Refleksi : Hari ini TV CNN memberitakan tentang El Asira. Untuk memudahkan bagi
yang mau tahu letaknya bila berkunjung ke Amsterdam (Holland) dan mau mampir
beli atau lihat oleh-oleh surga dunia halal di toko El Asira, tidak susah
dicari. Lokasinya di daerah Zeedijk, tidak jauh dari station kereta api
Amsterdam Centraal Station, keluar staion jalan ke depan 100 m dan menggok
kiri. Tidak susah mencarinya,banyak turis hilir mudik. Menurut pemilik toko
dalam interview dengan CNN diberitahukan akan membuka cabang di Timur Tengah.
http://www.afrik-news.com/article17249.html
El Asira's first Muslim Halal online Sex Shop
Tuesday 30 March 2010 / by Shahinez Benabed
Abdelaziz Aouragh, a 29-year old Dutch-Moroccan and a practicing Muslim,
has launched El Asira, a rather unlikely, if not daring, enterprise in the
Netherlands. It is the first halal "sex shop". The question is whether the
concept, which is raising many eye brows, will be accepted by an increasing
skeptical niche market.
Sensual stimulants, organic lubricating gels, pure power capsules for men
or women ... El Asira, the first halal sex shop made in the Netherlands has
opened its doors. Solely available on the Internet, the shop was inaugurated
March 24 by Abdelaziz Aouragh, a 29-year old Dutch-Moroccan Muslim.
Halal? Really? Yes, says the young entrepreneur. "There is even a fatwa
(religious decree, editor's note) on the subject," he says. The fatwa was given
after he contacted a local imam who in turn consulted with a Saudi Sheikh who
gave his blessing, provided that the products are used, strictly, within the
context of marriage.
The product range is diverse, from "Lovpil" capsules, to fight against
everyday stress that "may affect sexual energy and pleasure", to "Gel Max", a
lubricating gel that promises greater "sexual performance". Jewelry and
lingerie will soon be added to their range of products.
But is El Asira's Halal online Sex Shop really a sex shop? This is where
opinions differ. Despite the manager's decision to label his business as the
first Muslim online boutique to sell erotic items and beauty care products,
Al-Kanz, another site dedicated to Muslim consumers, says it is not a sex shop.
"This was predictable. It is neither salacious nor beggarly. Simply some
products of comfort", the site reads.
The site is careful not to depart from set moral standards. With a
purple-pink interface for women and brown for men, the site denotes itself with
a calculated discretion. In fact, it shies away from the use of enticing photos
of men or women as well as suggestive allusions.
But the site, albeit discreet, has failed to reassure some potential
customers. And skepticism over the site's intention looks like the winning
argument. "I don't see the point," says Redhouane, a 32 year-old Muslim, "but
if some couples need it due to physiological problems, it's understandable."
The idea of the online halal sex shop, suggested by his financial
partners, had initially been met with skepticism from Abdelaziz Aouragh. But
whether or not a halal sex shop will be welcomed by Muslim couples, the
decision is theirs to make.
