Layalina Productions, Inc. | The Layalina Review: "Dirty Talk Leads to Saudi Man in Handcuffs, and Not in the Good Way"

The Layalina Review

VOL. V NO. 16, July 17-July 30, 2009

Dirty Talk Leads to Saudi Man in Handcuffs, and Not in the Good Way

Following an appearance on a Lebanese talk show, Mazen Abdul Jawad, a 32-year old Saudi man, was arrested for speaking publicly about his sexual exploits, reports The Media Line.

While being interviewed for “Red Line,” a show featured on the Lebanon-based channel LBC, Jawad admitted to first having sex when he was 14 years old with his neighbor, describing the foreplay in great detail, according to Arabian Business.

Jawad continued his interview by explaining that he uses the Bluetooth function on his cell phone to pick up women, as they are forbidden to interact with men in public in Saudi Arabia. The American Foreign Press (AFP) reports that he also revealed a recipe for an aphrodisiac on the air.

The appearance caused over 100 complaints to local justice officials in Saudi Arabia, leading to Jawad’s arrest. He faces charges under the strict Islamic Sharia law of speaking openly about vice and admitting to pre-marital sex, according to the AFP.

Ahmad Qasim Al-Ghamdi, director of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice for Mecca, said “The program presents anomalies and deviancy in society that are unacceptable and immoral and should be punished according to Sharia,” reports Arab News.

Al-Ghamdi, according to Arabian Business, claims that all those involved with the broadcast are culpable. If convicted, Jawad could be jailed and flogged under Sharia law.

The Media Line reports that “Red Line” addresses a variety of social and political issues, but faced fierce backlash across the Arab world for a program dedicated to the subject of homosexuality in February.

Jawad plans to file a lawsuit against the producers of the show, claiming that his remarks were “taken out of context.” However, Malik Maktabi, the presenter of “Red Line,” told Arab News that the program was not meant to tarnish the respectability or reputation of Saudi Arabia.

“I host people from around the Arab world, not only Saudi Arabia. From all the twelve guests I have hosted, only a couple of programs have featured Saudis,” he claimed. “I present the cases as they are, and I have highlighted humanitarian achievements from Saudi Arabia, such as organ donation.”

Saudi Arabia has been accused of widespread media censorship, though the Kingdom referred to media as being “openly defended” for the sake of the Islamic moral codes. Reporters Without Borders have expressed continued concern in light of the Saudi government's repeated crack-downs on issues pertaining to human rights and civil liberties, reports The Media Line.

The case of Jawad’s sexual revelations proves to be no different than other censorship cases, as Saudi Arabian officials have chosen to justify his arrest through Islamic law.

Muhamad Diyab of Asharq-Alawsat, argues that such shows encourage young men and women to discuss highly-sensitive issues like homosexuality and infidelity, while causing serious harm as they fail to take into consideration the Arab social milieu. The program’s producers shoulder the most social responsibility for all the confessions made on the program and the subsequent impact they might have.

“It is not enough to say that the program is discussing and dealing with real issues in Arab societies,” he says. According to Diyab, these shows are a product of Western media attitudes that clash with the values of Arab societies, and therefore generate confusion among the youth.

Diyab wonders, “Perhaps these youths are deluded into thinking that by taking part in such television programs they will be considered modern and open-minded, so they make comments that do not necessarily reflect their reality and lifestyle.”

Citing the possibility of a strong desire to appear on television explains the variety of incentives for different guests to participate in such shows, regardless of the consequences. This occurs without taking into consideration the serious impact these confessions might have on their lives, such as social isolation, disapproval and rejection.

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