Its been a while since my last entry and its the first entry of the month which means im way behind my 9 a month target however i think i do have quite a lot to write about this month, with champs league footy back on and the never ending religious and war issues in the world and just my own trials and tribulations.
Today rather than talk about what i been gettup up2 over the last 9 days or so, i want to focus on a article that was brought to my attention by one of my readers from Qatar Living, here is the link
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,256980,00.html
Here's a summary:
A woman in Saudi Arabia meets a man in the mall and they get in his car to go somewhere, however i belive they do know each other. The man then kidnaps her, threatens to blackmail with a story about how they're having an affair out of wedlock, and she is raped 14 times by 7 different men in a matter of hours. Some of the men are captured and sentenced, but she receives a sentence of 90 lashes for being alone in a car with a man to whom she isn't married. She's currently appealing to the King to eliminate her sentence.(also turns out her brother battered her because of the whole incident)
I had mixed feelings as to whether i should write about this, as it shows Muslims and therefore Islam in a negative light, and as im fairly protectionist kind of a guy, it goes against my nature. However I feel despite the negative light its just such a terrible story it must be shared.
The obvious feeling is pure empathy for the women involved and outrage at the men and the government. I have been reading up peoples comments to the news stories in chat rooms in the middle east and alot of people are quick to jump on the wahabi hating bandwagon. Now the story isnt so much about the rape but the fact that the women is getting punished despite being rapped.
Now much more relgious people than me will be able to tell you if Islamically she was correct to get in the car or not (it has been reported supposedly she was kidnapped but that could just be a rumour) from my own learnings i believe if she got in the car consciously then Islamiclly its wrong unless their was a need for her to get in the car, (need being something like go to hospital or some sort of important/or emergency situation).
Now people who are brought up in the west therefore have a certain amount of Christian morales, and therefore dont see free-mixing as such a issue as it is in the muslim world, even myself as a Muslim in the west I dont see it so wrong in the UK(albelit im not the strictest muslim) however in the muslim world its completely different and in public its a complete faux-pas. With this in mind, when reading this story try to understand the culture and morales that exist here in the middle east and not for those reading in the UK and whereever, as obviously the decision to punish the women seems ludicrious there is some logical understanding.
It doesnt mean i agree with it, especially in hindsight of what happened. However if she didnt get raped then would it still be right to give her lashes?
Another point is, and this is common phase you hear as a british muslim or a minority if you leave near a strong BNP(british national party, basically nazi wannabes) area, 'your in England now(Saudi for this womens case) you got to live by English law and rules" and for a british muslim that means you get the laws used against u more(such as me at the airport when i was leaving the uk, the electronic thing didnt go off when i walked through yet I was still taken to be searched and everything, whilst most others jus walked through). Well aneway I have to accept the rules as i choose to have England as my home, and though for a lot of countires people cant choose where their home is, Saudis can, and this women chooses to live there and therefore she should abide by its rules.
I know im coming off as harsh, but in no way am i saying what happened to her is what she deserved for getting in the car, and rape is completely haram(unlawful) in Islam, and I hope the men who did it suffer, but that I see as a seperate issue.
Here are some of the comments I have found from other people regarding the topic in chat rooms:
"This something happens across the board. People tend to assume the actions of Saudis are indicative of Islam. However, the contrary tends to be true.
Rape is a major sin in Islam and only in saudia would someone apply the perverse logic of punishing the victim.
Wahbaism in my opinion justifies pre-Islamic cultural habits through an Islamic context.
Please do not look to the gulf for theological enlightenment, Islam itself isn't applied as the religion it's meant to be.
The cultural effect of wahbaism has lead to the perception of being devout seeming to take precedence over the spiritual teachings. Forgiveness for one, is an all too forgotten principle of Islam amongst this particular group.
I for one, as a Muslim am disgusted by this."
“Say for instance if I was in the US which has laws against murder and against drug selling. If I was in the middle of a drug deal when a fight happened. I was shot by someone. The police come and they arrest both of us for the drugs and him for the assault. They will not release me because I was still selling drugs which is against the law. I can argue all not long to the prosecutors and judge that I was the victim- i.e. aggravated assault attempted manslaughter.
The law stands I will still be prosecuted. This is their law in Saudi wheter we agree with it or not. They choose to have their law this way. The law against being with a non-mehram applies to men and women. It is a part of Sharia law rather a Muslim chooses to follow it or not is their choice. However if I am in a country whose laws are such then if I choose to break the law then I have to be ready for the consequences. It is the same as in the US some people saying I was only selling drugs to feed my family.
Newspapers like to report things slanted. The question is was her boyfriend also prosecuted using this law and the kidnapping. It did not say if he was a part of the rape group. A lot of people get outraged with certain laws but in any legal system the fault doesn't lie with the law it is usually the inequality in which it is applied. Selling cocaine in the US is against the law but it is applied differently depending on the form i.e. powder or crack. The legality is not questionable however the application/ powder versus crack is definitely questionable.”
“as a Muslim convert I won't pretend to be an expert on Islam, but I have tried to educate myself on my new religion with open eyes. I'm saddened therefore to see a number of replies to your story that state this is 'nothing to do with Islam and is a cultural thing', I do hope these replies are not from Muslims because this is very much to do with some of the basic tenants of Islam. A Woman cannot be alone with men unless that man is related to her as stated in the Quran or the Hadiths - period. Saudi operates a state of Shariah law and as such its citizens are required to follow that law. Both men and women breaking the law are liable for punishishment as detailed in Shariah.
The fact that the woman was alone in the car was an enabler (and I'm not saying the actual reason this happened) to the act of rape happening. The ideology behind a woman not being alone with a man is that if this does not happen then an awful crime like rape simply cannot be commited. The hadiths clearly state that men typically have weaknesses that can be uncontrolable, be it women, alcohol, gambling etc. A womans lone presence with a man can be the straw that breaks the cames back (yes i know this is really sad but just look at how often it happens!)”
“Is the punishment acceptable - I will leave that to those who know better than I.
Did they both commit a crime, the question that was originally asked - yes, in Shariah law they did.
The punishment meted out to the woman is disgraceful. Sadly though it is a reflection of what can happen in a country dominated by men where woman have little or no rights.
I have always thought that the Muslim religions view of women is its major downfall and marrs an otherwise noble religion in my mind.
It would seem from what I have read and what we have all seen in this country that the segregation of men and women goes against a human beings natural inclinations.
Men and women are meant to be together as equals Men are supposed to pursue women interact with women and they are a big part of our lives.
All men have a Penis and our lives are pretty much ruled by it. Take away women from the equation and what happens, well Saudi happens, that's what.
The Muslim religion for all its plus points is totally ruined by their attitude to women, if there views on Women were to change and adapt to the modern age then it would work.
Sadly this is not going to happen, unlike the Catholic church where the pope can change basic tenants of the religion if he chooses. The Muslim faith is governed by the "book" and is never going to be updated therefore it will only ever be up to individuals to change their personal views and adapt their own understanding of how they personally want to live and interpret the "book".
This is going to be a long slow and painful process and sadly countries such as Qatar and Saudi will always lag well behind the rest of the world when it come to human rights and the rights of the female population.”
Now I wont comment on all of them, as it will take me forever but I thought its quite a varied range of responses and is becoming a really topical issue here in the middle east and thought for the UK readers it’s a intresting topic and would welcome other peoples thoughts.
I would like to finally just say how people now days tend to diss religion(any relgion not just Islam) and say because of stories like this, atheism is much more ethical or high moral ground, however I really beg to differ, as because of religion I believe it really changes most people moral conscious and without it people really would act completely differently as they belive their decisions aren’t being governed the same way. Despite those men most likely claiming they were muslim they aren’t really, and im sure for most people being a athesist doesn’t mean you’re a rapist or a bad person. But what I am saying is that for those that follow relgion they will try to do more good in this world as they belive in their next life (be it them being re-born, or in heaven or hell) they will be judged and that will lead most religious people to be good people.
Anyway welcome back and hope you are all ok!
Asif
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