait, allows underwear to be displayed. Some of my very favorite images are those of abaya’d, veiled, ladies looking at a particularly luscious set of fabulous under-garments.
Changes are occurring in Kuwait, small changes, incremental changes, and little by little, as they aggregate, the face of Kuwait is changing.
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Sharks are not Haram! We eat them at home, I am not a big fan but I am telling you its not Haram for sure… different sects may see it haram!!!
And the lingerie thing! yeah! this is sad! In Kuwait.. they seem to be looking at minor details such as this and the ban of school stationary with celebrities on them! yeah!! that is what we need to focus on!!! *sarcasm*
I wanted to comment on the ban of underwear in stores in Kuwait. I am currently living in SA and soon to move to Kuwait. In the stores here you have underwear hanging all over everthing, with mannequins with no heads, but nipples completely erect, like little missiles. Don’t you love it?!
Well,in the last sentence you said, “things are changing in Kuwait.” This is scarry for me. Because one of the reasons why I am coming to Kuwait is to get “freedom”
Any comments!
If anyone has good things to tell me about Kuwait, I would love to hear them.
Thanks
To my knowledge ,Sharks are not eaten by a certain sect of Muslims ( Shia ) , Kuwaiti Sunnis eat them and there is one famous Kuwaiti dish called Meya dam (one word) , if you buy the kuwaiti cook book by Mrs Fatima Hussain, best known feminist and media person , ( i wonder if it is in English ) you will find the recipe there .
Underwear , female underwear to be precise occupies a big chunk of man’s thinking . Man has made it his mission in life to get into the opposite gender under garments since time immemorial by any means and pretexts and as much as possible , U know it is one of these DNA traits ,and i guess this legislation is a proof of that uncontrollable urge at the ministerial level.
i better stop before i ruin whats left of my fasting
Who said kuwait is boring ????
happy 2nd day of Ramadan
Ansam, Ansam, I didn’t mean to make you mad, I am just telling you what my friend was told in the fish market when shark disappeared. Now, sometimes you can give a trusted fishmonger your phone number and he can call you if shark comes in, but they can’t sell it openly, or so she was told.
I haven’t seen anything in the paper to verify this, so I am open to any comments from people who know a lot more than I do.
Kiki – There are a lot of good things in Kuwait, including you (a woman) don’t have to wear an abaya and scarf if you don’t believe in expressing yourself that way – at least not yet. Kuwait is not Saudi Arabia. And yet these are some interesting times as Saudi Arabia moves toward the center from the far far conservative side, and Kuwait moves toward Saudi Arabia on the parliamentary side.
Daggero, this would be one dull blog without your comments, LLLLOOOOLLLLL.
umm zubaidi doesnt have scales either,…
changes are indeed in the air, and i’m not too fond of where theyre headed,… you missed KTV sports’ deciding not to show the olympic events with scantily clad women,… which this year i suppose meant pretty much everything.
sports with scantily clad men, however were just fine.
go figure 😛
having said that, this place is like vegas for saudis,.. judging from the sudden surge in saudi plates this summer.
:-0 :-0 :-0 Zubaidi? Zubaidi???!!! I cannot imagine telling Kuwaitis they can’t eat Zubaidi!
I have to admit, Skunk, I think maybe I have lived in the Gulf too long – I was horrified by the scanty vollyball outfits – and they really really really were skimpy. And the bathing suits of the male divers – like why bother with a suit?
But, then again, I think the original Olympics were all held . . . nude! LOL!
yes these new fatwas r just fascinating; first, some high and almighty islamist sheikh says that women should breastfeed male coworkers so that nothing sinful can happen between the male and female staff. now sharks are haram. next, toothbrushes will be sold on the black marker as “evil western hygienic tool” and we will all be forced to use siwak.
we are just going backwards!
To clear all misunderstandings on sea-food, check out this fatwa:
Oh my god I can’t believe what is happening! Next thing you know they are going to say its 7aram to have fitting rooms like in Saudi Arabia. Or they are going to remove public toilets or something crazy like that!!!!
LOL I am not angry.. I just overreacted because of those stupid new trends you know 🙂
Mrm, OMG, I remember that one. That was horrifying. It makes me wonder what makes these people qualified to make decisions with implications for the spiritual lives of large numbers of people?
One thing I am wondering – is this true? This is what my friend was told by a fish vendor, but others out there must be buying fish . . . have you seen shark in the markets? Has anyone heard of this fatwa being issued? Was it in the papers?
Amu – It occurs to me that when it comes to foods we are all this way. I remember reading that tomatoes were once considered poison. Even now, one day coffee is bad for you, the next it is good for you. As we increase in understanding, one day, God willing, it will all become clear and we can laugh at our foolishness.
Aafke! What an amazing article! And underneath the humor of it all, it says in several places that the most highly authenticated statements say that all that comes from the sea is allowed. So . . . . how can anyone be forbidding the sale of shark in the fish market? (It was hard for me to read that article, because it skates so close to endorsing cannibalism!)
Chirp – or – or – segregating classrooms, even in private, western-oriented schools!
Ansam – Whew! I don’t want you to be angry with me! I’m just the messenger!
no no, not a chance 😛 cant be angry with you
Intlxpatr,
I like what you say about “how one person can make all the decisions about many”. Another reason (there are many) that I am leaving SA is that my small dog is an “outlawed”. The reason: in the Holy Qur’an it states “no purchase of dog and swine”. Well, you know I had to get my Mattowa girlfriend to look this up. Sure enough it states: “no purchase of fighting dogs and swine” Now my little dog is a fugitive from the religious police, even though she has maybe fought a spider in her 4 years.
But the real reason why dog are not allowed, is that young men are using them to bring young woman to their cars and talk to them or get numbers. Date! Yep!
Meanwhile, in someone house across town there is a “mixed” party going on. Go figure!
Dog in Saudi Arabia=lack of virtue? Too much to even fathom!
Thank for this Blog…..
Inlxptr, everything from the sea is allowed, that includes sharks and shrimp. Some people don’t want to eat ”what crawls on the sea-floor” but those are Jewish rules.
Some people are just not happy with life as it is, and prefer to make themselves more miserable with more rules than need be. Bypassing the quraan.
Kiki – I think you will like Kuwait. Your dog will have lots of little doggy companions here – and there are good vets and places you can board him if you go on holiday.
One of the reasons I throw these things out there is because sometimes it’s just a rumor, or sometimes one person says it’s a rule, and it really isn’t, but it might become one if no one notices. I want to know if the “no shark sales” rule is really a rule in Kuwait.
Aafke – you definately made your point, for everyone that checked the Mermaid entry above! The most prominent scholars seem to agree that everything from the sea is Qur’anically correct. 🙂
If all the guys in Kuwait are so erotically stimulated by the sight of naked mannequins in shop windows to the point that their irrepressible and helpless desire for featureless wooden charms will be inflamed beyond their physical control, and I will then have to witness gross public displays *AHEM* of “attention”, then maybe it IS indeed beneficial to my moral “well being”.
Thank you Ahmed Baqer for caring so compassionately about my moral and emotional health….
Bah!
Hmmmm, feeling a little sarcastic, Ms. B? 🙂
It’s a shame the edict had to come out of the Arab world’s lingerie capital. Are you sure it is legit?
On sharks, I had always supposed that humans only consume shark liver oil – seems to me there is a growing market for shark meat in the local populace enough to make those we do not speak of, to take notice. No wonder loan sharks seem to abound in the retail banking sector in Kuwait.
Having lived in Kuwait from 1953 – 1989 it pains me to now see Kuwait turn its back on progressive liberal thinking and contemporary living.
As a foreigner I took great pride living in a country steeped in rich tradition with a distinctive Islamic culture to call its own. Returning to Kuwait in 2008 I am less sure if I live in an Islamic country, or an Islamist one. All said and done, suffice it to say no one in particular, is happier today than they were in the Kuwait of the rocking 70s.
Loan sharks???? Oh, BL, total hoot!
This is what my friends say, too, that Kuwait had a rich tradition, characterized by tolerance and a good mix of the old and the new.