Saudi Cleric Calls for Gang Rape of Syrian Women; His Edict Lets Syrian Rebels Have Sexual Pleasure

A prominent Saudi cleric -- expressing frustration that "warriors of Islam" fighting in Syria may be getting weary for the lack of sexual pleasure -- has issued a fatwa (religious ordinance) that calls for the gang rape of Syrian women, the Alter Net website reports today (January 2, 2012).

Muhammed al-Arifi -- who is a leading  jihadist religious figure -- made it clear that his edict called for the gang rape of Syrian women and girls. He specified that the "intercourse marriages" last only a few hours, "in order to give each fighter a turn."

As to who is an eligible bride, the cleric approves any girls or women over the age of 14 who are not married.

Saudi Arabia has been funding the Syrian revolution and sending weapons -- including portable anti-aircraft missiles -- to the Free Syrian Army for nearly a year, but this fatwa is the first time that rape as a tool of war has been proposed as part of the opposition's military strategy.