by Judi McLeod,
February 19, 2005
The Washington-based Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is, in a word, professional. MEMRI links to Canada Free Press and it's a source of pride that they sometimes pick up and post some of our stories.
That's how I rate MEMRI on a professional basis. But it is in my personal life that the Institute, albeit unknowingly, shed light and understanding on something that has been plaguing me.
about a year ago, I discovered that someone close to me was being beaten by her husband. "Someone close to me" is the only way I can identify this young Muslim bride, because of my fear of bringing more trouble on her head.
The tearful late-night telephone call that came to me from the Muslim bride was a total shock, as I had understood she was happily married. Her call was more frustrating than shocking because there didn't seem to be any way for me to help her solve the situation. Because I have known her parents for a long time, I immediately wanted to call them. The bride told me that if I did that, her situation would become worse. In my initial frustration, I even wanted to arrive unannounced at her apartment--with friends in tow. This unannounced visit, I naïvely thought, would perhaps frighten her husband into good conduct.
I had convinced myself that since she had grown up in Canada that she was really westernized at heart, and therefore could be spared the brutalities of a physically abusive husband.
The end of the story is not a happy one, but one that keeps me awake night. after speaking to whom I consider to be one of her more westernized relatives, I came to the full realization that I was rendered helpless when it came to trying to help her.
While the relative sympathized with my concerns in words, he told me the welfare of my bride friend was really none of my business.
Sad to say that she doesn't call me anymore. Neither does the westernized relative.
Then in real life's sometimes strange ways, a former police officer, now working as a private eye, happened to send me an email a few weeks ago.
The private eye happened to be interested in a CFP story he saw posted on MEMRI. Since I had interviewed him more than some 20 years ago as a Toronto Sun reporter, he was delighted to rediscover me after all those years.
That led to my telephone call to him. During the conversation, the topic of whatever happened to my Muslim friend came up. When I told him of the sad current events, he told me to make a RealPlayer visit to: http://stream.realimpact.net/rihurl.ram?file=realimpact/memri/memri_10-30-02_08.rmwhich I did.
The following is what I read in Memri's Special Report No. 27:
"On January 14, 2004, Sheikh Muhammad Kamal Mustafa, the imam of the mosque of the city of Fuengirola, Costa del Sol, was sentenced by a Barcelona court to a 15-month suspended sentence and fined for publishing his book, The Woman in Islam. In this book, the Egyptian-born Sheikh Mustafa writes, among other things, on wife-beating in accordance with Shar'ia law.
"On pages 86-87, Mustafa states: "The (wife) beating must never be in exaggerated blind anger, in order to avoid serious harm (to the woman)." He adds, "It is forbidden to beat her on the sensitive parts of her body, such as the face, the breasts, abdomen and head. Instead she should be beaten on the arms and legs, "using a "rod that must not be stiff, but slim and lightweight so that no wounds, scars, or bruises are caused." Similarly, "(the blows) must not be hard."
"Mustafa noted in his book that the aim of the beating was to cause the woman to feel some emotional pain, without humiliating her or harming her physically. according to him, wife-beating must be the last resort to which the husband turns in punishing his wife, and is, according to the Qur'an, Chapter 4, Verse 34, the husband's third step when the wife is rebellious: First, he must reprimand her, without anger. Next, he must distance her from the conjugal bed. Only if these two methods fail should the husband turn to beating.
"In his verdict, the judge said that Sheikh Mustafa's book contained incitement to violence against women, that today's society is completely different from society 1,400 years ago, and that the sections of the book in which the sheikh wrote of wife-beating constitute a violation of the penal code and of women's constitutional rights. In his defense, Sheikh Mustafa's attorney argued that his client was not expressing his personal opinion, but only reiterating the writings of Islam from the 13th and 19th centuries.
"The book, which sold around 3,000 copies in Islamic cultural centers across Spain, was removed from the shelves."
That's wife-beating hauled into the sunlight of a western judge's courtroom.
Some Muslim clerics, advocating the same principles as those expounded in Sheikh Mustafa's banned book, are not facing suspended sentences and fines.
Memri publicly identifies some in its Special Report.
"Sheikh Yousef Qaradhawi, one of the most influential clerics in Sunni Islam and head of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, has advocated non-painful wife-beating.
"In his 1984 book, The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam, he wrote: `"Because of his natural ability and his responsibility for providing for his family, the man is the head of the house and of the family. He is entitled to the obedience and cooperation of his wife, and accordingly it is not permissible for her to rebel against his authority, causing disruption. Without a captain of the ship the household will flounder and sink.
"`If the husband senses that feelings of disobedience and rebelliousness are rising against him in his wife, he should try his best to rectify her attitude by kind words, gentle persuasion, and reasoning with her. If this is not helpful, he should sleep apart from her, trying to awaken her agreeable feminine nature so that serenity may be restored, and she may respond to him in a harmonious fashion. If this approach fails, it is permissible for him to beat her lightly with his hands, avoiding her face and other sensitive parts. In no case should he resort to using a stick or any other instrument that might cause pain and injury. Rather, this beating should be of the kind which the Prophet (peace be on him) once, when angry with his servant, mentioned to him, saying, `If it were not for the fear of retaliation on the Day of Resurrection, I would have beaten you with this miswak (tooth-cleaning stick)' (as reported by Ibn Majah and by Ibn Hibban, in his Sahih).
Closer to home is Dr. Jamal Badawi, professor at St. Mary's University, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and a cross-appointed faculty member in the Departments of Religious Studies and Management.
This is Badawi's version of which circumstances permit "striking" a disobedient wife.
"If the problem relates to the wife's behavior, the husband may exhort her and appeal for reason. In most cases, this measure is likely to be sufficient. In cases where the problem persists, the husband may express his displeasure in another peaceful manner, by sleeping in a separate bed from hers. There are cases, however, in which a wife persists in bad habits and showing contempt of her husband and disregard for her marital obligations. Instead of divorce, the husband may resort to another measure that may save the marriage, at least in some cases. Such a measure is more accurately described as a gentle tap on the body, but never on the face, making it more of a symbolic measure than a punitive one."
Dr. Badawi elaborates six separate instances regarding the permissibility of wife-beating.
But learning the fine art of wife-beating is not contained to the writings of Muslim clerics, sheikhs or professors. It can be seen on Saudi TV shows like the one on Disciplining Wives and Children.
Says MEMRI, "Jasem Muhammad al-Mutawah, an expert on family matters in Islam, hosts a show on Saudi arabia's Iqraa TV. In one episode, al-Mutawah discussed wife-beating while holding 10-foot pool cue, which he said some couples keep in the home.
Reading about wife-beating on Memri gave me an understanding that this is a problem that goes beyond my Muslim bride friend.
Even though a closeness developed between her family and myself over a number of years, nothing I could ever say to them about what I perceive as the abuse of their daughter by her husband would be accepted. For closeness or not, in the end I am only an outsider and an infidel.
Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com
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