A Muslim cleric has issued a fatwa ordering a woman to agree to sex with her husband even if they are on the back of a camel, as he denounces the idea of marital rape as 'made up by European people'.

Perak Mufti Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria claims that, according to the Prophet Mohammed, a wife can only refuse her husband sex if she is menstruating, sick or just given birth.

Her right to say no, he asserted, was lost the moment her father handed her to her new husband.

Outrageous: Perak Mufti Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria said women should never say no to their husbands - and claimed marital rape was 'made up' by Europeans, so there was no need for Muslims to take any notice

Zakaria told Malay Mail Online: 'Even the Prophet says even when they're riding on the back of the camel, when the husband asks her, she must give.

'So there's no such thing as rape in marriage. This is made by European people, why should we follow?'

Unsurprisingly, his religious edict and outrageous comments have horrified many in his home country of Malaysia and beyond.

Writing in MalaysiaKini.com, Joshua Teh, an advocacy officer at the Women’s Centre for Change in Penang, said: 'Have we not provided excuses for rapists long enough?

'We need to recognise that women, both married and not married, have the right over their own bodies, and that includes the right to reject sex.

'To turn a blind eye to that right is to reduce the woman’s dignity as a person and to further normalise the prevalence of sexual crimes in our society.'

Disgusted: His claim that women couldn't even say no if they were on a camel has horrified many in the mainly Muslim country, where an estimated 3,000 women a year are raped

However, another mufti has said sex between a married couple must take place in a 'harmonious situation so as not to hurt each other' - which means rape is not possible.