Cairo: Women should be kept away from fruits like banana or cucumbers as they could arouse them and make them think of sex, feels an Islamic cleric. The unnamed sheikh who is based in Europe was quoted saying to an Egyptian website that if women wish to eat these food items, a third party, preferably a male should serve them.

According to him, these fruits and vegetables “resemble the male penis” and hence could bring sexual thoughts to a woman’s mind.

He also added carrots and zucchini to the list of forbidden foods for women.

The sheikh once featured in an article on el-Senousa news.

One being asked how to “control” women when they are out shopping for groceries, the cleric answered saying this matter is between them and God.

Answering another question about what to do if women in the family like these foods, the sheikh advised the interviewer to take the food and cut it for them in a hidden place so they cannot see it.

The opinion has stirred a storm of irony and denouncement among Muslims online, with hundreds of comments mocking the cleric.

One reader said that these religious “leaders” give Islam “a bad name” and another commented said that he is a “retarded” person and he must quite his post immediately.

Others called him a seeker of fame, but no official responses from renowned Islamic scholars have been published on the statements.