Sex Jihad: the lie which keeps spreading
The story is everywhere. It is taking place in Tunisia, in Syria, in Egypt and who knows where else. Of course, it is not taking place and of course it is a baseless lie. There has never been any statement of any recognizable Muslim scholar endorsing or giving permission to what is now known as 'sex Jihad' and widely reported by certain Western media outlets, who are mostly fed by some Arabs with certain mind bent, history and interests. Both groups share an interest in looking for tabloid materials in the Arab world. But while Westerners in this relationship simply do the sloppy reporting (i.e., don't respect journalistic integrity) and some spicing, their Arab nurses concoct these stories out of thin air.
From a baby lie to a mature one!
The history of this lie is perhaps similar to many present lies. It started from the social interactive networks on the cyberspace with a few fake twitter and facebook accounts attributed to known or mysterious scholars making statements in support of the matter. The language of these pseudo religious statement are made to mimic the usual language of fatwa. But the fact that these religious statements are written by people with no clerical training is something anyone who has taken a tour in traditional Muslim libraries of jurisprudence can easily uncover.
Once the initial facebook or twitter accounts appeared, the statements go on air, especially by supporters of dictators like Asad, disgruntled employees of ministries of interior in the countries where the Arab Spring has achieved some measure of success. In recent months, tv stations and newspapers loyal to the Egyptian putschists recycled these allegations to demonize the anti-coup movement. Of course, the Arab press report it on the basis of the initial tweets or report it second hand from other media outlets.
In the following stage, the interested parties in the West pick up the story. The cultural distance and linguistic spicing further dramatize the story. With editors and some audience who have wanted and expected such debauchery from the 'orients,' the final layer of varnish is fixed.
Having gone three layered-process of beautification, the original lie has now been fully metamorphosed into solid literature, the fact that the alleged author/s of these statements publically deny having anything to do with them goes unreported. The alleged fatwa by Muhammad al-'Arifi is a case in point. Although he denied the matter several times and pointed out that he is aware of at least of nine fake accounts proclaiming to be him, no one of the reporting channels or newspapers bothered to mention his denial even as a side story. The fact that al-'Arifi asserted that only an "insane person would think of legalizing a vice like this," was unheard. If a propagator of the story is questioned, s/he can always cite articles in multiple languages and from different sources, sources that corroborate and reinforce the story. The Saudi founded tabloid, al-Arabiyya, is often referred to.
From a baby lie to a mature one!
The history of this lie is perhaps similar to many present lies. It started from the social interactive networks on the cyberspace with a few fake twitter and facebook accounts attributed to known or mysterious scholars making statements in support of the matter. The language of these pseudo religious statement are made to mimic the usual language of fatwa. But the fact that these religious statements are written by people with no clerical training is something anyone who has taken a tour in traditional Muslim libraries of jurisprudence can easily uncover.
Once the initial facebook or twitter accounts appeared, the statements go on air, especially by supporters of dictators like Asad, disgruntled employees of ministries of interior in the countries where the Arab Spring has achieved some measure of success. In recent months, tv stations and newspapers loyal to the Egyptian putschists recycled these allegations to demonize the anti-coup movement. Of course, the Arab press report it on the basis of the initial tweets or report it second hand from other media outlets.
In the following stage, the interested parties in the West pick up the story. The cultural distance and linguistic spicing further dramatize the story. With editors and some audience who have wanted and expected such debauchery from the 'orients,' the final layer of varnish is fixed.
Having gone three layered-process of beautification, the original lie has now been fully metamorphosed into solid literature, the fact that the alleged author/s of these statements publically deny having anything to do with them goes unreported. The alleged fatwa by Muhammad al-'Arifi is a case in point. Although he denied the matter several times and pointed out that he is aware of at least of nine fake accounts proclaiming to be him, no one of the reporting channels or newspapers bothered to mention his denial even as a side story. The fact that al-'Arifi asserted that only an "insane person would think of legalizing a vice like this," was unheard. If a propagator of the story is questioned, s/he can always cite articles in multiple languages and from different sources, sources that corroborate and reinforce the story. The Saudi founded tabloid, al-Arabiyya, is often referred to.
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