Muslim Women Say It's A 'Beautiful Blessing' If Husbands Hit Their Wives In Controversial Video
A video coming from a Muslim group has elicited various responses, including one from a Muslim educator who says interpreting Islam's holy book Quran should be left to scholars.
The "Women of Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia" has released a video of two Muslim women telling people that based on their understanding of the Quran, it's virtually ok for a man to hit his wife, ABC reported.
The women said Muslim husbands can hit their wives using a scarf or a small stick, so that it will not cause pain. One of the women said this act is "symbolic." The other went as much as calling the act "a beautiful blessing."
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A woman from the Australian Muslim Women's Association, Silma Ihram, said the two women, Reem Allouche and Atika Latifi, took the Quran passage they used out of context, Sky News reported. Their interpretation, Ihram said, shows that reading and interpreting Islam's holy book should be left to scholars.
When asked about her interpretation of the passage "leave them alone in sleeping places and beat them," the quote that the women used, Ihram said she doesn't have the right to say anything about it.
"That is for a scholar to do and not for you or me," Ihram said. "What you're trying to do is take an isolated verse and quote out of context of where it's supposed to be embedded."
"You're trying to apply an English understanding of that particular verse as a standalone verse which is not what any scholar would do," she added.
Other responses
The video caught the attention of many, including Australian Minister for Women Michaellia Cash, who said the women were encouraging violence against women, 9News reported. Cash said domestic violence against women is abuse "plain and simple," and is not a "beautiful blessing."
White Ribbon, a domestic violence prevention group, told 9News that violence in any relationship is "unacceptable" and "never okay." White Ribbon CEO Libby Davies went on to say the video is "abhorrent."
"The use of violence is about power and control and positions women as objects and not as equals," Davies said.
TODAY show host Ben Fordham noted that the women's teachings were in line with comments made by Australian Federation of Islamic Councils President Keysar Trad, 9News reported. Trad said Muslim husbands can hit their wives as a "last resort," but later backtracked and said that comment was a "slip-up."
Fordham said these views espoused by the women and Trad are also espoused by many, but not all, followers of the Islamic faith. He added that these are wrong.
"If you hit a woman, you're a coward. It's not okay to hit your wife gently, or softly, or occasionally or any other way you want to spin it," Fordham said. "They don't need these so-called leaders telling them they're punching bags."
