Islam against Wife Abuse

[KALKI]

Islam against Wife Abuse

by Yahya Abdul Rahman a.k.a. Shawn N. Smith

Since there are some in the Muslim community that believe it is halal to smack their wives around because the woman is the property of the man, an unislamic idea in the first place, I thought it would be good to send out this important reminder. I know many people would like to see this issue not talked about as it is airing our dirty laundry in public, but it must be talked about and dealt with as Allah commands us to stand up for justice even if it is against our ownselves. We in the Muslim community should not tolerate our sisters being abused in anyway and should actively take measures to insure that this abuse ceases.

If you know of someone who is being abused it is haram for you to remain silent and you will be held accountable before Allah if you do not speak out. I personally hold in contempt any man who beats his wife and then comes to the mosque with all his outward signs of piety with the false assumption he is practicing the sunnah. This man is nothing more than a two-bit hypocrite. As the old saying goes, "why does he not pick on someone his own size?" Cowards rarely do that.

I am reminded of a sister who was recently being being abused by her Muslim husband. She went to the Imam looking for divorce. What was the Imam's responce you ask? He said: "What have you done to your husband to drive him to do this to you?" Need I say more?

We are always screaming the rights of women in Islam (which I am convinced that most Muslims only play lip service to) and are also complaining that we as a community are sterotyped and misunderstood by western society, but if we are committing actions like this then what can we expect? If Muslim women the world over knew their rights in Islam and how they are being systematically abused and ripped off, there would be a massive revolution against men to re-assert their rights. In the years I have been Muslim I have personally heard enough horror stories to make me sick to my stomach.

I am tired of other Muslims apologizing for these abusive people, and we need to take active steps of rectify this sad situation.

[pool_playa]

Part of the problem is that every man's family business is his own. Islam makes any kind of police force bankrupt.

[pool_playa]

Pakistan rejects pro-women bill
The Pakistan government has allied with Islamists to reject a bill which sought to strengthen the law against the practice of "honour killing".

The parliament rejected the bill by a majority vote on Tuesday, declaring it to be un-Islamic.

Honour killing is the name given to murders where the offender claims the victim, usually a woman, had brought his family into disrepute.

The bill was rejected after being declared un-Islamic by a majority vote.

Law Minister Wasi Zafar told parliament that there was no need for further amendments in the country's penal code after an amendment bill was passed last December.

However, the opposition - along with several women members from the government benches - has continued to call for further amendments, arguing that the law remained riddled with many loopholes despite the amendment.

Tuesday's bill was introduced by Ms Kashmala Tariq, a member of the ruling Muslim League.

"Karo-kari"

Under the so-called Islamic legislation enacted by General Zia ul Haq, Pakistan's Islamist military ruler in the 1980s, proven killers could seek or buy pardon from the victim's family under the Islamic principles of compromise.

The law has remained essentially unchanged since then.

Observers say that it has been grossly misused and has contributed directly to an alarming increase in the practice of "karo-kari" or the so-called honour killings.

Karo-kari is a tradition whereby a man can kill a woman, claiming that she brought dishonour to the family, and still expect to be pardoned by her relatives.

Once such a pardon has been secured, the state has no further writ on the matter.

Women victims

Human rights agencies in Pakistan have repeatedly emphasised that most women falling prey to karo-kari were usually those wanting to marry of their own will.

In many cases, the victims held properties that the male members of their families did not wish to lose if the women chose to marry outside the family.

Government and independent researchers estimate that over 4,000 women have fallen victim to this practice in Pakistan over the last six years.

In December last year, the government passed a bill making karo-kari punishable under the same penal provisions as murder.

But it did not alter the provisions whereby the accused could negotiate pardon with the victim's family under the so-called Islamic provisions.

These provisions often in conflict with the Anglo-Saxon law inherited by Pakistan in 1947.

Observers in Pakistan say that the defeat of Ms Tariq's bill is a clear indication of the influence that the conservatives still wield on policy-making in Pakistan, despite President Musharraf's liberal outlook.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/h...ia/4311055.stm