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" An Islamic cleric in Europe has reportedly banned women from handling cucumbers. The unnamed cleric has warned that cucumbers, bananas and other similarly shaped produce causes &amp;quot;sexual thoughts&amp;quot; in women, according to Fox News. The directive, published in el-Senousa, a religious magazine, purportedly says that a third party - preferably a male relative - should cut the items into small pieces if a woman wishes to eat them. The news has caused anger among liberal Muslims, who responded in a rush of protest and mockery online, while questions have arisen surrounding the truth of the reports and the validity of the statement. &amp;quot;Many of the commentators are Muslims themselves, who have expressed their anger against the cleric for making Islamic religious practices appear unreasonable,&amp;quot; said The International Business Times. Danish/Lebanese journalist Helen Hajjij said on Twitter: &amp;quot;So if Muslim women should stay away from cucumbers and bananas, should men stay away from melons?&amp;quot; Carrots and courgettes were also identified as perilous vegetables. &amp;amp;gt; Cleric blames women for Iran earthquakes&amp;amp;gt; Farmers brand carrots as &amp;#039;junk food&amp;#039; "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/fun/news/a355312/muslim-cleric-warns-cucumbers-too-sexy-for-women/>