'I just touched a girl - it's negiya!'
Negiya means touching in Hebrew. To oversimplify, in Orthodox Judaism, a man is not permitted to touch a woman who is not his wife, mother, daughter or sister. (And he's only permitted to touch his wife when she is not menstruating and has been to the ritual bath).
Apparently, Islam has a similar rule, something of which I was not aware. As a result, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is in a lot of trouble because of the picture above. The woman he's hugging (sort of) is the mother of Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez.
After comparing recently deceased Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to Jesus Christ and the hidden Imam, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad continued to draw criticism at home for another sort of embrace. Iranian officials blasted the Iranian president after pictures emerged of him hugging the late Chavez' mother. The photos were considered inflammatory as religious Islamic tradition prohibits physical contact between men and women who are neither married nor related.
Following the dissemination of photos showing Ahmadinejad embracing 78-year-old Elena Frias de Chavez, Ahmadinejad's detractors claimed he had undermined the religious pride of the Islamic republic and defied religious authority. The outrage over the embrace comes as Iran prepares for presidential elections, set to take place in June. Ahmadinejad's camp is seen at odds with those aligned with the country's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and the friction continues to escalate as each side seeks opportunities to mar the other.
I wonder if Islam has a concept of repentance.... Heh.
Iranian news outlet Mehr quoted Mohamed Taqi Rahbar, parliamentarian and religious leader in the city of Isfahan, of accusing Ahmadinejad of "losing control ... shaking the hand of a woman who is not a relative is not allowed under any circumstance. Hugs or displays of emotion are not befitting of a president's honor in a country like the Islamic Republic of Iran."
Labels: Hugo Chavez, Islam, Judaism, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:16 PM
4 Comments:
In Islam it is Halakhà, Din. It is part of the Shariah.
In Judaism it is a Chumràh, that is an added strictness, not a must. In fact, there's not even an halakhic punishment for willingly touching a woman (excepr your own wife when she is niddah). Ask ANY dayan, he won't be able to tell you otherwise. Which doesn't mean that we should just freely touch others, only that, B"H, we have TORAH, with ALL Her Laws AND PROCEDURES, and we are not Muslims, nor Talibans or Ayatollahs and Shiite.
MANY ORTHODOX RABBIS IN AND OUTSIDE OF ISRAEL, IN FACT, hold that - especially considering that we are not in a situation of ritual purity, it is REALLY forbidden to SHAME SOMEONE IN PUBLIC, which would be done by withdrawing one's hand and refusing to shake a woman's hand who would come up to you and extend hers to you, ESPECIALLY if it were a non Jewish woman, considering that taharàh and tumàh do not apply to non Jews...unless you are an Essene or a follower of the acrobat on the cross, who practiced and believed otherwise...
Hi Carl.
Mahmoud is on the way out as president so i don't think he worries much about the consequences of his move.
If you're willing to volunteer to be the first Iranian to be blasted in to space, chances are your other career options aren't that great.
He should be stoned to death. It's axiomatic.
Obviously, King Abdullah of Jordan is also unaware of this requirement of Islam. Or is it only Muslim women who are forbidden, and not infidels such as the Duchess of Cornwall?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2uvq9qs7Hs
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