Shia Iraqis are now free to vote, protest and even have sex

Shia Iraqis are now free to vote, protest and even have sex - so long as they get married first

In an isolated corner of Baghdad university campus, two young students are sitting together on a bench in a car park which, a year ago, was used to train students in the Jerusalem army, one of Saddam's tools for suppressing students. Aseel, the girl, is trembling as she repeats the words after her would-be husband, Wissam. "I agree to marry you according to the Koran, the Sunna of the prophet, and the teachings of Ahl al-Bayt ..." And here comes the interesting part: "For a period of three months." What?

Aseel and Wissam, both Shia Muslims, are performing one of the most controversial rituals of their sect: the Muta - literally "leisure" - marriage. Unlike other Shia rituals which involve grieving, crying and whipping, this one is all about satisfaction and happiness, a way to stop you from becoming a sexually frustrated maniac at the same time as allowing you to go to bed knowing that Allah is still happy with you.

After years of oppression, Shia revivalism is sweeping the universities; young men and women are experimenting, for the first time in their life, with things such as freedom of religion, freedom of expression sit-ins, elections and riots.

On Baghdad university campus, pictures of the martyrs are posted on the walls, young men in their early 20s, absent during the past two decades, hang around wherever you go, and there are confusing edicts from the ayatollahs, denouncing the great Satan who liberated them from the great tyrant.

But what happens when you are young and filled with hope - and lust? Life is not so good but at least you can dream. You have just discovered your new identity and are surrounded by nice-looking men and women filled with desire that was oppressed for so many years. Allah and religious rituals are cool, but so is shagging.

The imams have come up with a solution: according to Shia theology, a man and a woman can get married for an agreed period of time, varying from a few hours to years. If the woman gets pregnant, the child will be "officially" recognised. In some cases, the ayatollahs go as far as allowing sex with a prostitute if she agrees to marry the client for half an hour.

So here we are, a year after the fall of the "regime". On the one hand you feel free, no police, no army no Mukhabarat. On the other hand you are a newborn Hussein, a fearful Shia who is proud of his religion and doesn't have to conceal the fact that he follows Imam Hussein any more. You also want to sleep with someone, but don't worry because the ayatollahs can help: all you have to do is recite the words and you can get laid with Allah's blessing.

But not all the demands of the religious enforcers from the student union are so easily satisfied. Aseel and Wissam, both 22, are students in the same department. They have been together for the past two years, with virtually nothing but holding hands and a few kisses every now and then.

Wissam, a God-fearing Shia, tells me: "The new students' union are a bunch of religious fanatics. They come to me whenever they see me sitting with Aseel, they take me aside and start preaching to me about Islam and Imam Hussein and how the imams will be upset with me because I am talking to a woman who is not covering her head. They are just doing what the old students union used to do, only this time we have Imam Hussein instead of Saddam Hussein."

Aseel, slim and nervous, more outspoken than Wissam, says: "Once a couple of them came to me and start preaching me about my clothes, I told them to f*** off, I don't need anyone to tell me how I worship God.

"This is very difficult to talk about. We wanted to do 'it' for a long time, and it feels reassuring and better if we are married - even if it is only for few weeks."

A year a go, none of the couples I spoke with would dare discuss openly their sexual life - or "it" - but with satellite dishes the taboos are falling down one by one. The "it" we are now talking about is not quite the one you may think - most sex even between temporarily married young Iraqis is non-penetrative, as virginity remains a requirement for the more permanent kind of marriage. The young may be buzzing with desire and enjoying their newfound freedoms under the eyes of the ayatollahs, but it will be a while before the real sexual revolution can take place in this country.

· Ghaith Abdul Ahad will be writing fortnightly. Salam Pax will return next week.

Interesting background from Encyclopaedia of the Orient.

Mut'a is practiced in Shi'i Islam today, and is common in the modern Iran. It bears the main characteristics of prostitution, but gives clear rights to the woman, and involves little social degradation.

When a man and a woman enters into temporary marriage, or sighe as it is called in Iran, they make an irrevocable contract stating the period and the recompense to the woman. The period may vary from one day to weeks, months and even years. Still many make contracts lasting for 99 years, i.e. for life.

What size the recompense takes is unknown from our sources. The obligations for the man is limited to fulfilling the recompense. He is not obliged to provide neither home nor food for the woman.

But the contract needs no witnesses, nor any qadi, provided that the involved know the procedures.

Mut'a only allows a man to be the strong party, and non-Muslim men are not allowed mut'a. A Muslim man can however arrange mut'a even with a Jewish or Christian woman. In older times, mut'a could be arranged with a slave girl if the master allowed it. The woman can enter mut'a without the consent of others, but she must be unmarried. Virgins can only enter mut'a with the consent of her father.

A mut'a marriage cannot be automatically prolonged. If there is a wish to prolong the marriage, a new marriage must be contracted, with new recompense for the woman.

After the end of a mut'a marriage, the woman is quarantined before arranging a new mut'a marriage with another man, in order to see if she is pregnant or not. This period is generally set to 45 days. If there is a child, the custody passes to the man.

Some passages from Shi'i traditions indicate that mut'a is not only a worldly act. Hurru l-Amili indicate that "The believer is only perfect when he has experienced a mut'a". Other passages indicate that however has performed at least 4 mut'as is secured a place in Paradise.

LOL ...fuddy duddies. Snicker!

The weird thing about Muti (or whatever they are calling it) is that it is such an in yo face cop-out it couldn't go further. Why don't the guys just go ahead and have sex. Calling it 'it' and having 3 month marriages is just a way to appease their consciences.

You know what! This would be a perfect thing for people trying to lose some pounds. Seriously. All the person needs to do is go to McD's and make a vow with the manager that he will eat from there for the next 2 months only then stop. Hmmmm .....Jenny Craig needs to look into that.

"The believer is only perfect when he has experienced a mut'a". Other passages indicate that whowever has performed at least 4 mut'as is secured a place in Paradise. "

Since a mut'a can be as short as one day, I could secure my place in paradise in less than a week. Maybe I should do six of them just to make sure.

Does this apply to the women also? Do Muslim newspapers have a "personals" section?

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