: Muslims Have A Love-Hate Relationship With Valentine’s Day

Even as the United States prepares a little Valentine of its own for Iraq, much of the Muslim world has taken to this mysterious holiday. Despite clerical rulings against “Eid al-Habb“, stores are filled with red roses, cards and the like. Islam has always looked positively on love and sexuality, seeing it as an important aspect of humanity to be celebrated (within marraige, of course). Muslims even have their own version of the Kama Sutra: “The Perfumed Garden,” a classic medieval text by Sheikh Nefzaoui (Younger readers of alt.muslim should probably avoid that last link). But the uniquely Western heritage of today’s holiday has some Muslims shooting arrows of a different kind. “This is a shameful day,” said Khalid Waqas Chamkani, a Pakistani student leader working to stop Pakistani shops from selling Valentine’s Day-related items. “The people in the West are just fulfilling and satisfying their sex thirst.” Despite these protests, Valentine’s Day cards are selling like hotcakes is Muslim areas like Kashmir and Qatar. One Valentine’s Day card that everyone can unite in opposing, is the practical joke jihad valentine that someone planted in a Pennsylvania Target store. Can’t you just feel the love?

Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.