Sexual Frustration Among Saudi Youth

Check out this excerpt from a new book, The Islamist, by former radical Muslim, Ed Husain, 2007.

After a month in Jeddah I heard from an Asian taxi driver about a Filipino worker who had brought his new bride to live with him in Jeddah. After visiting the Balad shopping district the couple caught a taxi home. Some way through their journey the Saudi driver complained that the car was not working properly and perhaps the man could help push it. The passenger obliged. Within seconds the Saudi driver had sped off with the man's wife in his car and, months later, there was still no clue as to her whereabouts. We had heard stories of the abduction of women from taxis by sex-deprived Saudi youths.

Why had the veil and segregation not prevented such behaviour? My Saudi acquaintances, many of them university graduates, argued strongly that, on the contrary, it was the veil and other social norms that were responsible for such widespread sexual frustration among Saudi youth.

So, the veil and other social norms cause kidnappings? I think not. Criminals cause kidnappings, despite their motivations. Nevertheless, the book is worth a read for the anecdotal experiences of a reformed jihadist.