Video: Kuwaiti Activist: "I Hope that Kuwait Will Enact a Law for...Sex Slaves"

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Translated from the original Arabic by Al Mutarjim

This video (transcript below) was translated from a video posted on YouTube on May 25, 2011, by a female Kuwaiti activist and former candidate for Kuwaiti parliament, Salwa al-Mutairi, in which she called for a revival of the Islamic law for sex-slaves.

Later she was interviewed about this by the Kuwaiti paper al-Siyasa; the translation of a story on that interview from al-Arabiya is also included below the transcript from the video (for more on this story, you can also read the articles posted here and here).

Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you. My name is Salwa al-Mutairi. I received a message that was a little strange. A merchant told me that he would like to have a sex slave. He said he would not be negligent with her, and that Islam permitted this sort of thing. He was speaking the truth. The topic that he brought up is an old topic. I have been working on it for two years now.

I was working with this man, a young man, who (liked) women a lot. I was sympathetic to his situation, and also dedicated to my work. I was given the opportunity to visit Mecca, and when I did so, I brought up (this man's) situation to the muftis in Mecca. I told them that I had a question, since they were men who specialized in what was halal, and what was good, and who loved women. I said, "What is the law of sex slaves?"

The mufti said, "With the law of sex slaves, there must be a Muslim nation at war with a Christian nation, or a nation which is not of the religion, not of the religion of Islam. And there must be prisoners of war."

"Is this forbidden by Islam?," I asked.

"Absolutely not. Sex slaves are not forbidden by Islam. On the contrary, sex slaves are under a different law than the free woman. The free woman must be completely covered except for her face and hands. But the sex slave can be naked from the waist up. She differs a lot from the free woman. While the free woman requires a marriage contract, the sex slave does not--she only needs to be purchased by her husband, and that's it. Therefore the sex slave is different than the free woman."

Of course, I also asked religious experts in Kuwait (about this issue), and they told me about the problem with the passionate man, or even the man who is committed to his religion. For every good man in our religion, the only solution for him--when forbidden women come around, if he's tempted to sin, then the solution to this issue is for him to purchase sex slaves. I hope that Kuwait will enact the law for this category, this category of people--the sex slaves.

I have also seen a situation in Kuwait, where a woman was abandoned by her family and so forth. She was given a home in Kuwait, where she cooked, and took care of the house, and helped out, and so forth. She was very much in a situation where she was like a slave. It is better to follow the shari'a like this than to go about doing that which is forbidden. Thankfully this house took her in, because her family abandoned her, and failed to shelter her.

I hope that a law will be enacted for this category, and they will open the door for this, just as they have opened the door for servants (to come into the country). They should open the door for sex slaves, by enacting a sound law, so that our children don't waste away in the abyss of adultery and moral depravity. Allah-willing, this will work out. I believe, look, the (sex slaves could come from) a country like Chechnya, where there is a war between an (Islamic) state and another state. Certainly there are prisoners. These prisoners could be purchased. They could be purchased and sold to the merchants in Kuwait. This is better than (the merchants) committing that which is forbidden. There is nothing wrong with this.

Harun al-Rashid had many more sex slaves than this. When he died he had 2,000 sex slaves. But he only had one wife. This was not forbidden. Our shari'a permits such a thing as this. Praise be to Allah, here in Kuwait there are many merchants who are committed (to Islam). I hope the best for Kuwait, Allah-willing.

Article translated from al-Arabiya, June 4, 2011:

A female activist and former candidate for the Kuwaiti People's Assembly, Salwa al-Mutairi, called for "the enactment of a law for sex-slaves, to protect men from corruption, and to prevent children from falling into the abyss of adultery."

Al-Mutairi said to the Kuwaiti journal "al-Siyasa, on Saturday, 4 June 2011, that "Many Kuwaitis resort to becoming (too) close with women, and forgetting their religion, and taking mistresses for themselves without marrying them. This leads to sin, the spread of disease, and children being born out of wedlock. This issue needs to be dealt with in a way that does not contradict the religion (of Islam), and in which men's desires are provided for. This is something which cannot be accomplished except by resurrecting the system of sex slaves, and putting legal controls on its use."

She added that, "The female sex-slaves existed for the policy, because the religion (of Islam) permitted their possession, on condition that they were prisoners from raids carried out by Islamic countries against non-Muslim countries." She suggested that the sex slaves be taken from Russian prisoners held in Chechnya, or from Russia or other countries.

According to the former candidate, the law should be put in place quickly to establish an organization to bring the sex slaves and take ownership of them, in order to preserve the rights of both parties. Wherefore, she suggests that, "The one who desires to own the sex slave, should pay a price of 2,500 dinars. He should pay to the offices which bring the sex slaves, which will quickly establish offices which employ workers, 500 dinars. Two thousand dinars would be placed in an account for the sex slave, which she would not be able to access until 5 years after entering the care of her owner."

Al-Mutairi also proposes that, "A monthly salary be set at 50 dinars, to be withdrawn monthly from the account of the sex slave's owner. Knowing that any citizen can own whatever sex slave he wants, this is done aiming to get rid of any motive for jealousy between (the sex slaves). It also would not be permitted to bring any sex slave under the age of 15, or over the age of 25. In the proposed law, these sex slaves would be termed "girlfriends of the house." They should be treated with justice, and their rights to salary, care, and to pursue education, if they desire, should be maintained."

Al-Mutairi recorded her position on sex slaves in a video which was broadcast on the internet. To support the truth of her position, she cited the fact that Harun al-Rashid was married to one woman but had 2,000 sex slaves.