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Friday, Jan 7, 2000 5:00 PM UTC

Bawdy blasphemers arrested in Ramadan sex scandal

At the turn of the millennium, Kuwaiti sex police are trying to staunch the flow of Western sex sins from corrupting their land.

By

Topics: Religion, Ramadan, Islam,

Jan. 7, 2000

A horny horde of Middle Eastern miscreants carnally defiled the
Islamic holy month of Ramadan on millennium night, according to the Jan. 3
Agence France-Presse.

The frolicking fornicators were arrested at dawn on a farm 12 miles
south of Kuwait City. Twenty-six men and 11 women were accused of the
rambunctious
crimes of prostitution, using and possessing drugs, organizing an illegal
dance and
immoral behavior during Ramadan. The busted male revelers included 14
Kuwaitis, two Saudis, two Bangladeshis, three Egyptians, one Bahraini and
one Iraqi, while the allegedly wanton women were a Kuwaiti “pimp” (madam)
and her stable of 10 “hostesses” (prostitutes). The madam reputedly raked
in $330 for each happy hooker she provided.

Ramadan commemorates the bestowal of the Koran from Allah to the prophet
Mohammad and humanity. The world’s 1 billion Muslims are supposed to
spend this sanctified time fasting, reading the Koran, performing
charitable deeds and purifying their behavior.

What went wrong? Kuwait’s interior ministry will probably blame the sexual
sins of the sacrilegious 37 on the evil influence of Western
permissiveness. In recent years, many male Kuwaitis have established Hugh
Hefner-style “party flats” at beach chalets and farms. Illegal bars
pour pernicious alcohol and offer Arab “hostesses” for erotic
entertainment.

The morality police may also scapegoat foreigners. Expatriates (primarily
male industrial workers from the above-mentioned countries, plus India and
Iran) constitute two-thirds of the oil kingdom’s 2.2 million
population, creating a veritable geyser of untapped masculine libido.
Brothels have sprung up to ease the lust of these lonely laborers. In 1999, alarmed officials started cracking down on the licentious outsiders by
expelling 1,000 expats for “moral crimes pertaining to prostitution.”

If convicted, the Y2K playgirls and playboys will face ghastly
sentences: up to seven years in prison and a $22,750 fine. The Persian Gulf
nation obviously doesn’t want its deserts turned into Burning Man East, but
controlling the ardor of the abundant single men may be as difficult as
putting out an oil fire.

Hank Hyena is a former columnist for SF Gate, and a frequent contributor to Salon. More Hank Hyena.

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