There are secrets behind closed doors. But to say that Egypt was shell shocked as news about its first swingers club emerged would be an understatement. And there is a small technicality – the couples first met online before arranging to meet face to face in cafes.
According to Al Arabiya news site a senior civil servant and his wife were arrested for organising orgies and swinging parties as well as hosting wife swaps.
The couple advertised for their activities online, with invites to married couples only. Forty-four couples responded to the Internet ad over a three month period.
Zeinobia, from Egyptian Chronicles, goes ballistic. She notes:
The big disgraceful news made the headlines in all crime pages and sometimes front pages ,it is first time in the history of Egypt to have something like this.
The police arrested the married couple who operated that club and currently search for other 44 married couples who were members in that club.
The man is 48 years governmental official and his wife is 38 years old veiled Arabic school teacher !! Yes the wife is veiled Arabic school teacher , it was a shock to me because I understand or I know that a woman like her should have better knowledge of her religion and her culture , she is raising generations for God Sake !!
In another post, Zeinobia notes that the couples may have met on Facebook:
By the way it seems that this swingers club was a group on the facebook , yes the facebook ,already believe it or not I made a quick search and I found three swingers Arab groups , one a very private group in Egypt ,another one in KSA and the last one in Emirates. The bad use of technology ,what I can say !!??
To understand Zeinobia's dismay one only has to reflect on how online activists use the Internet and Facebook to tell the world about their troubles.
Al Masry Al Youm, an Egyptian paper, ran the story online. So far more than 250 people have commented on the article and here's a cross section of reactions.
Tarek Salaheldin comments:
Mohammed Ayoub says:
And Wael adds:
Adel Al Wardani agrees that such news should not be published:
What do you think? Should such stories be publicised or just whispered about behind closed doors?
13 comments
it’s a very shameful thing to deny people their freedom of doing what they desire as long as they do it behind their closed doors. what’s wrong with men and women doing what they like to do within the boundaries of their homes? they are not forcing their life styles on others, are they? should we live in jail just because we are muslims? gosh, they make islam look very horrible.
Should we not all have the right to live within our own personal and moral beliefs, as long as this doesn’t affect the rights of others?
I see that quite a lot of people mention religion in their comments – since when did we become the abitrators of Gods laws? If I have committed wrong, I will be judged….but surely not by man!
Everyone has the right to choose their own personal path to salvation.
The biggest problem that we have in society today is the lack of freedom of choice, freedom of expression and being judged by the interpretations of the “majority” . Everywhere, even in the so-called free western world, minorities will get judged.
But why are so many people suprised to find that swingers exist in a Moslem country?
People are people, no one is better than anyone else.
The swinging movement that has been gaining momentum everywhere simply because people are tired of being limited by artifical rules and laws.
Let us be who we are!
But people should be judged by the laws of their country – if its illegal to do something in your country, then so be it. You were aware of the laws and rules.
But please, don’t judge somone else solely on the basis of your own personal faith.
How would you re-act if the positions were reversed?