April 15, 2008
Wahhabi. Porn. Video.
Not that he needs a link from me anymore, but AP gets an automatic one for the title alone: Porn, Wahhabi style.
While AP's link is to a MEMRI clip of a Salafi preacher extolling the virtues of hot virgin babes in paradise, it should be noted that pornography is widely available in Saudi Arabia.
People like Dinesh D'Souza argue that porn is a cause of terrorism. Terrorism, in his view, is partially a cultural reaction to all the decadent garbage we send to Muslim societies. I think Robert Spencer's rejoinders to D'Souza are sufficient to put that extremely naive argument to rest.
But what if pornography and other of the less palatable cultural products of a free society (any Britney Spears or Justin Timberlake song comes immediately to mind) actually reduces the threat of Islamic terrorism? Can more porn = less violence? All the studies I've seen seem to suggest yes.
This is not to suggest that pornography is healthy. It's not. I'm only suggesting that it doesn't lead to all of the negative outcomes that some people claim are associated with it. I'm also suggesting that pornography, like all vices, may have some potential benefits--like less terror.
I'd much rather see an epidemic of porn addiction in Saudi Arabia than an epidemic of jihad support.
