Unmarried couples targeted in morality crackdowns; Uzbek strongman cancels Valentine's Day
By Corky Siemaszko/ NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Saeed Khan/Getty Images
Security forces in Malaysia reportedly cracked down on unmarried lovers on Valentine’s Day.
Muslim morality police ruined Valentine’s Day for dozens of lovers in Malaysia early Tuesday by rousting them from their love nests and chasing them out of public parks.
At least five couples — all unmarried, all Muslim— were dragged out of no-tell motel rooms in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur, the BBC reported.
Dozens more lovers in the capital and in the city of Selangor were busted by the snoop squads in the bushes for violating khalwat, which is an Islamic law that forbids an unmarried Muslim from being alone with someone of the opposite sex.
If convicted, the shamed lovers face up to two years in prison.
Nearly two-thirds of Malaysia’s people are Muslim and the country’s Islamic authorities in 2005 issued a fatwa against Valentine’s Day.
Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the annual celebration of love is “not suitable” for Muslims.
Non-Muslim Malaysians, however, are free to cavort to their heart’s content on Valentine’s Day.
In Uzbekistan, a police state run by strongman Islam Karimov, there were no hearts or chocolates of flowers for anybody.
Declaring it “alien to our culture,” kill-joy Karimov’s minions cancelled Valentine’s Day altogether.
Instead, Karimov insisted that his countrymen celebrate the first Mogul emperor Babur, a national hero and a descendant of Genghis Khan who is famous for lopping off the heads of enemies and stacking them in columns.
csiemaszko@nydailynews.com
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