Like his Part III, Part IV of CAIR rep Omer Subhani's eleven-part farrago "Exposing Robert Spencer" is misnumbered. It's called "Exposing Robert Spencer III: On 'Beating' One's Wife." (Here are my replies to Part I, Part II, and Part III.)
In this go-round, Subhani engages in his usual ad hominem attacks and substance-free argumentation, and ties himself into knots trying to prove that when the Qur'an says to beat a disobedient woman (4:34), it doesn't mean anything like, say, beat a disobedient woman. Why, of course not! (He is referring to my Qur'an Blog on this passage.)
Along the way Subhani ditches Muhammad Asad, a twentieth-century convert to Islam (Leopold Weiss was his birth name) who penned a translation and commentary on the Qur'an that is especially beloved of Western Muslims and non-Muslim Islamic apologists, as Asad makes a sustained effort to whitewash all the unpleasant aspects of Islam that tend to make Westerners uncomfortable. But Subhani takes exception to my linking to Asad's translation and commentary online (you can find it here), and ends up equating Asad with the website where his work is hosted:
Spencer makes a glaring error in his attempt to portray Islam as a faith where beating one's wife is given sanction. It's fairly obvious where the error (or crappy scholarship) lies- he relies only on translations of the Qur'an, not commentaries - big difference. See, Spencer will quote whatever he can get his hands on. In this case he relies on his usual assortment of web translations of the Qur'an and he also uses a Geocities web site that has the Muhammad Asad translation of the Qur'an. Yup, that's our Islam scholar, Mr. Robert Spencer, using the best primary scholarship available... Geocities.
Of course, Asad ain't Geocities and Geocities ain't Asad, and here again Subhani assumes I don't have a book that I do have -- The Book Foundation's handsome edition of Asad's Qur'an is right here in my office, but Subhani apparently takes umbrage at my practice of linking to online material whenever possible, so that readers can verify the accuracy of what I say. For he is steamed, you see, that "Spencer will quote whatever he can get his hands on." It would be much better, apparently, for non-Muslims not to know that such material exists, eh, Subhani?
Anyway, Subhani then goes into the Arabic meaning of the word daraba, which is the "beat" in "beat her" in Qur'an 4:34 (iDribuhunna -- اضربوهن). He quotes all sorts of Islamic authorities who say it means a gentle tap, and then points out statistics about the abuse of women in America. There are just a few problems with this:
1. He does not, and cannot, deny the veracity of the Islamic sources I adduced that justify wife-beating. It's just swell that there are other Islamic authorities who say you should only hit your wife with something like a toothbrush, or not hit her in the face, but the problem with all of them is that if you don't say that it's wrong to hit her at all, one man's light tap is going to be another man's brutal beating.
2. No one is saying, least of all me, that only Muslims beat their wives. Spousal abuse is found in every culture. But in America, creeps who beat their wives are arrested and punished. Are they in the Islamic world? How can they be, when the practice is given divine sanction?
And here again, this magnificent example of Islamic moderation and representative of the Council on American-Islamic Relations does nothing to stop spousal abuse in the Islamic world. Instead, he pours vitriol on me for daring to point it out.
Yes, pointing it out is the problem. Some young Muslims themselves do not know what their parents' tradition is about -- what if they saw it with Western eyes, and left? And what if infidels disposed to seeing the best in any "religion" saw Islam for what it is?
The issue is not civil rights for an oppressed minority, circa 1963 The issue is protection from an oppressive band of violence-prone deceivers, circa 1683.
Along the way Subhani ditches Muhammad Asad, a twentieth-century convert to Islam (Leopold Weiss was his birth name) who penned a translation and commentary on the Qur'an that is especially beloved of Western Muslims and non-Muslim Islamic apologists, as Asad makes a sustained effort to whitewash all the unpleasant aspects of Islam....
That's interesting! That is the Qur'an that CAIR sends to people for free. (Minus a small shipping charge.) I am currently using it.
I knew all that about wife beating. There are dozens of youtube vids out there depicting Islamic clerics in the ME who are experts on wife-beating. For this twerp Sobhani to come here and deny that is brazenly stoopid, but that's how they are. They lie in your face and swear any oath on their mothers grave to deceive a kuffar.
But this was a surprise for me, I didn't know this:
Book 2, Number 0494:
Narrated As-Saburah:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Command a boy to pray when he reaches the age of seven years. When he becomes ten years old, then beat him for prayer.
Book 2, Number 0495:
Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As:
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: Command your children to pray when they become seven years old, and beat them for it (prayer) when they become ten years old; and arrange their beds (to sleep) separately.
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/abudawud/002.sat.html#002.0494
"Along the way Subhani ditches Muhammad Asad, a twentieth-century convert to Islam (Leopold Weiss was his birth name) who penned a translation and commentary on the Qur'an that is especially beloved of Western Muslims and non-Muslim Islamic apologists.."
-- from the article above
Leopold Weiss is one of two converts, or reverts, who gave their names to the Weiss-Schwartz Syndrome, which has been discussed at JW (google for more) intermittently over the past three years.
A series of postings in late March and early April 2005 contained the first identification, and naming, of this condition, and in a posting from April 11, 2005 both Muhammad Asad (with all his disturbing bizarrerie), and the Weiss-Schwartz Syndrome are discussed more fully:
"The very word "Sufi" conjures up for many, especially the young, images of the unworldly: the gentle mystic Rumi with his poetry, a bit more dignified and up-market from Kahlil Gibran, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Robert Fulghum's classic, "All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten" and other offerings on display in the Self Help/Feelgood/Timeless Spirituality section of your local bookstore, just to the right of Wellness, and just to the left of Self-Esteem Studies.
But Sufis, as the article linked to shows, can emphasize both a "mystical" relation to God (whatever that means) and still promote the Jihad. Al-Ghazzali, the most famous theologian in Islamic history, was a Sufi who insisted that Muslims ought to participate in Jihad at least once a year. It is only the the innocent incoherence of his incoherent followers that causes them to ignore that fact, in their desire to make "mystical" Islam over into some kind of dreamy combination of Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha, a Hindu fakir in a trance, and St. Teresa of Avila attaining a "little death" in the arms of her Lord, or was that Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz? I forget.
For more on this matter, at Jihadwatch for March 31 on one thread you will find, among the postings, this excerpt re recent converts to "Sufi" Islam:
"...one might google the name "Leopold Weiss" who became a Muslim early in the 20th century, took the name "Muhammad Asad" and was made so much of by Muslims so desperately eager for converts slightly beyond the usual Richard Reid-Jose Padilla level of comprehension. That Asad is now a figure of fun (do check out his description of his "blonde, Nordic wife" etc., his friendship with assorted Saudis, his stint in New York as a diplomat, and all the rest of his life) might give those who have converted to Islam and are making the most of their quasi-celebratory status some pause.
Still, being Muhammad Asad brought him more psychic satisfaction than being plain old Leopold Weiss.
Possibly a deep-seated desire to stand out, to be someone special, to be an "interesting" human being, to be made more of than one would otherwise have any right to expect, to lay claim to just a bit more of the world's attention -- are what prompted a Weiss many decades ago, or a Schwartz more recently, which goes to prove the words of the old ballad: "Every white must have its black/And every sweet its sour/Thus learned the Lady Christabel/In an untimely hour."
Look high or look low or look Trendelenburg in the Merck Manual as you sit fixed in your surgical stirrups, as the men in white coats come on the grandest of rounds, nd still you will not find a remedy for this white-black mental oscillation, this pathological condition which is famously named here, for the first time, as the "Weiss-Schwartz Syndrome."
Sufism, whirling dervishes, and all the mysteries of Mevlevistan beckon. Who, on a Spiritual Search, could resist? And who cares if along with this "mystical" version of Islam the Jihad cannot be far behind.
Posted by: Hugh at April 2, 2005 09:15 PM (and slightly emended on April 10, 2005)
[Posted by: Hugh at April 11, 2005 8:32 PM]
"That's interesting! That is the Qur'an that CAIR sends to people for free. (Minus a small shipping charge.) I am currently using it."
Posted by: dentalque at May 17, 2008 9:16 AM
I have one, too, but it's an unwieldy thing. I use mine for a doorstop.
I guess it takes extra words to sanitize Muhammed's ravings. Plus, there's the Arabic part, which must make it an "official" Qur'an, since that is the criterion for a Qur'an's veracity.
Subhani ought to give it another chance. It's a very useful tome.
"but the problem with all of them is that if you don't say that it's wrong to hit her at all, one man's light tap is going to be another man's brutal beating."
EXACTLY!
"I have one, too, but it's an unwieldy thing. I use mine for a doorstop.
I guess it takes extra words to sanitize Muhammed's ravings. Plus, there's the Arabic part, which must make it an "official" Qur'an, since that is the criterion for a Qur'an's veracity.
Subhani ought to give it another chance. It's a very useful tome."
Posted by: Abscedere at May 17, 2008 10:03 AM
That's a good idea, perhaps when Mr. Spencer finishes blogging the Qur'an I'll do the same.
I also got the Asad book from CAIR, back in July 2006 (no shipping charge, tho). I did a commentary about the day it arrived on a blog......
--------------------
Koran - Approved for Infidels
A very heavy package FINALLY arrived from CAIR a couple weeks ago. It was a free Koran, ordered thru one of their websites. It took many months to arrive. A Koran is not something I am going to pay for with my own money, so the offer of a free one sounded good to me.
The letter from CAIR inside the package informed me that Muslims regard the Koran as sacred, and this new Koran should also be treated with respect....wash hands first, hold it with both hands when carrying, don't put food or dirty socks on it, etc.
Its hard to accept that CAIR would send me, an Infidel, a copy of a "sacred" Koran, so I am assuming my copy is not sacred. The letter filled me with resentment, with its attempt to indoctrinate me into a special behavior. As a matter of fact, the letter makes me furious, and leaves me in a volcanic state of insulted anger, full of murderous white hot rage....
------------------------
Anyhow, I went on about it, and to this day, could not count how many times a dirty plate, the Bible, Bostom and Spencer books, dog paws, and dirty socks have been placed on it. Its just a book, kept in an active place.
Not to make light of beating women, but this line is hilarious!
"Subhani then goes into the Arabic meaning of the word daraba, which is the "beat" in "beat her" in Qur'an 4:34..."
HAH!
sheik yer'mami posted the hadiths just below.
Why would Muhammad want a boy punished for praying? Anybody know the Muslim interpretation of these hadiths?
Book 2, Number 0494:
Narrated As-Saburah:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Command a boy to pray when he reaches the age of seven years. When he becomes ten years old, then beat him for prayer.
Book 2, Number 0495:
Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As:
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: Command your children to pray when they become seven years old, and beat them for it (prayer) when they become ten years old; and arrange their beds (to sleep) separately.
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/abudawud/002.sat.html#002.0494
The boy was not looking forward to his 10th birthday, for he knew that his father, a zealous man, was going to beat the shit out of him per Allah's express will, but he took consolation in knowing that his 6 year old sister would not only have the shit beat out of her on her own 10th birthday, but that her uncle, to whom his father had promised her hand in marriage, would beat her savagely "with gentle taps involving something like a toothbrush" even before her 10th birthday for not being a perfect houri like wife. This thought made him very happy, and he worshipped Allah for revealing such sublime justice, because his sister really did deserve it.
"for daring to point it out." --RS
They hate that more than anything. How DARE we (Infidels)?!
Wives Cheating on Their Husbands
Come on Robert; what is wrong with you? What is this big issue of beating women? You are always looking for a spec in other’s eyes [1]. Who doesn’t get angry in this world with their wives or vice versa? Every one of us, we do indulge in it. That home is not a home where difference of opinion is not found; we always resolve our issues, by convincing others or get our selves convinced. It’s better to throw plates on each other in the kitchen.... rather then in the bed rooms or rival men( on disclosure of cheating) fighting in cafes and Bazaars and cases go to courts!
Do you really believe in the God Almighty? Is your study and research meant to serve God and seek His blessing; so that God guides you on to right path or do you only know your assigned job of mocking the God Almightyand His Scriptures?
Is your aim to con people and see them knocked down; who so ever challenge you? Or you your self will also learn some lessons?
You claim that you have the deep studies of Quran as well as of Islamic Jurisprudence then; how come you don’t know the back ground of this Surah that it pertains to the relation between husband and wife; where relations have gone bit strained [2]and wife is some how found cheating on her husband?
In such case God is telling the believers that first they should warn the wives to check their deeds and women should refrain from doing so; which follows, that husbands should spare them from their beds and even then if they do not come on the right path then admonish them and they should be shown that they will be physically man handled if they don’t quit their illicit designs. This all shows that God does not want the anarchy in the homes and there should be no, on going crisis. What is intended in this exercise? Man; betterment in the homes is being sought here.
This is God’s given solution ‘on the day’ of prevalent old Judaic and Pagan culture that new born Muslims society had inherited, where some wives used to cheat on their husbands and husbands had lost the peace of mind and were found perturbed.
Even at present, in our so called civilized society; is there no cheating going in our houses? And what do you do other than scolding each others? And why there are killings and countless separations and divorces going on? Cheating, Cheatings, Cheatings; God is all Knowing, Mighty and wise! He knows our inner self!
*Do not boast your piety too much; see that your own apparels are all blackened, gutted and full of holes.
-----------
Adabarez
References:
[1] Bible- Luke 6:42, “How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
[2] Quran-Al-Nisa' Chapter 4 : Verse 34, “ Men are guardians over women because Allah has made some of them excel others, and because men spend on them of their wealth. So virtuous women are obedient, and guard the secrets of their husbands with Allah's protection. And as for those on whose part you fear disobedience, admonish them and keep away from them in their beds and chastise them. Then if they obey you, seek not a way against them. Surely, Allah is High and Great.”
Exactly when, Adabarez, did you have your lobotomy?
"and guard the secrets of their husbands with Allah's protection".
That must be quite the task! Covering all that Muslim men do in these times. Im sure "Allah" (not the God of Israel) is very concerned with keeping those 'things' under wraps as much as possible.
Adabarez,
I sincerely hope that when your wife disobeys your perfect will, and you in your great mercy decide to beat "the speck" out of her eye, that she returns the favor by taking a chain saw to the plank that is wedged in your eye. If she slips and cuts off your head, well, you'll have that.
This kind of logic-chopping (sic) by the strident Islamo-pologists reminds me of Frida Kahlo's mordant painting "A Few Small Nips (Unos Cuantos Piquetitos)".
Which delineates the difference in how an abuser sees his victim from how she suffers from it.
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/K/kahlo/kahlo_small_nips.jpg.html
Traeh,
The translation is terrible. (I don't base this on any knowledge of Arabic; I base it on my reading that tells me that much of what appears in the hadith translations at the MSA site is unintelligible, ambiguous, and riddled with grammatical and typographical errors in English).
Obviously it would not mean that Muslims should beat their children for praying. I believe the hadith in question tells Muslims to beat those of their children who refuse to engage in prayer.
Note to JW staff...I'm having more technical problems in posting here. I get the delay notice, but that doesn't always mean my post is going to appear. It contains no "malicious" content (except for the contents of the Islamic quotes!).
Darcy,
Lobotomy:
I know that in good old days (prior to WWII), this surgical incision into the frontal lobe of the brain used to be conducted to sever one or more nerve tracts, a technique formerly used to treat certain psychiatric or cognitive disorders and get personality changes but now it is rarely performed because; Islam is very much there to help us leave the old forsaken ruts and bring the real changes in our lives.
----------
Adabarez
Guide inside,
Here guarding secrets pertains to the intimate relations between husband and wife and the pleasant reward that Allah has kept in it that we all reap-n-relish in our intimate times which goes in between two partners. I agree that Muslims are found more passionate in their love affairs and divorce rate is also very low.
-------
Adabarez
Lex and profits beard,
I am sure there are more pleasant things to say and do!
----------
Adabarez
LOL, Adabarez, Islam IS a lobotomy. No questioning, no reasoning, no criticizing, no individual thinking allowed - only acceptance and surrender. The individual is gone. Vacant. Kinda like you.
Darcy,
You may not understand because you have not yet trekked on those routes and reach that street; where the embroilment in the atmosphere of peace, blessing and serenity is so great; that your inner self readily starts generating the strings and chains to enjoin and cleans your self of all impurities.
------------
Adabarez
Adabarez,
It appears to me that you owe Robert Spencer an apology, but then, I'm not a Muslim and do not read or speak Arabic, so I couldn't possibly understand the Qur'anic injunction for keeping unruly wives under control.
So, help me out here. Do you believe that if a wife says "No" to her husband when he wants to have sex, then he should feel that he has a divinely sanctioned right to rape her as his "tilth?"
I smile everytime I read Muslims trying to tone down the word "daraba" as used in the Quran to beat your wives. It's one of the most common used words in the Arabic media. Like, "Israeli gunships DARABA the house of a suspected Hamas militant, killing six people." Or, "American warplanes DARABA an al-Qaida hideout, dropping three 500 ton bombs and killing everyone inside." A "light tap on the cheek" indeed.
This is Ground Control to Major Tom...
Huh? I swear, this looks just like the gobbledygook text that is often included in spam to disguise it. Fess up, Adabarez. You're a spammer in real life, right?
LOL. Keep up with the Islamic Supremacist propaganda, Adabarez.
"where the embroilment in the atmosphere of peace, blessing and serenity is so great;"
LOL! Got an English dictionary handy? You better look up the word "embroilment!" Yep - Islam is "embroilment" allright, and without doubt, it certainly embroils!
How Godly. How sublime. How wise, merciful, forgiving. The Religion of Peace, in a nutshell, right here on JW.
Adabarez/Khokar, you are truly a pathetic apologist. Please practice up before posting. Have you not noticed the vast majority of apologists wrangle over twisting the meaning of the word "beat" and try to deflate its meaning or application into something merely symbolic. Get a clue, Khokar, it's weak, but it's your only way out.
BTW; Luke 6:42 is NOT an admonition to never judge. It is NOT an admonition to never judge anyone for anything someone in your community does. It is NOT ultimately JUST an admonition to not judge others for things YOU youself do. The main point of the admonition is for you to personally STOP doing those things deserving of judgement, and then get back to judging. Sin is sin, and you have to expose it. Wife beating is a sin. Qur'an 4:34 advocates sin. Therefore, the Qur'an is sinful.
LOL!
Khokar, now tell us: are you a better Muslim because you admit to wife-beating or is the Muslim who beats his wife and denies it afterwards (taqiyya) the better Muslim?
Complicated 'religion', yours!
Rats, about three years ago I bought a copy of Muhammad Asad's "The Message of The Qur'an" thinking that it was an authouritative work (based on all the Amazon comments at least). Luckily since then I have purchased what I now know to be a more authouritative version, i.e. one of Robert's recommended.
Regarding the Asad translation of the Quran being linked to geocities, which seems to bother Subhani...the Asad translation can be found at Islamic sites, such as openburhan. Asad (4:34) "...then beat them..."
Apologists like Subhani should explain their interpretation of 4:34 to the German multiculturalist legal relativist judge who argued that the Quran allows for wife beating:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,473017,00.html
German Judge appeals to Koran to justify wife-beating.
Why, instead of defending the woman in question, do Islam apologists spend their time attacking Islam critics?
Sahih Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 72, Number 715:
Narrated 'Ikrima:
Rifa'a divorced his wife whereupon 'AbdurRahman bin Az-Zubair Al-Qurazi married her. 'Aisha said that the lady (came), wearing a green veil (and complained to her (Aisha) of her husband and showed her a green spot on her skin caused by beating). It was the habit of ladies to support each other, so when Allah's Apostle came, 'Aisha said, "I have not seen any woman suffering as much as the believing women. Look! Her skin is greener than her clothes!" When 'AbdurRahman heard that his wife had gone to the Prophet, he came with his two sons from another wife. She said, "By Allah! I have done no wrong to him but he is impotent and is as useless to me as this," holding and showing the fringe of her garment, 'Abdur-Rahman said, "By Allah, O Allah's Apostle! She has told a lie! I am very strong and can satisfy her but she is disobedient and wants to go back to Rifa'a." Allah's Apostle said, to her, "If that is your intention, then know that it is unlawful for you to remarry Rifa'a unless Abdur-Rahman has had sexual intercourse with you." Then the Prophet saw two boys with 'Abdur-Rahman and asked (him), "Are these your sons?" On that 'AbdurRahman said, "Yes." The Prophet said, "You claim what you claim (i.e.. that he is impotent)? But by Allah, these boys resemble him as a crow resembles a crow,"
Also from the Hadith:
Sahih Muslim, Book 4, Number 2127:
"...He [Mohammad] struck me [Ayesha] on the chest which caused me pain, and then said: Did you think that Allah and His Apostle would deal unjustly with you?”
Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 11, Number 2141:
“Narrated Abdullah ibn AbuDhubab: “Iyas ibn Abdullah ibn AbuDhubab reported the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) as saying: Do not beat Allah's handmaidens, but when Umar came to the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) and said: Women have become emboldened towards their husbands, he (the Prophet) gave permission to beat them. Then many women came round the family of the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) complaining against their husbands. So the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Many women have gone round Muhammad's family complaining against their husbands. They are not the best among you.””
Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 11, Number 2142:
“Narrated Umar ibn al-Khattab: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: A man will not be asked as to why he beat his wife.”
Note: Why would these women be still complaining against their husbands if the beatings were, from their perspective (being on the receiving end), "not severe"? Does Subhani think these women would bother bringing a complaint to Muhammad that their husbands were hitting them with toothbrushes?!
Also note how Subhani limits the discussion to a narrow question over wife beating. The broader issue concerns Islamically-approved violence against women generally. Non-Muslims, in particular, need to be concerned about what Islam allows Muslim men to do to non-Muslim and/or slave women, or women regarded as such. The Hadith again gives us some indications:
Sahih Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 46, Number 731:
“Narrated Abu Huraira and Zaid bin Khalid: The Prophet said, "If a slave-girl (Ama) commits illegal sexual intercourse, scourge her; if she does it again, scourge her again; if she repeats it, scourge her again." The narrator added that on the third or the fourth offence, the Prophet said, "Sell her even for a hair rope."” [Also see Sahih Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 34, Numbers 362 and 363; these use the term “lash” for scourge].
From the Sira:
Ishaq, p. 496. “...As for Ali, he said: “Women are plentiful and you can easily change one for another. Ask the slave girl, for she will tell you the truth.” So the apostle called Burayra to ask her, and Ali got up and gave her a violent beating, saying, “Tell the apostle the truth”
The hadith also suggests that Muhammad permitted violence against women and girls in some circumstances, such as if they had criticized or mocked Islam:
Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 14, Number 2678:
“Narrated Sa'id ibn Yarbu' al-Makhzumi: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: on the day of the conquest of Mecca: There are four persons whom I shall not give protection in the sacred and non-sacred territory. He then named them. There were two singing girls of al-Maqis; one of them was killed and the other escaped and embraced Islam.”
(Also see the assasination of Asma bint Marwan).
And the jurist Taymiyya wrote:
“As for those who cannot offer resistance or cannot fight, such as women, children, monks, old people, the blind, handicapped and their likes, they shall not be killed unless they actually fight with words [eg. by propaganda] and acts [by spying or otherwise assisting in the warfare]. Some jurists are of the opinion that all of them may be killed, on the mere ground that they are unbelievers, but they make an exception for women and children since they constitute property for Muslims.”
(Source: Ibn Taymiyya (1996). al-Siyasa al-shariyya. (Translated by Rudolph Peters). Jihad in Classical and Modern Islam. (pp. 44-54; see p. 49). Princeton NJ. Markus Wiener Publishers).
Posted by: Lex at May 18, 2008 10:00 AM
Use of Word ‘Tilth’
This is the beauty of Quran that it arranges and uses the various words along with the parables for the sake of clarity and explanation of its mythology in such an order that its addressees, may they be from any time or the age; they are able to understand and grasp its true meanings and message is delivered to them in true spirit and sense.
Like wise in the matter of wives that they are the sources which bear the children for progression of mankind; to explain this wonderment, the Holy Quran has used the Arabic word ‘harth’ in respect of women which can be translated as ‘tilth’. Tilth can be described as a piece of land taken care of to be duly nurtured, treated and ploughed for sowing with crop; (2) Crop or produce of land whether field crops or garden crop; (3) gain, acquisition or earning (4) reward or recompense; (5) worldly goods;(6) wife or wives, because wife is like tilth in which seed is sown to produce crop in the form of children.
The air spaces of entire Muslim world remains filled with folk lores of Love and romance and Muslims are known very passionate in taking care of their loved ones; specially their wives. Rate of treachery and cheating on the wives is very low. They know how to keep their wives like jewel wrapped in the veils and safety. Wives are placed very high in the society and all men show greater respect for their women that they are made the source of comfort for men; they rear the children and run the houses chores.
Other than Islamic bindings of marriage involved, the prevalent social system also extends a greater security to women that after marriage the groom as well bride sides practically become one big extended family, guarding the interests of both the sides. Harsh treatment of wives rarely happens.
[2:223] ‘Your wives are a sort of tilth for you; so approach your tilth when and as you like and send ahead some good for yourselves; and fear Allah and know that you shall meet Him; and bear good tidings to those who believe.’
[2:28]….And they (the women) have rights similar to those (of men) over them in equity; but men have a degree of advantage above them (being the providers). And Allah is Mighty and wise.’
Since newly born Islamic society had inherited the old customs of Judaic and Pagan, where wealth and number of women possessed by men used to be the status symbol. Grooming and nurturing of newly inducted believers was being done step by step, so some times they were also admonished;
[4:19] O ye who believe! It is not lawful for you to inherit women against their will, nor should you detain them wrongfully that you may take away part of that which you have given them, except that they be guilty of a flagrant impropriety, and consort with them in kindness, and if you dislike them, it may be that you dislike a thing wherein Allah has placed much good.’
[4:21] And how can you take it when one of you may have consorted with the other, and they (the women) have taken from you a strong covenant?
---------
Adabarez
This is glorification of sin and sacral sanctioning of man's basest lusts
Now here's the real "beauty" of the Qur'an. Redefine "cheating" to make righteous raping of slaves and captives and pederasty, and cut out the woman's clitoris to thwart her desires and forbid her from leaving the house under threat of beating. There, no adultery/"cheating".
Bullshit Fantasy Alert. Just insert "women" into the JihadWatch search line and see what comes up. Honor killings, rapes, beatings, stonings, imprisonments, etc., all very common in model Islamic societies.
Islamic Dualism Alert. This applies only to Muslim women or women forced to become Muslim "wives" (rather than become slave sex toys).
Concerned Citizen,
Do not boast and blow a trumpet before your Piety; look inward; your own garbs are all blackened, torn and full of holes!
Sincerely
Adabarez
Concerned Citizen,
Do not boast and blow a trumpet before your Piety; look inward; your own garbs are all blackened, torn and full of holes!
Carry on chasing the goose! How long the clouds will roll by?
Sincerely
Adabarez
Oh, now this would be the time for you to take the plank out of your own eye! Keep trying, Adabarez.
Truth is no enemy to compassion, and falsehood is no friend.
Some feminists routinely refer to American society as a "rape culture." Yet estimates on the prevalence of rape vary wildly. According to the FBI Uniform Crime Report, there were 102,560 reported rapes or attempted rapes in 1990.[1] The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that 130,000 women were victims of rape in 1990.[2] A Harris poll sets the figure at 380,000 rapes or sexual assaults for 1993.[3] According to a study by the National Victims Center, there were 683,000 completed forcible rapes in 1990.[4] The Justice Department says that 8 percent of all American women will be victims of rape or attempted rape in their lifetime. The radical feminist legal scholar Catharine MacKinnon, however, claims that "by conservative definition [rape] happens to almost half of all women at least once in their lives."[5]
Justice Department figures indicate that American Indian and Alaska Native women are 2.5 times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted than women in the United States in general; more than one in three Native women will be raped in their lifetimes.
According to one Oklahoma support worker, of 77 active sexual assault/domestic violence cases involving Native American women, only three victims reported their cases to the police.
Amnesty International, International Secretariat, 1 Easton Street, WC1X 0DW, London, United Kingdom
Sexual Assault Statistics
Occurrence of Rape
Rape is a serious problem in the United States today. The United States has the highest rape rate among countries which report such statistics. It is 4 times higher than that of Germany, 13 times higher than that of England and 20 times higher than that of Japan.
Above is a chart showing the estimated rape rate per 100,000 people in the United States between 1960 and 1998. The rape rate in the US in 1998 was 34.4 per 100,000 persons. In 1997 there was a decrease of 7% in the overall crime rate, but the rate of rape and sexual assault did not decline at all. (National Crime Victimization Survey, 1997)
Women are 10 times more likely than men to be victims of sexual assault (National Crime Victimization Survey, 1997). A study among college women has shown that 1 out of every 5 college age women report being forced to have sexual intercourse. (1995 National College Health Risk Behavior Survey) 22% of all women say that they have been forced to do sexual things against their will, where only 3% of men admit to ever forcing themselves on a woman. (Laumann, 1994)
M e n A g a i n s t S e x u a l A s s a u l t
Truly pathetic, Adabarez/Khokar.
The discussion was on Qur'anic justification for rape. Keep pointing elsewhere and you are never going to get it. The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.
You've already betrayed your comfort with beating women and using them unwillingly for sexual gratification. You think we are now impressed with your tu quoque?
Oslo Muslims Six Times More Likely to Rape
http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/1937
Muslim Rape Epidemic in Sweden and Norway: Authorities Look the Other Way
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1372959/posts
London Imam's Attempt to Carry Out Sunna Gone Awry
http://www.islam-watch.org/AyeshaAhmed/London-Imam-Attempt-to-Carry-Out-Sunna.htm
From Denmark: Muslims & the Rape figures
http://www.danielpipes.org/comments/3157
Outrage as Muslim cleric likens women to 'uncovered meat'
www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=412697&in_page_id=1770