Tuesday, October 12, 2010

The 'You Don't Bring Me Flowers' Fatwa

The wonderfully wacky folks who help fund Campbell Soup associate ISNA have so far remained mute on the North American soup controversy. Recently, however, they made several pronouncements (fatwas) about sundary other issues. My favourite: Saudis are enjoined from bringing flowers to sick people in hospital because "it entails wasting money on non-useful purposes and imitating Allah's adversaries in this custom"--and, heaven knows, we can't have any of that sort of thing. Another one that rather tickled my fancy:
Relationships based on mutual affection, love and brotherhood between a Muslim and a Kafir are prohibited. It might render a Muslim as a Kafir. There is nothing wrong, however, if the kind of relationship developed between the Muslim and Kafir does not go beyond selling and buying or accepting the Kafir's invitation to have lawful food with him or accepting a lawful present, provided that no harm is done to the Muslim's faith.
Like, say, one of Campbell's 15 delicious ISNA-approved halal soups?

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