Only in the Arab World!

I am convinced more and more each day that some of the strangest news can come out of the Arab World. In this instance here is a collection of stories this week from Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Some of these are funny others are just disturbing, but all are true.

In Egypt:

Judas kiss

Shortly after her husband left Egypt to work abroad, a young peasant woman noticed that her neighbors were all gossiping about her. She soon realized that behind the rumors was a young man who had often harassed her and who felt snubbed by her rejection. Plotting her revenge, the young woman got her tormenter to follow her to the corn fields, where he started kissing her. At that point she sucked hard on his tongue and chopped it off with her teeth. She walked around the village victoriously saying she had “chopped the lying tongue”. (From Al Ahram)

Tricky jinn

Cairo police are intensifying their efforts to arrest a charlatan who raped a 29-year-old housewife after convincing her that he would discharge a jinn dwelling in her body. In one of his sessions he convinced his victim that he had to inoculate her to force the jinn out. Instead, the inoculation knocked her unconscious after which the imposter raped her. It appears that the jinn was really the rapist. (From Al Wafd)

Dead duck vendetta

In an unusual variation from the typical vendettas that so often take place in Upper Egypt, two families came to blows over a dead duck. The duck vendetta began after a young man accidentally drove over an unsuspecting waterfowl, squashing it dead. His deeply felt apologies and offer to pay LE100 ($18) to the owner was not enough to compensate the loss felt by the family.

Not only did the family refuse to accept condolences for the deceased duck, but they planned to take their revenge and kill all the ducks owned by the “murderer’s” family. Eight people were injured by sticks and hoses when the female members of both families clashed. (From Al Ahram)

In Saudi Arabia:

A chicken escaped a manâ??s attempt to turn it into dinner, resulting in the manâ??s death, Al-Yaum daily reported. The fugitive bird managed to end up on a nearby post that happened to be holding up some live electrical wires. When the man grabbed the post to capture his dinner, he was electrocuted. The fire department came and took the body away. The chicken remains at large

After several of a Saudi shepherdâ??s flock of goats fell victim to wolves, he decided that something must be done, the Al-Madinah daily reported. The shepherd took to the mountain with a rifle and shot a wolf dead. Perhaps aware that wolves hunt in packs, the man took his kill and hung it from a post at the village entrance, a warning to the rest of the pack to stay away.

A courteous thief left a thank-you note behind him after he finished stealing from a girlsâ?? high school, Al-Jazirah daily reported. Unless the robbery was an inside job, it would be fair to assume that the thief didnâ??t expect to discover SR10,000 in the principalâ??s office. Subsequently, the thief decided to leave the note, explaining his surprise at the windfall booty.