The Palestinian Authority’s Supreme Fatwa Council ruled Tuesday that men and women can now date online for the purpose of marriage, The Jerusalem Post reported.
The council explained that online dating had become “unavoidable and impossible to prohibit completely.”
However, the new ruling warned that online dating was conditioned that men and women adhere “to the required moral standards and Shari’a rules,” the report said.
One of the main conditions is that members of the opposite sex are dating online for the sole purpose of marriage.
“The conversation should be restricted to achieving this goal,” the council said. “It should not transcend to private matters that could stir instincts and awaken desires.”
According to the ruling, a woman is not permitted to display her photo to her male interlocutor or even meet with him without the presence of her family.
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“The conversation should take place with the full knowledge of the family and not in a closed room or in secrecy,” the council said, according to The Post.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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