Over time, I’ve learned not to be surprised by the antics of one Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, who is a topic of obsession for the gay boyfriend. Quite simply, nothing is beyond reproach for LIbya’s sketchy yet enduring leader, and when Gaddafi’s not well-occupied killing it with “dictator chic,” he busies himself by searching, in the most unorthodox of manners, for new recruits to Islam. Just look at the above photo, which shows several ladies sent by a Rome modeling agency to have dinner with Gaddafi at an elegant and fancy soirée. These ladies thought they were being sent as “tall, attractive party guests,” which is partially accurate, but there was a definite catch:

The women, all between the ages of 18 and 35, assembled in a Rome hotel before being screened by both metal detectors and the fashion police, who turned away anyone in a miniskirt or provocative clothing, according to Paola Lo Mele, a journalist for the ANSA news agency, who answered the modeling agency’s request and went undercover to the event. The women were each paid $75 to attend.

Colonel Qaddafi and other world leaders are in Rome for the World Summit on Food Security of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

The women who made the cut were bused to a villa in Rome, ANSA reported, where they waited an hour, unsure of what was to follow, before the famously late Libyan leader arrived.

“All the girls expected a party with a gala dinner,” Ms. Lo Mele reported. Instead, Colonel Qaddafi “made a 45-minute speech on Islam and women’s role in Islam.” He gave the women a copy of the Koran and said that he would pay for them to visit Mecca, the duty of every Muslim, if they converted. “It was a bit of an indoctrination session,” Ms. Lo Mele added.

Colonel Qaddafi, who has ruled Libya since 1969, also gave the women a copy of his Green Book, which outlines his political philosophy.

So, do you think Gaddafi was also looking to add to his notorious cache of female bodyguards? It’s difficult to tell, but, once again, we find ourselves rather bemused by the antics of the most flamboyant player in world politics.