A B-BBC reader writes;
“Today were hear that “Muslim women complain about Sharia inquiries”.
I misread the headline and thought that the story was that Muslim women were complaining about the blatant sexism and misogyny in Sharia and Islam as whole. You know, honour killings, forced marriages, domestic violence, sexual assault et al.
How stupid of me.
The Beeb chooses not to look at what the Qur’an or the Hadith say or their sanctions, such as:
· Wife beating is permissible;
· Raping your wife is permissible;
· Raping your female captives is permissible;
· Sex slaves in general are permissible;
· Child marriage is permissible;
· Child sex is permissible;
· Mo himself said that women have “defective” minds;
· A Muslim man can have multiple wives but a Muslim woman can’t have multiple husbands;
· A Muslim man can marry a Christian or Jew but a Muslim woman can’t;
· The skewed divorce rules;
· A woman’s testimony is worth less than a man;
· A woman’s inheritance is worth less than a man.
Alas, no. Instead, the perfect storm for the BBC; the feminist line that women are oppressed by the patriarchy and the Islamphile line that one of the biggest genuine subjugators of women is not Islam but evil Western society.
“More than 100 Muslim women have complained about their treatment under two government probes into Sharia law…but some women have signed an open letter and said the aim is to ban Sharia councils, not reform them.”
The victim narrative of how Muslim women are being oppressed by the West – and not Muslim men – is soon evident. Shaista Gohir, the chair of Muslim Women’s Network UK, said the inquiries could “patronise women”, which is in and of itself patronising.
“I do feel that there are people who are anti-faith, particularly anti-Islam, who are using women’s rights as a guise, wanting to abolish Sharia councils….If tomorrow or next year you shut down Sharia councils, what would result is Muslim women stuck in marriages, abusive marriages sometimes, and the Sharia divorce service would actually go underground.
In other words, English law apparently has no jurisdiction for these women. They want to live under Sharia and all its grossness and we should accept that, which is why the Beeb omits the wider teachings of Islam to make Shaira sound legitimate.
Don’t get me wrong, the general concept that Muslim women have it tough is painfully true. However, it is not from government Sharia inquires but at the hands of Muslim men and Islam generally.
Aisha – who herself knows the harsh side of Islam was after marrying Mo at six and being raped at nine – said it best.
As Sahih al-Bukhari 5825 explains, Aisha brought the Profiteer (sic) a woman who had been beaten so hard her bruises were green. Mo dismissed her, saying she deserved it. Before that though, Aisha’s line: “I have not seen any woman suffering as much as the believing women.”
I wish someone would point out that if Muslim women choose to suffer, it does not make them free.”
