This is no surprise. Islamic tradition records that Muhammad consummated his marriage with (i.e., raped) Aisha when she was nine, and the resultant fact that child marriage is accepted in wide swaths of the Islamic world. Child marriage has abundant attestation in Islamic tradition and law.
Turkey’s directorate of religious affairs (Diyanet) said in January 2018 that under Islamic law, girls as young as nine can marry.
“Islam has no age barrier in marriage and Muslims have no apology for those who refuse to accept this” — Ishaq Akintola, professor of Islamic Eschatology and Director of Muslim Rights Concern, Nigeria
“There is no minimum marriage age for either men or women in Islamic law. The law in many countries permits girls to marry only from the age of 18. This is arbitrary legislation, not Islamic law.” — Dr. Abd Al-Hamid Al-‘Ubeidi, Iraqi expert on Islamic law
There is no minimum age for marriage and that girls can be married “even if they are in the cradle.” — Dr. Salih bin Fawzan, prominent cleric and member of Saudi Arabia’s highest religious council
“Islam does not forbid marriage of young children.” — Pakistan’s Council of Islamic Ideology
Hadiths that Muslims consider authentic record that Muhammad’s favorite wife, Aisha, was six when Muhammad wedded her and nine when he consummated the marriage:
“The Prophet wrote the (marriage contract) with Aisha while she was six years old and consummated his marriage with her while she was nine years old and she remained with him for nine years (i.e. till his death)” (Bukhari 7.62.88).
Another tradition has Aisha herself recount the scene:
The Prophet engaged me when I was a girl of six (years). We went to Medina and stayed at the home of Bani-al-Harith bin Khazraj. Then I got ill and my hair fell down. Later on my hair grew (again) and my mother, Um Ruman, came to me while I was playing in a swing with some of my girl friends. She called me, and I went to her, not knowing what she wanted to do to me. She caught me by the hand and made me stand at the door of the house. I was breathless then, and when my breathing became all right, she took some water and rubbed my face and head with it. Then she took me into the house. There in the house I saw some Ansari women who said, “Best wishes and Allah’s Blessing and a good luck.” Then she entrusted me to them and they prepared me (for the marriage). Unexpectedly Allah’s Apostle came to me in the forenoon and my mother handed me over to him, and at that time I was a girl of nine years of age. (Bukhari 5.58.234).
Muhammad was at this time fifty-four years old.
Marrying young girls was not all that unusual for its time, but because in Islam Muhammad is the supreme example of conduct (cf. Qur’an 33:21), he is considered exemplary in this unto today. And so in April 2011, the Bangladesh Mufti Fazlul Haque Amini declared that those trying to pass a law banning child marriage in that country were putting Muhammad in a bad light: “Banning child marriage will cause challenging the marriage of the holy prophet of Islam, [putting] the moral character of the prophet into controversy and challenge.” He added a threat: “Islam permits child marriage and it will not be tolerated if any ruler will ever try to touch this issue in the name of giving more rights to women.” The Mufti said that 200,000 jihadists were ready to sacrifice their lives for any law restricting child marriage.
Likewise the influential website Islamonline.com in December 2010 justified child marriage by invoking not only Muhammad’s example, but the Qur’an as well:
The Noble Qur’an has also mentioned the waiting period [i.e. for a divorced wife to remarry] for the wife who has not yet menstruated, saying: “And those who no longer expect menstruation among your women, if you doubt, then their period is three months, and [also for] those who have not menstruated” [Qur’an 65:4]. Since this is not negated later, we can take from this verse that it is permissible to have sexual intercourse with a prepubescent girl. The Qur’an is not like the books of jurisprudence which mention what the implications of things are, even if they are prohibited. It is true that the prophet entered into a marriage contract with A’isha when she was six years old, however he did not have sex with her until she was nine years old, according to al-Bukhari.
Other countries make Muhammad’s example the basis of their laws regarding the legal marriageable age for girls. Article 1041 of the Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran states that girls can be engaged before the age of nine, and married at nine: “Marriage before puberty (nine full lunar years for girls) is prohibited. Marriage contracted before reaching puberty with the permission of the guardian is valid provided that the interests of the ward are duly observed.”
According to Amir Taheri in The Spirit of Allah: Khomeini and the Islamic Revolution (pp. 90-91), Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini himself married a ten-year-old girl when he was twenty-eight. Khomeini called marriage to a prepubescent girl “a divine blessing,” and advised the faithful to give their own daughters away accordingly: “Do your best to ensure that your daughters do not see their first blood in your house.” When he took power in Iran, he lowered the legal marriageable age of girls to nine, in accord with Muhammad’s example.
“‘A race against time’: the new law putting Somalia’s children at risk of marriage,” by Moulid Hujale, Guardian, September 3, 2020 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
Fardowsa Salat Mohamed was 15 when her cousin asked her parents for her hand in marriage. Her father did not hesitate to say yes. When Mohamed objected, her father asked her to choose between “a curse and a blessing”.
“That was not a choice for me, I was basically forced,” she says. “No girl would ever choose to be cursed by her parents so I had to accept the marriage,”
Mohamed, who is from the town of Baidoa in south-central Somalia, was at school, dreaming of becoming a doctor. She had to drop everything and become a wife. Three years later, Mohamed was divorced with two children. She is now back living at her parents’ house.
According to the latest government figures, 34% of Somali girls are married before they reach 18, and 16% of them before their 15th birthday.
While children are married off for different reasons, such as the economic benefit of a dowry, and an increase in child marriage cases has been reported during the coronavirus pandemic, early marriage is rooted in Somali culture. An old Somali saying goes: “Gabadh ama god hakaaga jirto ama gunti rag,” which loosely translates as “a girl should either be married or in a grave”.
Marriage under 18 is not illegal, although Somalia’s constitution prohibits it and the country is signed up to several international treaties promising to tackle it. In July 2014, the government signed a charter committing to end child marriage by 2020. But in August, the Somali parliament tabled a controversial bill that would allow a child to be married once they reached puberty, which can mean 10 years old. The sexual intercourse related crimes bill would also allow marriage if parents consented. The UN has called the bill “deeply flawed”.
The new bill has been fiercely criticised after MPs realised that it was different from a sexual offences bill unanimously adopted in 2018 by ministers but not enacted, which sought to prevent child marriage, and effectively criminalise a wide range of sexual offences.
Last year, the speaker of the house returned the draft bill, which has been in development since 2013, to the cabinet requesting changes. It remained dormant until two weeks ago when a new version was introduced under a new name: the sexual intercourse related crimes bill….
Christopher Watson says
There is very little as sickening as the rape and sexual abuse of girls as young as 9. Any animal as depraved as this who is found in Europe should be whipped to within an inch of his death. Any ‘imam’ who believes this should not be allowed into a civilised country.
mortimer says
One of the most disturbing things about Islam is that it does not categorically condemn pedophilia. Indeed, it cannot, for to do so would draw attention to the pedophilia of Mohammed, the founder of Islam.
Pedophilia is the sexual exploitation of children. The Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders says that pedophilia is “an abnormal interest in children…a disorder that is characterized by recurrent intense sexual urges and sexually arousing fantasies generally involving…children, or other nonconsenting persons. Pedophilia is also a psychosexual disorder in which the fantasy or actual act of engaging in sexual activity with prepubertal children is the preferred or exclusive means of achieving sexual excitement and gratification.
The Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders says: “Some pedophiles offer rationalizations or excuses that enable them to avoid assuming responsibility for their actions.”
Mohammed rationalized and excused every urge to dominate and control others, even to commit the sin of pedophilia, by using Allah as his alter ego, offering him a perfect justification for his other brutalities as well.
Obviously, we all cringe when we think of pedophilia and acknowledge that it is a shameful act of immorality. Muslims rather than retreating from pedophilia and penalizing, permit pedophilia by protecting it in law!
Pedophilia is well-disguised in Islam … at least for morally blinded Muslims.
gravenimage says
Christopher, this is orthodox Islam.
tim gallagher says
gravenimage and mortimer, and also other knowledgeable people, who know a lot more about islam than I do, I would like to know what the attitude would be in what you would call the more moderate Muslim countries (say, Turkey, although it is becoming more hardline) towards this obscenity of girls as young as 9 or 10 being married off and being used sexually. I think that Islam is barbaric and evil in its attitude towards many aspects of human life, but, to my mind, this paedophilia, this sexualisation of very young girls, is a very important thing, because I believe that almost anyone in the world, or any sane person, can see clearly that this is morally very wrong. It is obviously wrong. Would moderate Muslims, say Turks, say, yes, this is evil and there is no way that we support it? I feel that, when it comes to that Muslim, Ismail, that goes on with a load of crap here at Jihad Watch, I would simply ask him whether he supports 9 year old girls being married off, and, if he said yes, that’s just fine, I would say, well, that shows what an evil creature you are, because you are supporting something that pretty well everyone in the world knows is clearly evil. So my question is, would almost all Muslims think marrying off 9 year old girls is OK, or would many of them say, no, that is evil and we don’t agree with it? Places like Somalia, Pakistan, et al, seem to be really backward, primitive places.
gravenimage says
Tim, here is a story from Turkey:
“Turkey: Religious Affairs Ministry says it’s permissible for girls to be married at age nine”
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/08/turkey-religious-affairs-ministry-says-its-permissible-for-girls-to-be-married-at-age-nine
This is from just a few weeks ago.
And this, from the month before that:
“Turkey: ‘Banning Early Marriages is Fighting Against Allah’”
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/07/turkey-banning-early-marriages-is-fighting-against-allah
Islam is Islam. Turkey has just had the lingering effects of Kemalism to somewhat blunt the full horrors of this creed.
tim gallagher says
Thanks for the information, gravenimage . My feeling is that marrying off girls as young as that is so obviously wrong that it is one of those things that is indefensible. But, as you say, islam is islam, to my mind there are endless totally barbaric things that Islam condones. I mean the idea that people who don’t believe in islam’s bullshit should be killed is horrendous, the honour killings, etc. To my mind, looking at Islam is like looking way back into the past, looking at the way primitive savages lived, except here it is existing side by side with civilised people who have evolved over time. It seems so crazy to invite such people, who believe in such primitive garbage, to migrate to our countries and live among us. As you say, Turkey, which I thought would have been influenced by its close proximity to civilised European countries, seems to be going back to becoming a garbage Muslim country. Probably the main thing for me is that the idea that Islam deserves any respect at all is ridiculous, that’s for sure.
gravenimage says
Yes–just horrifying, Tim.
J Morgan says
Mufti Fazlul Haque Amini declared that those trying to pass a law banning child marriage in that country were putting Muhammad in a bad light: “Banning child marriage will cause challenging the marriage of the holy prophet of Islam, [putting] the moral character of the prophet into controversy and challenge.”
Mohammed’s moral character is more than just questionable. He was a terrible example for people to follow. He gathered his followers under the blade of a knife. The threats of death or humiliation were the only options he left for anyone he encountered.
Probably his 9 year old wife Aisha was not able to conceive children because of having relations with Mohammed when she was so young.
This would be a terrible law for children.
The good news if this law doesn’t pass, “The Mufti said that 200,000 jihadists were ready to sacrifice their lives for any law restricting child marriage.”
That’s 200,000 fewer jihadis. The bad news is they always try to take innocent lives with them.
mortimer says
The issue of pedophilia shows Mohammed to be a perverted sex addict and a false prophet.
J Morgan says
Indeed, Mortimer.
If a person were a pedophile or a thug, they would find lots of cover in Islam, justification for their violent, anti social low-brow antics. Islam, Muhammad’s example, justifies the worst of human behavior.
gravenimage says
Yep.
Rob says
it’s men who do these things in name of religion. Awful. My God is loving and kind. Hmm more than one God
owensgate says
10? Why 10? Don’t they believe in their own sharia? Wasn’t mohammad right taking a 9 yr old? Islamic blasphemy! Allah will curse them!
spiro. says
And to think the mother’s of these girls go along with this so called religion of the pedophile
European pagan says
I read a good book, about a somalian girl who ran away from home because she didn’t want to marry an old man and later she had a much better future. /Desert flower/
I wish more somalian people will wake up.
gravenimage says
Here’s that book, European pagan:
https://www.amazon.com/Desert-Flower-Extraordinary-Journey-Nomad/dp/0688172377
Thanks for the reference.
elee says
Does anyone outside the building where they meet particularly care what the Somali “Legislature” has to say? Outside the front door that benighted populace lives in 7th-century Arabia and seems to like their short and unpleasant lives that way. And anyone inclined to try to intervene, go watch Blackhawk Down. First world, go defend the Christians under attack in so many other places in Africa & whatever you do don’t try to feed starving Somalis.
Agostino Armo Pellegrini says
Somalia: Bill introduced in parliament that would allow a girl to be married as young as 10 years old
Back before muslims began swamping our lands with fake refugees stories like this didn’t mean too much to me. I could rationalize it by saying it’s their problem, let them work it out for themselves. It felt eclectic and open minded if I didn’t judge other nations and the problems they faced. But 9/11 forced me to open my eyes to the evils in islam and start taking it personally. And the more I learned the worse it seemed. And then more acts of terror started happening, and they tried to kill Spencer in Texas with our other heroes. I started reading Spencer’s books and listening to Wilders and Geller and the smart warnings they had to offer. And then I looked at Europe and the new terrors muslims were bringing in, and it looked like much of the world was crumbling for islam. And then I began to notice all the lies leftists were spitting out, the loss of freedom, and the new surveillance state we’re living in, all thanks to the jihad threat muslims bring. There came a point where I could no longer run from the ugly truth:islam is not some far off problem, it’s a giant monkey on the backs of every decent person on earth. I think there are many people who share my story, patriots who are terrified of the horrible changes muslims are causing in our nation and around the world.
Child marriage in islam is rape. It denies young girls the right to decide their own love and marriage commitments with free will when they are best able to decide. It’s a humanitarian crime we can no longer ignore. Child rape is only one of many crimes and sins of islam, but it’s got to be one of its most insidious. Tommy Robinson knows this and that’s why his own government set him up to be “clipped” in the can. He was embarrassing them with the ugly truth. The guy is a true hero for kids, I admire him immensely. Humanity will always be in the sewer of life until we rid ourselves of this sick muslim practice. This is why muslims don’t want to forsake the teachings of islam, because it excuses their worst practices and conquering ambitions. Men of all faiths–or no faith–will always be prone to evil, but when evil is codified in a major religion–ISLAM–then it has infected the collective consciousness like a tape worm in the intestines. Muslims’ evil practices and aspirations are similiar in that they parasitize the host nation until it dies, we see that happening before our eyes. Frustratingly muslims won’t be able to clean their own immoral butts of this filth, they’ll need the moral guidance that only the civilized world can give. Therefore…
…stand firm! and resist the moral retardation that muslims’ culture and religion teach and condone. Or we too will become tape worms for allah! Yuk! who in the hell wants to be a tape worm? NOT ME!
gravenimage says
+1
talleyrand says
+1
Mary Minshall says
The link, (thanks to The Religion of Peace) is false; it is clickbait linking to a home improvement supply store. The real link to “The Religion of Peace” is https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/
gravenimage says
Somalia: Bill introduced in parliament that would allow a girl to be married as young as 10 years old
……………………..
This is horrifying–but no surprise, since the “Prophet” Muhammed started raping his child bride Aisha when she was just nine.
Arthur Sido says
I sure want to be lectured more on the errors of “White supremacy” from Somali Ilhan Omar and her ilk.
James Lincoln says
The fake prophet mohammed was a mass murdering pedophile.
islam should be avoided like the bubonic plague, given no respect, and crushed like a bug at every opportunity…
E T says
The Jaffari Mosque in Thornhill, Toronto, Canada, Imam Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi and resident scholar at the 9000 Bathurst Street Mosque in Vaughan, Ontario states in his book : “If an individual finds it difficult to control his or her sexual desire, then the only way to fulfill the sexual desire is muta. I cannot overemphasize the temporary nature of muta.
He believes sex with a nine girl is acceptable, if it occurs within muta (temporary) or permanent marriage. The muta marriage is performed by an Imam for a fee.
In Canada, sex with a nine year old would be considered rape by a pedophile and the person accepting a fee for such a crime would be classed as a pimp.
Why has Imam Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi not been deported? What ever happened to Canadian values and Canadian laws? SHHHHHHH This Is diversity.
gravenimage says
Yes–hideous. He should have been deported long since.
Keith O says
Deported to the perfect Mudslime paradise,,,HELL!
john smith says
What I find difficult to comprehend is, that Muslims actually believe that Muhammad was the most perfect exemplary model for all mankind to emulate.
It goes beyond all logic that such an evil persons actions are deemed as righteous.
While they are so blinded by the darkness of Islam they will never see the light.
Keith O says
I have often wondered what the reaction of modern civilized nations would be if someone tried to establish Islam today?
If Mohammad had been born in say 1960-1970 and tried to create a new religion with all of it’s perversions, blood lust, slavery and lies.
Would the result be any different if it had happened in the 1870s?
The only way this barbaric “religion” was allow to thrive was because it came about during a barbaric phase of human history.
But unlike the rest of humanity it didn’t evolve, it stayed in the 7th century with all it’s superstition and primitive behaviors.
And that is where it belongs, in the dark past of human history.
Vladimir says
No. Islam is very much in accord with unredeemed and fallen human nature, ”perfect” for natural sinful mankind with all it’s urges and desires, as uncomfortable as that might make some feel. It has simple but legalistic rules to govern one’s life by, and for the attainment of eternal life without grace. It has simple answers for every question under the sun. The fact that it isn’t true though should bother anyone with a conscience..
James Lincoln says
Keith O,
I have to agree with you.
It could have only come about during a “barbaric phase of human history”…
J Morgan says
Well put, Keith O.
E T says
Too many loons are quick to call you racist ISLAMOPHOBIC and many other @#@&$*$# not so nice names if you say anything about Shari’ah law. They haven’t a clue what Shari’ah law states but they do know Islam is a Religion of Peace.
It is run by an oppressive group of nasty men who have full control over women and children and abuse them and do whatever their penis desires. I do believe most women would leave if they thought they could get away and not be killed.
My grandmother despised all things Islam and would often say East is East, and West is West and never the twain shall meet. She died many many years ago and by God did she know what she was talking about. Here we are in 2020 and look at the mess the world is in, and how much of the rot has been a direct result of global migration.
Muslims are not here to integrate, the Imams and the Muslim Brotherhood hoods keep telling us, they are here to dominate. “Shari’ah law supersedes all laws of any land”.
Qur’an 8:12
All politicians should be required to read the Qur’an. President Trump should hire Robert Spencer.
J Morgan says
“All politicians should be required to read the Qur’an. President Trump should hire Robert Spencer.”
Hear, hear!
ET says
I sent President Trump an email asking him to hire Robert Spencer to teach the truth about Islam. It would be a giant step in stopping the Muslim Brotherhood hoods/CAIR and their plan to take over America.
J Morgan says
That’s great! For sure, ET.
Otis says
Why hasn’t Ismail Ali commented on this topic? As Mortimer said, you’ll be depressed by what your fellow Muslims are doing and get reported here at JW.I believe that you’re now in a big trance and can’t accept this story.It’s only a deranged person who can deny the evidence that Mr Spencer presents here.Ismail Ali,I wish you all the best as I can see you become an apostate.
Walter Sieruk says
The Islamic practice of an adult male Muslim having a marriage with a little girl who is only a child is clearly seen by most Westerners as a blatant action of child abuse of the vilest sort.
Nevertheless this heinous Islam tradition is accepted as “normal “in most of the Islamic world. Therefore, this may serve as an example of how the influence of Islam is able to warp the cogitation of the human mind to the extent that a person who is a Muslim might not be able to understand the obvious difference between right and wrong.
Such an awful thing as not having the discerning mental power to seethe clear difference is described in the Bible. For in Isaiah 5:20. “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil…” [N.K.J.V.]
Walter Sieruk says
A jihadwatch.org article explains it well where it reads Islamic tradition records that Muhammad consummated his marriage with (i.e., raped) Aisha when she was nine, and the resultant fact that child marriage is accepted in wide swaths of the Islamic world. Child marriage has abundant attestation in Islamic tradition and law.”.
Male Muslim marriage of an adult man to a young girl who is really only a child of common in the world of Islam. One of the “reasons” for this female child abuse in Islam is because of the corrupt and perverse wickedness in the hearts of men. This is seen and described in the Bible with reads “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9. [N.K.J.V.]
Furthermore, another “reason” girl/child marriages occur with middle aged and even old men is because the founder and prophet of Islam Muhammad married a child. Muslims throughout history as well as in current times actually view Muhammad as a “perfect man” and a “great example for them to follow.”
This well might prove the old saying to be true .The saying is that “Evil is always looking for an excuse.”
It’s also wise to remember prophet Muhammad did likewise engaged in brutal, ruthless murderous warfare. As do Muslims today such as the jihadist Muslim of ISIS, al Qaeda, Hezbollah Hamas and so forth. Many that old saying, just sited above, also explains the excuse for Muslim terrorism in the world today.
Jesus Himself Taught “By their fruits you will know them.” Matthew 7:20. Which might explain the vile child “marriage” of Muhammad and his violent and deadly behavior .Likewise also explains the twenty- first century Muslims who in child marriages and blood and murderous violence of Islam .As they see the prophet Muhammad d as their example of who to follow.
With all this about the fruits of Islam along with fruits history reveals about the life of the prophet of Islam, Muhammad .It thus further appropriate to make known that it might be in keeping with teaching of Jesus that Muhammad could well have been an actual prophet . Nevertheless the very most important thing to understand is the Muhammad was not a prophet send by God . Instead Muhammad was a lying deceptive false prophet send by Satan to start a false religion to lead many people astray.
For Jesus taught “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” Matthew 7:15.
E T says
Jesus also taught “Love one another”, not dominate through jihad.
OLD GUY says
There you go total control of the female starting at childhood, a muslims mans dream.
Muslim macho man can’t stand the thought that a women might be equal or smarter than a man. How sad for a race of people that they are know best as pedophilic, rapist and murders. Islam is destroying the world but nobody wants to admit it.
E T says
Anyone in their right mind, who has an IQ over 70, knows it is not normal to marry a baby and thighing is practiced by lunatics.
Old Guy, Muslims are not a race, nor do they follow a credible religion, more like an oppressive cult. Justine Trudeau tells Canadians not to say ISIS or barbarians, that is hate speech. The feckless freak also says bad thoughts are hate speech. If he could read my mind…………
Giacomo Latta says
Amazing what difference a topic makes to the type of respondents. Topics like this make the Leftards disappear from this site. It seems they must defend Islam for other reasons, not that there are any good other reasons.
gravenimage says
Mostly leftist apologists for Islam like to pretend that all of this is just a “tiny minority of extremists”. Hard to do that when this is the Somali parliament.
Jim says
Not defending this at all, but we need to clean our own house. California does not have an age limit for marriage..I’ve emailed my rep to no avail.
gravenimage says
Yes, California is one of the states where this can be decided in the courts, which I believe is a mistake.
But your implication that Californian children as young as ten are being married off to old pedophiles is of course quite false. But this *could* be exploited by Muslims, which makes it even more concerning.
But the idea that this hence means that we have to ignore the horrors of sacralized child rape in Islam is *quite* false.