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Raymond Ibrahim: New Fatwa Says Husbands Should Abandon Wives to Rapists in Self Interest

May 30, 2014 8:40 am By Raymond Ibrahim

Sheikh-Yassir-al-Burhamithe-face-of-Egypt’s-Salafi-movementIslam permits Muslim husbands to abandon their wives to rapists in order to save their own lives—so says Dr. Yassir al-Burhami, vice president of Egypt’s Salafi party, the nation’s premiere Islamist party since the Muslim Brotherhood was banned.

Burhami’s fatwa, or Islamic decree, is not altogether surprising. Earlier the Salafi sheikh said that, although a Muslim man may marry non-Muslim women, specifically Christians and Jews, he must hate them—and show them that he hates them—because they are “infidels” (even as he enjoys them sexually).

Indeed, the many fatwas of Dr. Burhami, a pediatrician by training, include banning Muslim cab and bus drivers from transporting Coptic Christian priests to their churches, which he depicted as “more forbidden than taking someone to a liquor bar”; permitting marriage to minor girls; banning Mother’s Day—“even if it saddens your mother”—as a Western innovation; and insisting that Muslims cannot apostatize from Islam—a phenomenon often in the news.

Now in his most recent fatwa—that husbands are permitted to forsake their sexually-assaulted wives in self-interest—Burhami relies on qiyas, or analogy, based on the rulings of a prominent twelfth century jurist: according to Imam ‘Azz bin Abdul Salaam, a Muslim should abandon his possessions to robbers if so doing would safeguard his life.

Based on this logic, Burhami analogizes that the Muslim husband should abandon his wife if defending her jeopardizes his life—as she is just another possession that can easily be replaced.

In the words of a critical Arabic op-ed titled “Manhood according to Burhami!” and written by one Amani Majed, a Muslim woman:

So that which applies to abandoning one’s possessions to thieves and fleeing in fear of one’s life, applies—in Burhami’s view, sorry to say—to one’s wife and daughter.  So if the wife is ever exposed to rape, she is seen as a possession.  The husband is to abandon her to the rapists and escape with his life.  And why not?  For if he loses his possessions, he will replace them; and if his wife is raped, he will marry another, even if she remains alive!

The op-ed goes on to consider the ramifications of Burhami’s logic should every Muslim man follow it: if a policeman patrolling the streets sees a woman—a stranger, not his wife or daughter—being gang-raped, should he intervene, as his job entails, and risk his own person, or should he think only of himself and flee?  Should the Egyptian soldier stand his ground and defend his nation against invaders, or should he flee to preserve his own life?

Three observations:

First: Salafis like Burhami, who try to pattern their lives as literally as possible after Islam’s prophet Muhammad and his original companions—hence the ubiquitous beards and white robes—deserve attention for they are a treasure trove of information on literal Islam.  It’s always the Salafi-minded Muslims who evoke and uphold any number of things deemed absurd or evil in a Western context—from trying to enforce a canonical hadith that compels women to breastfeed adult men (ironically, to protect their “chastity”), to drinking camel urine for good health, to calling for the destruction of all churches.

Of course, even this honesty is contingent on Muslim capability and advantage.  Thus Dr. Burhami himself once said that peace treaties with Israel and other infidels should be respected—that is, until Muslims are capable of reneging and going on a successful offensive.

Still, Salafis are much more frank and honest than other, less overt Islamists, namely the two-faced Muslim Brotherhood, which, now that it has been overthrown in Egypt, has shown its true face—terrorism—causing it to be banned in Egypt.

Second: To be sure, many Muslims—perhaps the majority—reject Burhami’s latest “cowardly husband” fatwa, in agreement with the aforementioned op-ed.  The problem, however, and as usual, is that while they agree that such behavior is unbecoming of a husband, in the realm of Islamic jurisprudence, it is difficult to argue with the Salafi cleric’s logic.  He used qiyas, a legitimate tool of jurisprudence; and the imam whose logic he analogized is widely recognized as an authority in Sunni Islam.

Moreover and despite the sneering tone of the op-ed, women are, in fact, often depicted as little more than chattel for men in Islamic scriptures.

This is the fundamental problem facing all moderate Muslims: despite what they like to believe and due to a variety of historical and epistemological factors, they are heavily influenced by Western thinking—protecting women and the weak in general, or chivalry, is a Christian “innovation”—so whenever they come up against Islamic teachings they cannot fathom, they collectively behave as if such teachings don’t really mean what they mean.

Yet the Salafis know exactly what they mean.

Third: This latest fatwa exemplifies the lure of Salafism.  This brand of literal Islam does not offer anything profound or spiritually satisfying, but it does offer divine sanctioning for unabashed egoism—in this case, forsaking one’s wife to rape in self-interest.

Justifying egoism is not limited to preserving the self but also gratifying it—especially in the context of jihad.  One can go on and on about the other Salafi fatwas permitting rape, incest, and prostitution for those fighting to empower Islam.  Even renowned heroes like Khalid bin al-Walid—the “Sword of Allah”—celebrated in the Muslim world for his jihadi conquests, was, from a less hagiographic perspective, little more than a mass murdering, sadistic rapist.

More generally, Salafi-minded Muslims believe that all non-Muslims can be deceived, cheated, robbed, exploited, enslaved and/or killed—all in the self-interest of the Muslim, seen as one with the self-interest of Islam.

Why do they believe this?  Because from a Salafi point of view, all free non-Muslim “infidels” who do not submit to Islamic law, or Sharia—Americans and Europeans for example—are natural born enemies, or harbis, and thus free game.

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Filed Under: Egypt, Sharia, women's rights in Islam


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Comments

  1. Diane Harvey says

    May 30, 2014 at 9:26 am

    “Sheikh-Yassir-al-Burhamithe-face-of-Egypt’s-Salafi-movementIslam permits Muslim husbands to abandon their wives to rapists in order to save their own lives.”

    All you need to know about the Muslims’ Golden Rule.

  2. Jay Boo says

    May 30, 2014 at 9:28 am

    That head bump is an obvious fake spray on tan imitation.
    Some pious Muslim needs to spy on this guy a catch him with tan spray in hand and then knock him on the forehead a couple of times to give him a real good bump by golly.

    The future must not belong to spray on tan imitators.

  3. Salah says

    May 30, 2014 at 10:57 am

    “..so whenever they (moderate Muslims) come up against Islamic teachings they cannot fathom, they collectively behave as if such teachings don’t really mean what they mean.”

    i.e. They behave according to their decent human nature.
    i.e. They are SUBTLY rejecting Islam.

    And THAT is good.

  4. boakai ngombu says

    May 30, 2014 at 12:11 pm

    the Allah god of Islam (unknowable; the best of all deceivers) is not full of love, but wrath.

    the slave to SHARIA cannot become attached (i.e., love)to his mate; she shall not expect it.

    the slave to SHARIA shall not be weakened to hold sympathy and compassion.

    the slave of SHARIA must protect self, especially when in jihad.

    hear that West Point … ?

    • boakai ngombu says

      May 30, 2014 at 2:02 pm

      and, isn’t it according to the SHARIA that the woman invites rape?

      any selfrespecting slave to SHARIA wouldn’t want his meritorious acts nullified or reduced by coming to the aid of such a woman, even if she is his first wife and has born a boychild

      hear that women?

  5. St. Michael Defend Us says

    May 30, 2014 at 4:09 pm

    Does the man then kill his wife for having illicit sexual relations?

  6. gravenimage says

    May 30, 2014 at 8:46 pm

    Raymond Ibrahim: New Fatwa Says Husbands Should Abandon Wives to Rapists in Self Interest

    Now in his most recent fatwa—that husbands are permitted to forsake their sexually-assaulted wives in self-interest—Burhami relies on qiyas, or analogy, based on the rulings of a prominent twelfth century jurist: according to Imam ‘Azz bin Abdul Salaam, a Muslim should abandon his possessions to robbers if so doing would safeguard his life.

    Based on this logic, Burhami analogizes that the Muslim husband should abandon his wife if defending her jeopardizes his life—as she is just another possession that can easily be replaced.
    ……………………………..

    Nothing unusual here—considering a woman a possession, considering her easily replaceable, lacing all empathy for her suffering, not to mention general cowardice unless waging violent Jihad.

    And this attitude is widespread among Muslims. I was just rereading a graphic novel by the very talented Craig Thompson, “Carnet de Voyage”, a diary of his travels in Europe and north Africa.

    In Morocco, he meets a fellow named Driss:

    “….Driss is fluent in English. We talk religion. He says he is Muslim, but in a casual/personal way. He says he doesn’t often attend mosque or get caught up in dogma, but believes in God and prays.

    “I tell him I believe Muslims, Christians, and Jews all worship the same God, and he agrees…”

    Driss sounds like the very definition of a moderate Muslim, right? Then the author runs into him again later, and Driss invites him to have dinner with his family:

    “We watch Bollywood and Bob Marley videos [again, this means he must be “moderate, right?—GI] while his wife prepares been tagine and eggs fried with leftover meat. I’m comfortable with Driss until he says…

    “‘Women have no value. They are possession like these things in my home.

    ‘According to Islam, a woman stays in the house—cooking, cleaning, taking care of the kids, and doing everything as man says’ [this is a two-room home; he says this right in front of his long-suffering wife—GI]

    “You really *believe that*?”

    “‘Yes. It is the law of Islam’

    “I tell him women and men are entirely equal and that society creates inequalities.

    He agrees, but then says that men are in control. He says he’ll find me a Moroccan wife.

    “‘A woman for the home. 100% quality.

    ‘To cook and clean. Not wear jeans and walk in the streets showing off her body…'”

    Craig Thompson is a devout Christian and generally decent fellow—he is obviously disturbed by this, but, like most Westerners, does not want to think that this actually has anything to do with Islam…

    Can we imagine that Driss—and all those Muslims like him—would do *anything* to defend his wife if she were being attacked? Unless he felt he were being “disrespected” by the rapist, the answer would almost certainly be no…

    After all, if his wife were raped, he could always pick up another wife to cook and clean for him, No problem…

    God, I hate Islam.

    • Salah says

      May 31, 2014 at 2:07 am

      “..the answer would almost certainly be no…”

      Don’t be so sure about that, gravenimage.

      Egyptians react to Burhami’s fatwa:

      Many took to social media to contest both of Burhami’s statements.

      “If am married to Burhami, it’s haram to save him whether I live or die,” said one Twitter user, in reference to his fatwa on rape.

      “May God avenge you, #Burhami you and those like you,” said another.

      “They say the only animal who does not protect his females … is Yasser Burhami,” another Twitter user said.

      Read it all here:
      http://english.alarabiya.net/en/variety/2014/04/25/-Wife-rape-fatwa-sparks-row-in-Egypt.html

  7. petey says

    Jun 2, 2014 at 6:08 am

    The answer is very easy for muslim soldiers RUN! lol they do it every arab israeli war, or any war for that matter…lol

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