Online sex shop a hit with Muslims
An online sex shop for Muslims has been launched in the Netherlands to tap into a demand for erotica that does not offend Sharia law.
Published: 7:00AM BST 31 Mar 2010
"We had about 70,000 hits in the first four days," Abdelaziz Aouragh, the founder of El Asira, said. The site went online last week and claims to be the world's first erotic webshop for Muslims.
The 29-year-old Dutch national said it targets married Muslim couples as an alternative to sites "that focus on pornography and the extravagant side of erotica" - things forbidden in Islam.
The home page of El Asira, which means "Society" in Arabic, is a sober black and grey street with a line down the centre, inviting women to enter on the left and men on the right.
Once inside, clients can browse in Dutch, Arabic or English through more than a dozen products, mainly massage oils, lubricants and tablets that claim to act as aphrodisiacs.
All ingredients are halal, or "permissible under Islam", said Mr Aouragh, and conspicuously absent is any type of pornography.
"Most of the other products out there have pictures of naked people or foul language -- it was very difficult to find ones that I could use in my business," he said.
Instead, the website shows only photos of boxes, tablets, tubes and bottles - mainly in pink or blue with the brand's logo, a black flame.
"We have chosen a respectful approach," it says, proclaiming itself "a novelty in the Islamic world".
Muslim clerics like Dutch Imam Abdul Jabbar see no harm in Mr Aouragh's site.
"As long as he doesn't sell sex toys or those sorts of things there is no problem," he said, adding: the Prophet Mohammad gave lots of advice about sex in marriage and "there need not be any shame."
Online sex shop a hit with Muslims - Telegraph
