by Beejoli Shah
I guess it’s true what they say about a good orgasm making you see God: a sex shop will be opening in Saudi Arabia, in the heart of Islam’s holiest land, Mecca.
El Asira, a Netherlands-based sex toy company run by Abdelaziz Aouragh, will be opening its first brick-and-mortar outlet in the Makkah region of Saudi Arabia (often referred to in the Western world as Mecca). But before you cry blasphemy, Aouragh assures that the products being sold both online and in store are in complete compliance with Islam’s sharia laws, which dictate to practicing Muslims the Islamic tenets for how to live. While the store itself is not in any way a ‘halal sex shop’ (given that halal sex shops are not a thing), despite news outlets bandying the term about, by complying with sharia law that store does keep halal — which is to say that its activities are permissible under Islam.
Before Auoragh chose to open up the store in Makkah, the region of Saudia Arabia that receives millions of Islamic visitors a year making their holiest hajj pilgrimages, he consulted both with Muslim clerics as well as local sheikhs to ensure that the store wouldn’t violate religious or civil laws. It helps that the products at El Asira are decidedly less racy than what you’d find at Western sex shops — no bondage and dildos here. Aouragh instead provides products such as lotions, candles and massage oils that are intended to heighten sensuality.
“It’s not about the sex act, it’s what’s going on around it,” he told the Independent. “Our products increase the atmosphere and heighten feelings of sensuality”.
