LGF has posted a video of how to beat your wife in Egypt. As reported by MEMRI, President of Al-Azhar University and Former Mufti of Egypt Ahmad Al-Tayyeb explain that it’s perfectly permissible to beat a rebellious wife. There’s also a posted transcript:
Ahmad Al-Tayyeb: With regard to wife beating... In a nutshell, it appeared as part of a program to reform the wife. [According to the Koran], first "admonish them," [then] "sleep in separate beds, and beat them."
Interviewer: I think we must stress that this pertains to a rebellious woman...
Ahmad Al-Tayyeb: Of course. It's not that anybody can start beating as he sees fit. [Westerners] who claim this talk about an Islam which is a figment of their imagination. They are villains because they know there's no such thing in Islam, and they want to pin this interpretation on it. Why? Because Islamic culture is the only culture that is spreading, and is viewed with fear by people of other cultures. In any case... This method appeared as part of the treatment of a rebellious wife. I am faced with two options - either the family will be destroyed by divorce, or I can use means that may bring my wife, the mother of my children, back to her senses. The first means is admonishment.
The second means of treatment is "sleeping in separate beds." Why? Because this targets the honor... A lot could be said about this. The strength of a woman lies in her ability to seduce the man. The man is strong and can do whatever he wants, but the woman has a weapon of her own. This weapon can be targeted. Many women will come back to their senses, when they realize that this is what's involved.
By Allah, even if only one woman out of a million can be reformed by light beatings... It's not really beating, it's more like punching... It's like shoving or poking her. That's what it is.
We’re on a roll here. Not only did that video air in Egypt this month, another Iman in Bahrain also explains in a recent video how to discipline the wife with—you guessed it—light beatings. The transcript explains it:
Sheik Jum'a Tawfiz Jum'a: With regard to [wife] beating... The husband is not in a karate club or in a boxing club with his wife. In addition, the beatings must not cause broken bones, bleeding, or cuts, and must not leave marks. It is light beating, which makes the wife feel the extent of the anger or sorrow in this man's heart. Some people say that this beating is uncivilized. I say to them that since it appears in the Koran – beware of defying what appears in the Koran. Beatings are indispensable. Beatings are not restricted to wives. The Prophet Muhammad told us that a son... He said: "Teach your sons how to pray until the age of seven, and beat them until the age of ten, if they don't [pray]." What is the purpose of the beatings here? If it had no benefit, the Prophet Muhammad would not have mentioned it, because he speaks not of his own mind, and everything he says is a revelation. This appears in a hadith, which some might claim is unreliable and so on – although it is authentic – but what can be said when [it appears] in the Koran itself? The Koran is the book sent down by Allah, and falsehood does not come anywhere near it. In this book, Allah explained the guidelines of life to us all, and in it, he said: "and beat them."
I love these videos because they clearly show how a culture can rationalize this type of behavior. In the Egyptian one, one phrase that catches the eye is “bringing the wife back to her senses.” It’s that condescending assumption ingrained deep within Islamic culture that men are superior to women and marital problems are clearly the fault of the wife because men can do no wrong. The other part that is interesting is the female weapon they refer to—a woman’s ability to seduce a man. It’s clear these men fear female sexuality. She will seduce me with her evil feminine wiles. We go on to assuaging male guilt—you’re not a bad guy for doing it because the wife is rebellious, and it’s not like we’re going to break her bones. And finally, the ultimate rationalization—it’s in the Koran and Allah wants me to do it. What a great way to infantilize grown men and convince women they deserve to be beaten. Remember folks, Bahrain and Egypt are some of the most modern countries in the Middle East. I’m sure that’s a great comfort to the women they’re beating.
Comments