We have previously seen Muslim clerics instruct men on how to beat their wives in an Islamically correct way. Egyptian cleric Abd Al-Rahman gave the latest installment on Al-Nas television — affirming the need for men to beat their wives as did Mohammad.
Al-Rahman noted that Mohammad beat at least one of his wives, Aisha. Aisha was believed to be nine when she married Mohammad, who had multiple wives.
Al-Rahman explained:
Islam instructs a man to beat his wife as a last resort before divorce, so that she will mend her ways, treat him with kindness and respect, and know that her husband has a higher status than her.
I say to every husband: Do not rush to beat her whenever a problem arises. Oh servant of Allah, Allah said: “Admonish those of them on whose part you fear disobedience, refuse to share their beds, and beat them.” One should not beat out of anger. . .
This you must know: If the wife utters the name of God, the beating must stop. . . .
When ‘Aisha thought ill of the Prophet Muhammad, believing that he did not treat her the same as his other wives, and that when he left her room, he would go to another wife, she followed him and spied on him. ‘Aisha said that when the Prophet found out about this, “He gave me a shove that was painful.”
This was done in order to discipline her, not because the Prophet enjoyed beating or inflicting bodily harm. The Prophet did this in order to discipline this woman. . .
A good woman, even if beaten by her husband, puts her hand in his and says: “I will not rest until you are pleased with me.” This is how the Prophet Muhammad taught his women to be.
The disconnect between such historical examples and modern values is extraordinary. Today, the described marriage would violate three different parts of the criminal code — a type of trifecta of felonies. The marriage to a nine year old would be viewed as child rape occurring within a polygamous marriage with spousal abuse. Of course, many of the Biblical figures also married young girls and were polygamists.
Al-Rahman’s insistence that beatings are part of a good marriage based on Qur’an 4:34.
Men are in charge of women by [right of] what Allah has given one over the other and what they spend [for maintenance] from their wealth. So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in [the husband’s] absence what Allah would have them guard. But those [wives] from whom you fear arrogance – [first] advise them; [then if they persist], forsake them in bed; and [finally], strike them. But if they obey you [once more], seek no means against them. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted and Grand.
The advice captures the plight of women in this part of the world who are beaten under spiritual guidance from clerics like Al-Rahman. However, he is not alone. The second-class status of women has been affirmed by our stalwart ally in Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai.
Source: Times of Israel
id, thanks. However, I still find it ironic that it serves as a safe word as you’re being beaten.
Amy Alkon,
Your attacks on Islam et al are not worth replying to as they smell of rage and other worse things.
However these words may be used to advantage here:
“It’s basically a totalitarian system masquerading as a religion.”
I have said as much already, see comment above where I
characterize ít as such and give that as the reason that I can not embrace it fully.
Notwithstanding that, I must as I did above point out that we are not free from such sin of totalitarianism.
Orthodox jews, Seventh Day Adventists, Mormons, many many evangelical “denominations” of own naming, the B&D husband beats wife with Gods approval” mentioned by Frankly, etc etc. And surely an examination of Indian and other cultures will reveal the same cancers of totalitarian paternalistic societies.
So while not excusing Islam, I do feel that we deserve scrutiny and have great need of betterment.
minute bol, Thank you.
More from the self proclaimed Religion of Peace. If the whole of its system wants to be part of the modern world it needs to reform itself I don’t care of the here and there examples of the political system known as Islam provides good in the world. It is fraught with so many examples of abuse, tyrrany and murder its benefits do not outweigh the damage it does to half its members and the rest of the world. .
And of course there will be the “Yes, But” crowd who will diminish the failings of this system by citing examples of individuals in Christianity who misbehave, often equating rather minor issues on the Christianity side with that of the horrors of what some of Islam’s followers have committed.
Then there are those who after having been part of the discussion of the abuses of Islam being made public, who use this as an opportunity to declare the opposition to some public figure or political party in the West, by ignoring essentially what the abuses were in the middle east and trying to make the case of the abuses of these Western Political Officials are actually worse than the Taliban; often, as they infer, the Taliban are victims because of the West’s transgressions.
Ask yourselves these questions related to the present. How often to members of the Four Square church go on TV and advocate beating of their wives? How often do members of the Hare Krishnas chop off the heads of people who dance and play loud music. When did the Dali Lhama issue a fatwa demanding the killing of an English book author? Then ask yourself how frequent this is in the Arab-Islamic world. And we are talking about today now 300 years ago, today.
Made the acquaintance of a Moslem man from the middle east (don’t know where b/c he obfuscated on this). He was a citizen. We had many discussions. His religion was an important part of his everyday life.
He wanted to get married and claimed that religion didn’t matter. He finally went to his family in the middle east to find him a wife. The first woman he became engaged to was in Canada. He dumped her shortly after b/c she was “ignorant”. It wasn’t apparent when he first met her. The second was from the middle east and he was trying to get her here. He planned on improving her education but not thru any US schools/colleges, which “ruin” good women.
From our discussions it was clear that he wanted a woman who was intelligent, a good partner, but clearly one who was subservient. Subservience seemed to part of the definition of “good partner”. This last is also the description of the definition my former husband was working with and he was not religious. His background was main-stream Protestant (I don’t know what sect), but not practicing.
Nick,
If you will listen openly I may have something to offer.
“I’m glad they have a safe word. interesting “Allah akbar” is the safe word and also what you say prior to a suicide mission. I wonder what kind of t-shirts these cowards wear?”
Allah akbar is used in many different occasions, not
solely in suicidal ones. But mostly in situations where humans strive in hard conflicts
Conflict which may have to do with conflicts (often) within yourself.
A group gathered for prayer and discussion of Islamic admonitions, would end with these words of trust and encouragement.
Its citation means simply that you entrust yourself to the ultimate and almighty power of your God, that if you do not succeed, he will help you personally, or that failing his support to succeed now and your failure follows, that he will see to that righteousness will ultimately succeed.
Now in fact I find that echoed in the Christian religion all through history: from “for God and country” to the “words” said by monks in Moorish Spain when bespotting Mohammed to spite Islam with their own suicide by moorish execution swords.
Hope that helps.
As the, obviously only Muslim here, i’ll gladly respond and help, hopefully, clear up some misconceptions here, hoping though it will no go the way it did with my brother in law. This was during the Shariah Law craze that took over and shook some Americans, and there was a piece on local tv discussing how it would legitimize the abuse of women by muslim men. he confronted me with it and asked me to explain, then refuted every argument I made based on the Quran, the Sunna (traditions of the Prophet Muhamad) and the Seera (oral history of his prophethood), basing his arguments, or lack thereof, on the fluff piece presented by an unprofessional anchor, produced and sponsored by unknown sources, that obviously aimed to present Islam in the worst light possible. Some facts:
1- There is a verse in the Quran that says one can beat/ beat lightly/ scourge one’s wife if she is guilty of indecent behavior, (after advising her and admonishing her) but the verse is sandwiched between 2 others telling the man to protect, provide and care for the woman and never abuse of harm her.
2- The Prophet’s nature was undoubtedly very gentle, to men, women and children. He has NEVER been known to strike or rebuke anyone. The Quran has instances where some verses were revealed in answer to his reluctance to act or say such things that he felt would affect people harshly. his wife Aisha was his beloved, and he treated her as such.
3- Conceptually, Islam created feminism. It banned the arabic custom of female infanticide that was prevalent at that time. It told men that they had a duty to love, care and empower women and girls, to provide for them, respect, honor and protect them. The rules that defined divorce were ahead of their times, as they ensured that the women and the children were not mistreated and were provided for.
4- It was so for previously revealed scriptures as it is so for the Quran and as defines any patriarchal society, men will use religion, (and money and politics) to justify and enforce their gender biases. It is akin different people interpreting differently the 2nd amendment, some use it to justify assault weapons in the hands of civilians, while others use it to justify banning them.
The person in the video uses the Quran and hadith to justify beating a woman, I, as well as a great many others, some scholars, some not, use the same Quran and hadith to justify never to beat our wives, or anyone else’s for that matter.
Finally, regarding the comparative tendency to show that all religious practitioners are subject to the same idiotic tendencies, us Muslims feel it to be unfair when things are pointed out and used to show how backward and violent or evil our religion is when here, in our own backyard, the same things, or worse, are taking place within other religious groups that we conveniently ignore.
losing hope,
How did you reach the conclusion that pointing out the failings of Christianity was a defense of misdeeds by Islam?
I don’t see that at all. Turn your head 90 degrees or 180.
I, and certainly others, condemn these islamic actions done in the name of Mohammed, the Koran, Allah…whatever. And I am acutely aware of the misdeeds done against women all over the world, including in Sweden. And I have always striven with myself to see them as persons, not female holograms.
The condemnation of corresponding Christian failings is in MY case only so as to bring home the necessity of two important things:
1) don’t make others “others”, and non-human when they do deeds you abhor.
2) don’t just look at the faults of others. cast out your own eye if it offends you, ie don’t ignore your or your congregation’s failings.
Losing hope,
You don’t need listening to apologists or Islam. Just go to the nearest mosque and observe, talk to them, they have an official contact person. Avoid the nuts,they have them too.
” have yet to hear a defense of the islamic teachings that demonstrates this religion as a peaceful and nurturing way of life. ”
As for myself, I don’t defend islam as practiced.
Just try to correct misunderstandings. And report it as it actually functions. No religion, neither Christianity or Islam is practiced in an unified way. That is number one.
Number two is that the “brotherly love” is far more present in the Islamic practice of worshipping than in the Christian. We have with some exceptions abandoned AGAPE. In Islam it is practiced at every group prayer.
Many gather informally just to pray together, just to experience AGAPE. It heals many sores to be embraced again.
Hope you experience these and other feelings from these possible sources, not just Islams.
“peaceful and nurturing…”
Yes it is both. But harshly enforced peace. And equally suppressive nurturing. Some abandon rote following, at their own risk, and find the spirit behind the scripture to be to their satisfaction.
For the last two reasons I could never go their way.
Frankly,
Always saddened when reality confirms my worst suspicions.
Thanks for the reality check. Figures that they are halfway into B&D by being adherants of Christianity.
Go ahead and cnst stones, yee who are free of sin.
So few people understand the Quran yet feel qualified to pontificate about its contents. The Quran is to be taken literally as the word of god and is not to be taken as the BIble is, as allegory or as a document written at a particular historical time. (People are not commanded to slaughter their neighbor for adultery or for wearing two different fabrics, per the Bible.) The later passages commanding hate and death abrogate the earlier, nicer ones. (The Mecca vs. the Medina Quran.) Once Mohammed got power, he became a raping mass murderer who killed for profit and revenge. His words and deeds are to be emulated by Muslims, including his pedophilia, marrying Aisha at 6 and fully consummating their relationship when she was 9 (but doing all sorts of creepy stuff before then).
I’m an atheist — someone who thinks it is absolutely ridiculous to believe, sans evidence, that there’s a big man in the sky watching down on all of us — but I’m also somebody who’s become informed about Islam, and it is different from the other religions. It’s basically a totalitarian system masquerading as a religion.
Obviously hope is not all you have lost.
I was not defending Islam. Quite the opposite. What I was doing, however, was showing that the disease of spousal abuse is not limited, as some would like to pretend, to Islam. I would go further and say its not even limited to the religiously insane but, as with all insanity, when you believe the Cosmic Muffin dictates your behavior it will always be worse.
If you want a defense of the teachings of the Koran I would recommend you line it up next to the teachings of the Old Testament (or the epistles which are as twisted as the OT on many subjects). You will find both books full of peace and love contrasted with the worst violence and hatred committed by the same Hairy Thunderer. Or compare the lunatic ravings of the Imams like this one to the same sort of bilge that comes out of so many Christian ministers, many with not just TV shows but whole networks.
I am well, thank you for your faux concern – I wish the same recovery for you.
I’m glad they have a safe word. interesting “Allah akbar” is the safe word and also what you say prior to a suicide mission. I wonder what kind of t-shirts these cowards wear?
i agree that positive reinforcement works better and quicker than corporal punishment on those who have a decent moral compass.
we all disagree on which moral compass to use and how far to draw the line. i wish we could respect each other’s humanity while gently expressing our dissent with one another.
when i read some of the replies to this article it struck me that those that defend the islamic religion do so by saying, “your religion does it, too!” it brings up the well overused cliche, “if everyone else jumped off the bridge, would you do so also?”
i have yet to hear a defense of the islamic teachings that demonstrates this religion as a peaceful and nurturing way of life.
be well.
There is an entire movement known as “Christian Domestic Discipline”, they have books and web sites as well as many clergy espousing this idea that in marriage the husband must physically correct his wife in order to maintain a ‘godly home’.
To me the sickest part of this is the number of women who buy into the BS even writing what would best be described as B&D porn describing their beatings.
If there really was a God/Allah/Yahweh/Jehovah/FSM he would either be one sick deity or so badly misunderstood by sickos here on Earth that he would want to disavow them all.
Clinton almost got impeached. Presidents seem to be held to the norms.
Congress, you can get re-elected with whatever number of wives, and affairs simultaneously are, inside the Beltway, regarded just as the French do their privileges. There seems to be greater license in numbers.
“Of course, many of the Biblical figures also married young girls and were polygamists.”
I presume these were OT figures. Whatever, let us instead turn our eyes to our own little Christian offshoot of that tradition.
Do we not have multiple wives? Only we call them whores, one-night stands, love-affairs, hanky-panky, etc? The big difference is that are not treated as wives nor do we take responsibility for them or the issue of our pleasures.
Do we not (in some instances) pleasure ourselves with the under-aged?
(NB. Big discussion on whether he waited until Aisha was 18 to consumate the marriage, Or if in fact she was only a wife in name, when a child, and was treated as a child with corporal punishment. Whatever.)
Corporal punishemth of children in America? Common until only a few years ago. Ask your grandparents.
And do we not beat (common domestic crime) our “wives”?
And what do evangelist say about wives who do not obey their husbands?
Just because our priests do not speak in foreign tongues, have big beards, and wear gowns and funny hats, does not mean the message is not there.
When will the Jewish surveillance of the Arab world turn its gaze on American fundamentalist preachings and practices?
Is the Professor a cultural bigot? Or does he only
hate Medieval cultures?
And why does he not work to change these evil practices in all religions in America, including the Islamic?
Of coures we must give some slack on the last point. Any Congress/Administration can make a law. But a new culture? Not so easy. But they have managed to enslave us. So if they really wanted to be “moral”, then I believe they could.
I think we should invent a female God with a bigger stick.
Sling,
Which god…… The one created in her husband’s image…..
God but that’s good to know.