You couldn't make this stuff up. And let this story be a chastisement to anyone who says the Muslims are not entrepreneurial and business-minded.
Reuters reports that Haluk Murat Demirel, a young Turk -- well OK, he's 38 -- has opened what he says is the first online sex shop for Muslims. It's called
Helal Sex Shop Bayan, and sells everything from lubricants to herbal aphrodisiacs.
And there's more! If you read Turkish, you can get advice on how to have "halal" sex. They'll tell you which sexual practices are banned by Islam, and which are not.
[Don't go there. Ed.]
Mr. Demirel said he was inspired to launch the website by friends who wanted sex advice and products, but found the content on other websites and in specialist stores too explicit. "Online sex shops usually have pornographic pictures, which makes Muslims uncomfortable," he said. "We don't sell vibrators for example, because they are not approved by Islam." Walt suggests that perhaps that's because electricity was unknown in the days of the Prophet.
[And still is, in parts of the Islamic world. Ed.]
In theory, Turkey is a secular country.
[Like France? Ed.] However, the majority of its citizens are Muslims.
[Like France? Ed.] So sexual mores provoke a lot of debate... a lot! There are relatively few bricks-and-mortar sex shops, even in major cities, although in parts of Istanbul those that do exist advertise themselves with neon signs.
Mr. Demirel said his website, launched only last week, has already proven popular, with 33,000 visitors on Sunday alone. And Walt is sure that the counter has ticked over by at least one, just within the last two minutes. So how's your Turkish? Could you figure out what "seks" means? LOL
