Journal leviramsey's Journal: Muslim fuck-buddies? 1
A new wave in marriage is sweeping the Middle East: misyar ("visit") marriages, wherein "the woman gives up spousal rights and stays in her residence while the man visits her for sex.
How exactly (minus the vestigial woman-hating components that accompany the Sunni fatwas allowing this practice; the Shi'a have a practice that is essentially a marriage for a specified length of time which expires without divorce proceedings) is this that different from modern Western love/lust (though, admittedly, I've had as much direct experience with Western love/lust over the last few years than I've had with Middle Eastern or Eastern love/lust, which is to say none, but that's neither here nor there)?
It is, as Cavanaugh states, a symptom of organized religion's need (and thus the need of states dominated by such) to issue a blanket proscription, and then in certain defined situations, allow a total exception; these marriages (especially the Shi'ite version) appear to legalize prostitution ("I'll pay you $500 to marry me for tonight"). While entering into a misyar with the intention to divorce is proscripted, most of these marriages include provisions for instant divorce in the event of pregnancy, or even if news of the misyar gets out. The misyar is thus a license to bed-hop.
The parallels to Western societies that prohibited sex outside of marriage and their rampant teenage marriage rates (along with short marriages ending in either the death of one partner or divorce) should not go unnoted (so there!). That these marriages are especially popular with the student set underscores the parallel.
So to Ahmed and A'isha, keep on with that. Sexual liberation today, liberation from your theocratic oppressors tomorrow!
The only reason... (Score:2)
the Shi'a have a practice that is essentially a marriage for a specified length of time which expires without divorce proceedings)
is because of divorce lawyers.