Bananas are supposed to be packed with good stuff--unless you're a Muslim woman. There's reports of a banana ban, effort against women touching what someone wants to become yet another forbidden fruit. A "Muslim cleric residing in Europe" doesn't want women touching veggies like cucumbers, carrots and zucchinis--or the long and soft fruit--because those foods "resemble the male penis."
Survey in the United States -- and other countries -- tends to yield the idea that many heterosexual women aren't exactly fond of how the penis looks. They may like it in the bedroom. That doesn't mean they want to see it otherwise -- or that a bulk associates the penis with fruit and those things on a lunch or dinner menu. But the newly-issued Muslim argument is that fruits and vegetables may now be enticing to the female gender for reason other than culinary satisfaction. The source of that theory may be giving the male gender far too much credit.
Apparently there's a way to stymie any such feelings concerning the banana or carrot as phallic. Have someone cut it up for you. A sliced penis is not a good penis -- or that's the only logical theory in an alleged fatwa that "if women wish to eat these [penis-shaped] food items, a third party, preferably a male related to them such as their father or husband should cut the items into small pieces and serve" it to them. If you're single then apparently health is not number one. No man to serve that fruit or vegetable? No go.
This concept could present a bit of a problem that the male gender has not yet pondered: If the goal is that women are to avoid handling fruit, it could affect far more than eating. Muslim men could now find themselves at market in shopping for the fruits and vegetables that women are no longer supposed to touch. Something says that's not going to work out so well.
The banana and cucumber story reportedly first circulated via religious publication “el-Senousa News”. But don't look for it there. It's missing at the moment. Website Bikya Masr then published a December 6 story only days ago that well, went "bananas" immediately. The story got pumped through Facebook 19,000 times and tweets flew. The Times of India claims liberal Muslims are upset, enraged or embarrassed by the story.
It wouldn't be the first time an unusual fatwa has popped up: Here's the "Fatwa Ridiculist" of Asra Nomani's top ten. Japan might as well be another world as far as the newest fatwa is concerned. The Japanese annual penis and vagina festival, that takes place each spring, is just around the corner.
The country's festival that involves parades and shrines is comprised of the stuff that goes back over 1,500 years -- annual rites meant to ensure good and fruitful harvests and great baby production. Japan's penis festival alone draws about 100,000 each year. And the vagina festival? Well, those are always popular.