Boreal

The right way to advocate for violence

against women in Canada

Québec Premier Philippe Couillard on Wednesday March 4, 2015 asked a member of his party not to advertise on an Islamic community centre website which advocates violence against women.

Mr. Tanguay initially refused to remove the ad saying "the community centre did not commit any illegal acts." He is correct.

Advocating violence against women is not against the law in Canada if 1) you have evidence that a bona fide god sanctions what you promote 2) what your bona fide god approves of does not strike a reasonable god-fearing person as being excessive under the circumstances. If you are a non-profit organization which advocates in favour of the salutary benefits of wife beating and meet these two requirements you may even be eligible for tax relief.

The evidence that Allah sanctions wife-beating is contained in revelation 4:34.

4:34 Men are in charge of women, because Allah has made some of them excel the others, and because they spend some of their wealth. Hence righteous women are obedient, guarding the unseen which Allah has guarded. And those of them that you fear might rebel, admonish them and abandon them in their beds and beat them.

The community centre website met the second requirement by reminding wife-beaters that the beating "should not be painful.” That is more or less the position of the Prophet, although a small amount of pain may be inevitable.

The Koran does not offer any guidance as to whether implements such as sticks, rocks and/or whips are appropriate in some circumstances where a particular severe beating is called for, and where fists and feet might not be adequate to the task.

The Prophet was said to be brushing his teeth when he answered a question to that effect in the affirmative, adding that whatever was used in the beating should not be bigger than a toothbrush. The tooth cleaner in question was probably some kind of reed, therefore a small whip would probably be allowed.

The Does and Don'ts of Wife Beating According to the Ulema

As is evident from the many YouTube videos on the subject, Islamic Scholars are very much pre-occupied with the does and don'ts of wife beating.

A sample:

On Lebanese television, it was explained to three young men that, you don’t hit a camel or donkey about the face to get it to do what you want and your wives deserve the same consideration when at the mercy of your fists, or whatever weapon you might have in your hand. Don’t beat their faces, especially if it will make them ugly.

A cleric on Bahrain TV warned wife beaters about not pounding the wife in front of the kids, and to be careful not to break any bones or cause bleeding or bruises.

On Qatar TV, one of the participants in a discussion on wife beating, argued that Allah, when he decreed that a man could beat his wife, was simply suggesting “a therapy” to the husband, to whom Allah had given the superior “judgment”. The lukewarm, almost non-existent protest from the women on the program would suggest that Muslim women are not in complete disagreement or have been afflicted by the Stockholm Syndrome.

On another TV program, it was suggested that, if it was a choice between beating your wife or divorcing her, beating her was better.

The Mufti of Egypt, appearing on Arab television, said that “Wife beating is associated with the cultural status of women in different societies. Women in some cultures are not averse to beatings. They consider it a sign of masculinity and as a kind of control which she herself desires.”

Another scholar argued that beatings were a form of therapy, but no more than ten blows per session.

Spare the rod and spoil the wife!

There are three types of wives who deserve to be beaten on a regular basis with a rod, according to a scholar appearing on Qatar television:

1) a woman who was beaten as a child,

2) condescending women who ignore their husband's needs,

3) any woman who will not obey her husband unless he beats her, and yells at her.

Of course, if you live in a jurisdiction where the Koran and the sayings and example of the Prophet are the law i.e. Sharia law you need not worry about how, when and where you beat your wives as it is illegal for anyone to even ask you why they are deserving of a beating.

Umar reported the Prophet as saying, "A man will not be asked about why he beat his wife." Abu Dawud

Bernard Payeur