https://mateenelass.wordpress.com/2021/07/30/therapeutic-beatings-anyone/
Evil ideologies employ evil justifications. They endure, not because people believe the justifications but because they are enforced by brutality and terror. Religious evil ideologies are the worst of all, for they claim divine sanction, which cannot be questioned for fear of ultimate eternal punishment.
Those who champion some evil system find themselves willing to defend all manner of wickedness in order to justify positions which ordinary mortals, armed with common sense, quickly recognize as evil.
A case in point is the treatment of women in Islam. Recently an “expert” in Islamic law, Dr. Ziyad Miqdad, was interviewed on Al-Aqsa TV in Gaza (you can watch the video here). Employed as a “scholar” at the Islamic University of Gaza, Miqdad serves as the head of the Fatwa Committee at the university, and presumably sits on the “faculty of Law and Sharia.” (It’s impossible to verify this on the university’s dated and incomplete official website.)
In the televised interview on July 8th, Miqdad is asked to justify wife-beating, which he does with conviction. He has to, you see, because wife-beating is sanctioned in the Qur’an and Islamic holy tradition teaches that Muhammad both engaged in it and recommended it to his close companions. Wife-beating is actually a good thing, the Muslim expert contends.
Before we dissect his argument, let me remind you of what the Qur’an has to say about wives in particular, and women in general.
The key chapter, entitled “The Women,” grants men the right to marry up to four wives at any one time (4:3), and grants men authority over women (the Hilali-Khan translation among others renders this “men are in charge of women”) for two reasons: first, men excel women [though we are not told precisely how]; and second, men spend from their property to maintain them (4:34). Hence, “virtuous” women show themselves to be obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah has commanded them to guard (this somewhat cryptic statement applies primarily to a wife’s private parts, which she is to guard chastely for her husband alone). The rest of this problematic verse contains the permission granted husbands to beat their wives. Let me quote it in full:
“And those you fear may be rebellious admonish; banish them to their couches, and beat them. If they then obey you, look not for any way against them; God is All-high, All-great.” (Arberry translation).
The first thing to note here is that Muslim husbands can take action against their wives if they fear rebellion (this word is capable of numerous related meanings: ill-conduct, arrogance, disloyalty, disobedience, desertion). There doesn’t have to be objective evidence of a wife’s rebellion against her husband, only the husband’s fear that this might be the case.
The actions prescribed in this verse are seen by most Muslim commentators as steps of escalation until the wife submits in obedience once again. First, the husband is to warn his wife of the consequences of her willfulness; should that admonition be unsuccessful, he then escalates her punishment by refusing to share the marital bed with her (i.e., cutting off any physical intimacy and favored status among other wives, if any); should that still fail to bring her to willing submission, he is to beat her until she is ready to obey.
The Arabic text does not give any qualifiers to the verb, variously translated as “beat, strike, smite.” To lessen the barbarity, translators aware of Western sensibilities have added the adverb “lightly” though the text does not justify this interpolation.
Let us return to the interview with Miqdad, who must offer justification for this inhumane and chauvinistic divine command. The goal of beating (which is always a last resort, he says) is to “correct the wife and warn her that she did something wrong.” She is to blame, and if her behavior is not amended, she will be the cause of the destruction of the family and of the adverse futures for the children and the marriage itself. “”The purpose of [wife] beating is to warn the wife that the life of the family is in danger, and that the martial relations are in danger, and that she should be cautious and not let the family be destroyed….” She must mend her ways so as to protect family life.
It never enters Miqdad’s mind that the husband might have acted in ways that destroy the harmony of the family; if there is any familial discord, the wife is at fault and she must change her ways or face her husband’s displeasure. This is the will of Allah.
Of course, according to Miqdad and many other Islamic apologists, the wife is not supposed to become the husband’s punching bag (though nothing in the Qur’an prevents this). According to Islamic tradition, wife-beating comes with certain caveats: husbands “… should avoid hitting sensitive parts like the face or vital organs;” “it should not be a hard and vindictive beating;” in fact, the Islamic scholar says, “it should be a therapeutic beating rather than a vindictive one.” After all, he remarks, “we are talking about your wife.” Quoting an old Egyptian saying, “The beloved’s fist is as sweet as raisins,” Miqdad implies that wives actually appreciate being beaten by the husbands, because it is a sign of love. It shows them how much they are valued by their men.
I’ll let these final words speak for themselves:
“The husband’s beating of his wife – if it happens at all – should be like a guy beating his sweetheart. Join me in picturing what beating someone you love should look like. It is like when a father beats his son, or when a mother beats her daughter for doing something wrong.”
Like a guy beating his sweetheart, like when a father beats his son, when a mother beats her daughter – these are all therapeutic beatings, though. Nothing vindictive is allowed.
In Miqdad’s world, in the world prescribed by Allah, there’s “a whole lotta beatin’ goin’ on.”
Only therapeutic beatings, however.
How is it possible that such evil can be justified in the name of God? Well, the god in question, or course, is Allah, and the prophet through which such “revelation” has come to the world is Muhammad, who not only condoned but practiced and commended such behaviors. Ziyad Miqdad is only being true to his master. As the Qur’an says, “It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should [thereafter] have any choice about their affair” (33.36).
C. S. Lewis once wrote, “Of all bad men, religious bad men are the worst” (from Reflections on the Psalms). Dr. Miqdad is just the latest “Exhibit A” corroborating this sad fact Any religious system attributing evil to God and commanding it of his followers deserves to be pilloried and exposed until the light of truth fully dispels the darkness of malevolence. Islam must, and one day will, crumble. That day cannot come too soon.
Evil ideologies employ evil justifications. They endure, not because people believe the justifications but because they are enforced by brutality and terror. Religious evil ideologies are the worst of all, for they claim divine sanction, which cannot be questioned for fear of ultimate eternal punishment.
Those who champion some evil system find themselves willing to defend all manner of wickedness in order to justify positions which ordinary mortals, armed with common sense, quickly recognize as evil.
A case in point is the treatment of women in Islam. Recently an “expert” in Islamic law, Dr. Ziyad Miqdad, was interviewed on Al-Aqsa TV in Gaza (you can watch the video here). Employed as a “scholar” at the Islamic University of Gaza, Miqdad serves as the head of the Fatwa Committee at the university, and presumably sits on the “faculty of Law and Sharia.” (It’s impossible to verify this on the university’s dated and incomplete official website.)
In the televised interview on July 8th, Miqdad is asked to justify wife-beating, which he does with conviction. He has to, you see, because wife-beating is sanctioned in the Qur’an and Islamic holy tradition teaches that Muhammad both engaged in it and recommended it to his close companions. Wife-beating is actually a good thing, the Muslim expert contends.
Before we dissect his argument, let me remind you of what the Qur’an has to say about wives in particular, and women in general.
The key chapter, entitled “The Women,” grants men the right to marry up to four wives at any one time (4:3), and grants men authority over women (the Hilali-Khan translation among others renders this “men are in charge of women”) for two reasons: first, men excel women [though we are not told precisely how]; and second, men spend from their property to maintain them (4:34). Hence, “virtuous” women show themselves to be obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah has commanded them to guard (this somewhat cryptic statement applies primarily to a wife’s private parts, which she is to guard chastely for her husband alone). The rest of this problematic verse contains the permission granted husbands to beat their wives. Let me quote it in full:
“And those you fear may be rebellious admonish; banish them to their couches, and beat them. If they then obey you, look not for any way against them; God is All-high, All-great.” (Arberry translation).
The first thing to note here is that Muslim husbands can take action against their wives if they fear rebellion (this word is capable of numerous related meanings: ill-conduct, arrogance, disloyalty, disobedience, desertion). There doesn’t have to be objective evidence of a wife’s rebellion against her husband, only the husband’s fear that this might be the case.
The actions prescribed in this verse are seen by most Muslim commentators as steps of escalation until the wife submits in obedience once again. First, the husband is to warn his wife of the consequences of her willfulness; should that admonition be unsuccessful, he then escalates her punishment by refusing to share the marital bed with her (i.e., cutting off any physical intimacy and favored status among other wives, if any); should that still fail to bring her to willing submission, he is to beat her until she is ready to obey.
The Arabic text does not give any qualifiers to the verb, variously translated as “beat, strike, smite.” To lessen the barbarity, translators aware of Western sensibilities have added the adverb “lightly” though the text does not justify this interpolation.
Let us return to the interview with Miqdad, who must offer justification for this inhumane and chauvinistic divine command. The goal of beating (which is always a last resort, he says) is to “correct the wife and warn her that she did something wrong.” She is to blame, and if her behavior is not amended, she will be the cause of the destruction of the family and of the adverse futures for the children and the marriage itself. “”The purpose of [wife] beating is to warn the wife that the life of the family is in danger, and that the martial relations are in danger, and that she should be cautious and not let the family be destroyed….” She must mend her ways so as to protect family life.
It never enters Miqdad’s mind that the husband might have acted in ways that destroy the harmony of the family; if there is any familial discord, the wife is at fault and she must change her ways or face her husband’s displeasure. This is the will of Allah.
Of course, according to Miqdad and many other Islamic apologists, the wife is not supposed to become the husband’s punching bag (though nothing in the Qur’an prevents this). According to Islamic tradition, wife-beating comes with certain caveats: husbands “… should avoid hitting sensitive parts like the face or vital organs;” “it should not be a hard and vindictive beating;” in fact, the Islamic scholar says, “it should be a therapeutic beating rather than a vindictive one.” After all, he remarks, “we are talking about your wife.” Quoting an old Egyptian saying, “The beloved’s fist is as sweet as raisins,” Miqdad implies that wives actually appreciate being beaten by the husbands, because it is a sign of love. It shows them how much they are valued by their men.
I’ll let these final words speak for themselves:
“The husband’s beating of his wife – if it happens at all – should be like a guy beating his sweetheart. Join me in picturing what beating someone you love should look like. It is like when a father beats his son, or when a mother beats her daughter for doing something wrong.”
Like a guy beating his sweetheart, like when a father beats his son, when a mother beats her daughter – these are all therapeutic beatings, though. Nothing vindictive is allowed.
In Miqdad’s world, in the world prescribed by Allah, there’s “a whole lotta beatin’ goin’ on.”
Only therapeutic beatings, however.
How is it possible that such evil can be justified in the name of God? Well, the god in question, or course, is Allah, and the prophet through which such “revelation” has come to the world is Muhammad, who not only condoned but practiced and commended such behaviors. Ziyad Miqdad is only being true to his master. As the Qur’an says, “It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should [thereafter] have any choice about their affair” (33.36).
C. S. Lewis once wrote, “Of all bad men, religious bad men are the worst” (from Reflections on the Psalms). Dr. Miqdad is just the latest “Exhibit A” corroborating this sad fact Any religious system attributing evil to God and commanding it of his followers deserves to be pilloried and exposed until the light of truth fully dispels the darkness of malevolence. Islam must, and one day will, crumble. That day cannot come too soon.
