Islamic law would end sexual predation against women. This, despite skyrocketing rape and assault charges as Muslim migrants migrate to Europe or something, an author for The Independent claimed Monday.
“Islam and Prophet Muhammad provide a practical solution” to predators like Harvey Weinstein and the culture that enables their predatory behavior, Qasim Rashid, a Muslim civil rights lawyer and writer for The Independent, claimed in an op-ed article Monday. Men and women are of equal status with equal rights, and men are called to protect women and be accountable for any harmful action taken against a woman, Rashid claimed, according to verses in Surah 4 of the Quran.
“Thus, the Quran 4:2 first establishes men and women as equal beings. Chapter 4:20 then forbids men from forcing a woman to act against her will, thereby ensuring women maintain autonomy and self-determination,” Rashid wrote.
Rashid left out some verses of the Surah, though, in his argument for gender equity.
Islamic scholars, like the chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology in Pakistan, Muhammad Khan Sherani, have interpreted Surah 4:34 as a justification for men to beat their wives and to lord authority over the women.
“Men are in charge of women by [right of] what Allah has given one over the other and what they spend [for maintenance] from their wealth,” the Surah reads. “So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in [the husband’s] absence what Allah would have them guard. But those [wives] from whom you fear arrogance – [first] advise them; [then if they persist], forsake them in bed; and [finally], strike them. But if they obey you [once more], seek no means against them. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted and Grand.”
Rashid invokes examples from the life of the Prophet Muhammad, whose reforms concerning the treatment of women were seen as liberal 14 centuries ago. Muhammad gave women the right to own and inherit property, commanded they receive education, and forbade killing unwanted female infants. Islamic leaders, however, have not carried forward that process of reform.
Islamic leaders have left policies deemed liberal in the ancient world to stagnate and clash with the modern world, often to the detriment of women, according to Riffat Hassan, a retired professor of religious studies from the University of Louisville.
“The way Islam has been practiced in most Muslim societies for centuries has left millions of Muslim women with battered bodies, minds and souls,” Riffat said, according to Time.
Scholars and religious leaders have debated over the interpretation of Islamic verses concerning the treatment of women, but Rashid claims Islam has had positive effects on the lives of women. Rashid offered no examples or proof for his Islamic model beyond examples of Muhammad.
Modern examples of the treatment of Muslim women, especially in Europe, bear out a different narrative.
Grooming gangs composed of young Islamic men sexually exploited over 700 young girls in the U.K. A Muslim cultural mediator justified the violent rape of a Polish tourist in Italy, and claimed that rape actually becomes enjoyable “when the woman becomes calm.” Migrants from predominantly Muslim countries have perpetuated a violent rape culture both within the European communities where they have settled and within their own refugee camps, where Muslim men have preyed on women and children. Reports from German authorities and news networks indicate a rising rape crisis in Germany perpetuated by migrants from Muslim countries.
“Together, we can employ a proven Islamic model that will stop this madness, and re-invoke gender equity today in America, and the world,” Rashid wrote.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
