Islam and domestic violence

The relationship between Islam and domestic violence is disputed. Even among Muslims, the uses and interpretations of sharia, the moral code and religious law of Islam, lack consensus.

Conservative interpretations of Surah, An-Nisa, 34 in the Qur'an regarding marital relationships find that hitting a woman is allowed. Other interpretations of the verse claim the Surah does not support hitting a woman, but separating from her. Variations in interpretation are due to different schools of Islamic jurisprudence, histories and politics of religious institutions, conversions, reforms, and education.

Domestic violence among the Muslim community is considered a complicated humans right issue due to varying legal remedies for women by nation, the extent to which they have support or opportunities to divorce their husbands, cultural stigma to hide evidence of abuse, and inability to have abuse recognized by police or the judicial system.

Definition

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition, domestic violence is: "the inflicting of physical injury by one family or household member on another; also: a repeated or habitual pattern of such behavior."

Coomarswamy defines domestic violence as "violence that occurs within the private sphere, generally between individuals who are related through intimacy, blood or lawâ€¦[It is] nearly always a gender-specific crime, perpetrated by men against women." It used is as a strong form of control and oppression.

Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, declared in a 2006 report posted on the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) website that:

Violence against women and girls is a problem of pandemic proportions. At least one out of every three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime with the abuser usually someone known to her.

Islamic texts

Surah An-Nisa, 34 passage on the social interaction between husbands and wives defines the husband and wife relationship in Islam, with interpretation subject to debate among Muslim scholars (or 'jurists'). Surah 4:34 reads,

MEN SHALL take full care of women with the bounties which God has bestowed more abundantly on the former than on the latter, and with what they may spend out of their possessions. And the righteous women are the truly devout ones, who guard the intimacy which God has [ordained to be] guarded. And as for those women whose ill-will you have reason to fear, admonish them [first]; then leave them alone in bed; then beat them; and if thereupon they pay you heed, do not seek to harm them. Behold, God is indeed most high, great!

Narrated Umar ibn al-Khattab: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: A man will not be asked as to why he beat his wife.

â€" Sunan Abu Dawood, 11:2142 see also Sunan Abu Dawood, 11:2141

Narrated 'Ikrima: Rifa'a divorced his wife whereupon 'AbdurRahman bin Az-Zubair Al-Qurazi married her. 'Aisha said that the lady (came), wearing a green veil (and complained to her (Aisha) of her husband and showed her a green spot on her skin caused by beating). It was the habit of ladies to support each other, so when Allah's Apostle came, 'Aisha said, "I have not seen any woman suffering as much as the believing women. Look! Her skin is greener than her clothes!" When 'AbdurRahman heard that his wife had gone to the Prophet, he came with his two sons from another wife. She said, "By Allah! I have done no wrong to him but he is impotent and is as useless to me as this," holding and showing the fringe of her garment, 'Abdur-Rahman said, "By Allah, O Allah's Apostle! She has told a lie! I am very strong and can satisfy her but she is disobedient and wants to go back to Rifa'a." Allah's Apostle said, to her, "If that is your intention, then know that it is unlawful for you to remarry Rifa'a unless Abdur-Rahman has had sexual intercourse with you." Then the Prophet saw two boys with 'Abdur-Rahman and asked (him), "Are these your sons?" On that 'AbdurRahman said, "Yes." The Prophet said, "You claim what you claim (i.e.. that he is impotent)? But by Allah, these boys resemble him as a crow resembles a crow,"

â€" Sahih al-Bukhari, 7:72:715 see also Sahih Muslim, 4:2127

Narrated 'Abdullah bin Zam'a: The Prophet said, "None of you should flog his wife as he flogs a slave and then have sexual intercourse with her in the last part of the day."

â€" Sahih al-Bukhari, 7:62:132 see also Sahih al-Bukhari, 8:73:68

Interpretations that support discipline

Many scholars claim Shari'a law encourages domestic violence against women, when a husband suspects nushuz (disobedience, disloyalty, rebellion, ill conduct) in his wife. Other scholars claim wife beating, for nashizah, is not consistent with modern perspectives of Qur'an. Some conservative translations find that Muslim husbands are permitted to act what is known in Arabic as Idribuhunna with the use of "light force," and sometimes as much as to strike, hit, chastise, or beat.

In some exegesis such as those of Ibn Kathir and Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, the actions prescribed in Surah 4:34 above, are to be taken in sequence: the husband is to admonish the wife, after which (if his previous correction was unsuccessful) he may remain separate from her, after which (if his previous correction was still unsuccessful) he may hit her or give her a light tapping. Contemporary Egyptian scholar Abd al-Halim Abu Shaqqa refers to the opinions of jurists Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani and al-Shawkani who state that hitting should only occur in extraordinary cases.

A translated passage by Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali and Muhsin Khan in 2007 defines men as the protectors, guardians and maintainers of women, because Allah has made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend (to support them) from their means. Upon seeing ill-conduct (i.e. disobedience, rebellion, nashuz in Arabic) by his wife, a man may admonish them (first), (next), refuse to share their beds, (and last) beat them (lightly, if it is useful), but if they return to obedience, seek not against them means.

Some Islamic scholars and commentators have emphasized that beatings, even where permitted, are not to be harsh or some even contend that they should be "more or less symbolic." According to Abdullah Yusuf Ali and Ibn Kathir, the consensus of Islamic scholars is that the above verse describes a light beating. Abu Shaqqa refers to the edict of Hanafi scholar al-Jassas (d. 981) who notes that the reprimand should be "A non-violent blow with siwak [a small stick used to clean the teeth] or similar. This means that to hit with any other means is legally [Islamically] forbidden."

Interpretation that does not support hitting

Indicating the subjective nature of the translations, particularly regarding domestic abuse, Ahmed Ali's translation of the word Idribu is to forsake, to avoid, or to leave. His translation of verse 4:34 is: â€¦As for women you feel are averse, talk to them cursively; then leave them alone in bed (without molesting them), and go to bed with them (when they are willing) (emphasis added).

As Laleh Bakhtiar found out by reading Edward William Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon, a 3,064-page volume from the 19th century, among the six pages of definitions for daraba was "to go away."

This translation is further supported by the fact that the word "darabtum" is used in the same Surah (4:94), which means to "go abroad" in the sake of Allah and which is derived from the same root word ("daraba") as "idribuhunna" in 4:34.

Jurisprudence and reality

In deference to Surah 4:34, many nations with Shari'a law have refused to consider or prosecute cases of domestic abuse. In 2010, the highest court of United Arab Emirates (Federal Supreme Court) considered a lower court's ruling, and upheld a husband's right to "chastise" his wife and children with physical violence. Article 53 of the United Arab Emirates' penal code acknowledges the right of a "chastisement by a husband to his wife and the chastisement of minor children" so long as the assault does not exceed the limits prescribed by Shari'a. In Lebanon, KAFA, an organization campaigning against violence and the exploitation of women, estimates that as many as three-quarters of all Lebanese women have suffered physical abuse at the hands of husbands or male relatives at some point in their lives. An effort has been underway to remove domestic violence cases from Shari'a driven religious courts to civil penal code driven courts. Social workers claim failure of religious courts in addressing numerous instances of domestic abuse in Syria, Pakistan, Egypt, Palestine, Morocco, Iran, Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

Undesirablity of beating

Scholars and commentators have stated that Muhammad directed men not to hit their wives' faces, not to beat their wives in such a way as would leave marks on their body, and not to beat their wives as to cause pain (ghayr mubarrih). Scholars too have stipulated against beating or disfigurement, with others such as the Syrian jurist Ibn Abidin prescribing ta'zir punishments against abusive husbands. In several hadidths, the Prophet forbade wife beating.

Narrated Mu'awiyah al-Qushayri: "I went to the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) and asked him: What do you say (command) about our wives? He replied: Give them food what you have for yourself, and clothe them by which you clothe yourself, and do not beat them, and do not revile them. (Sunan Abu-Dawud, Book 11, Marriage (Kitab Al-Nikah), Number 2139)"

In another hadidth, the Prophet said: "Approach your tilt when or how you will, give her (your wife) food when you take food, clothe when you clothe yourself, do not revile her face, and do not beat her. (Sunan Abu-Dawud, Book 11, Marriage (Kitab Al-Nikah), Number 2138)"

Some jurists argue that even when beating is acceptable under the Quran, it is still discountenanced. Ibn Kathir in concluding his exegesis exhorts men to not beat their wives, quoting a hadith from Muhammad: "Do not hit God's servants" (here referring to women). The narration continues, stating that some while after the edict, "Umar complained to the Messenger of God that many women turned against their husbands. Muhammad gave his permission that the men could hit their wives in cases of rebelliousness. The women then turned to the wives of the Prophet and complained about their husbands. The Prophet said: 'Many women have turned to my family complaining about their husbands. Verily, these men are not among the best of you."

Women in Islam

Clothing

Many Muslim women are required to wear a veil, hijab or burqa. The rules vary significantly by nation, from strict modesty observance to lax rules about being covered. Karin Ask and Marit Tjomsland write that "the veil, for the colonizers but also in the vision of contemporary Western political culture, is the most visible marker or the 'otherness' and 'inferiority' of Islamic societies."

In the United States, some Muslim women find wearing a veil is empowering as a symbol of Islamic religion or culture, while others find wearing a veil or hijab degrading. About 48% of Muslim women in the United States don't cover their hair, while 43% wear head scarves all of the time.

In Iran a woman who is unveiled in public could be fined or put in jail.

Degree of equality

In Woman's Identity and the Qur'an, Barazangi interprets that the Quran says men and women are equals because "as Fazlur Rahman (Islamic scholar) asserts: 'Equality of the sexes is institute in the Quran (4:1, 7; 60:12; 49:10; 96:1-4) for a Muslim society to achieve Adl (justice) and Qist (fair play) (1996, 17)". Aisha Abd al-Rahman, a woman Koranic scholar, explains that Islam is not based around differences between men and women, so issues between the sexes should not be brought up for consideration.

Conservative interpretations of the Quran find men to be the physical and intellectual superiors of women, both ontologically, since woman is considered to have been created for his pleasure, and moral-social, with the "completeness of mental ability, good counsel, complete power in the performance of duties and the carrying out of (divine) commands." Conservatively, women are considered unfit for any work or activity because of their physiology and child-bearing ability. The women's role, then, is to oblige to be subjected to man, by which alone she can have any meaningful identity. Rather than derived from Quran's teachings, this attitude comes from Muslim exegetes and Quran commentators, such as Tabari (d.923), Zamakhashari (d. 1144), Baydawi (d. 1286), al-Suyuti (d. 1505), based upon their personal perspective.

Asma Barlas, author of "Believing Women" in Islam, asserts that as many recent studies reveal, women's status and roles in Muslim societies, as well as patriarchal structures and gender relationships, are a function of multiple factors, most of which have nothing to do with religion. She argues that the history of Western civilization should tell us that there is nothing innately Islamic about misogyny, inequality, or patriarchy; and yet, all three often are justified by Muslim states and clerics in the name of Islam. Camilla Fawzi El-Sohl and Judy Mabro also support this position, saying the status of Muslim women "solely in terms of the Quran and/or other Islamic sources [are] all too often taken out of context." Also, it is imperative to examine that a lot of inequality and discrimination derive not from the teachings of the Quran but from the secondary religious texts, the Tafsir (Quranic exegesis) and the Ahadith (s. hadith), which are narratives purportedly detailing the life and practices of the Prophet Muhammad.

Barazangi claims that "this capacity [rereadings and reinterpretations of Qu'ran] for moral and rational derivation of a meaning from the eternal words and the immediate acting on the derived meaning to change one's behavior is what qualifies a human being as a Muslim by choice, that is, a self-identified Muslim", believing that interpretation should be open to more than select elite males.

Incidence among Muslims

Domestic violence is considered by many to be a problem in Muslim-majority cultures, but because women hide their bruises and don't report domestic abuse to authorities, the incidence in many Muslim-majority countries is uncertain, but believed to be great by Muslim feminists. According to Pamela K. Taylor, co-founder of Muslims for Progressive Values, such violence is not part of the religion, but rather more of a cultural aspect. In the academic publication Honour, Violence, Women and Islam edited by Mohammad Mazher Idriss and Tahir Abbas, it is said that there is no authority in the Quran for the type of regular and frequent acts of violence that women experience from their abusive husbands. Furthermore, the actions of many Muslim husbands lack the expected level of control in two elements from the verse, admonishment and separation. The separation dictates not only the physical separation, but also abstinence from marital sex.

Laws and prosecution

According to Ahmad Shafaat, an Islamic scholar, "If the husband beats a wife without respecting the limits set down by the Qur'an and Hadith, then she can take him to court and if ruled in favor has the right to apply the law of retaliation and beat the husband as he beat her." According to Honour, Violence, Women and Islam, and Islamic scholar Dr. Muhammad Sharif Chaudhry, Muhammad condemns violence against women, as he says: "How loathsome (Ajeeb) it is that one of you should hit his wife as a slave is hit, and then sleep with her at the end of the day." However, laws against domestic violence, as well as whether these laws are enforced, vary throughout the Muslim world.

Some women want to fight the abuses they face as Muslims; these women want "to retain the communal extended family aspects of traditional society, while eliminating its worst abuses, by seeking easy ability to divorce men for abuse and forced marriages."

Victim support programs

In Malaysia, the largest government-run hospital implemented a program to intervene in cases where domestic violence seems possible. The woman is brought to a room to meet with a counselor who works with the patient to determine if the woman is in danger and should be transferred to a shelter for safety. If the woman does not wish to go to the shelter, she is encouraged to see a social worker and file a police report. If the injury is very serious, investigations begin immediately.

Divorce

Though some Muslim scholars, such as Ahmad Shafaat, contend that Islam permits women to be divorced in cases of domestic violence. divorce may be unavailable to women as a practical or legal matter.

The Quran states: (2:231) And when you have divorced women and they have fulfilled the term of their prescribed period, either take them back on reasonable basis or set them free on reasonable basis. But do not take them back to hurt them, and whoever does that, then he has wronged himself. And treat not the Verses of Allah as a jest, but remember Allah's Favours on you, and that which He has sent down to you of the Book and Al-Hikmah [the Prophet's Sunnah, legal ways, Islamic jurisprudence] whereby He instructs you. And fear Allah, and know that Allah is All-Aware of everything.

Although Islam permits women to divorce for domestic violence, they are subject to the laws of their nation which might make it quite difficult for a woman to obtain a divorce.

Most women's rights activists concede that while divorce can provide potential relief, it does not constitute an adequate protection or even an option for many women, with discouraging factors such as lack of resources or support to establish alternative domestic arrangements and social expectations and pressures.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

Roald, Anne S. (2001). Women in Islam: The Western Experience. Routledge. ISBNÂ 0415248965.Â
Suad Joseph, Afsaneh Najmabadi (ed.). Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBNÂ 9004128190.Â

External links

Muslim Power and Control Wheel
FaithTrust Institute (formerly Center for the Prevention of Sexual and Domestic Violence), a multifaith, multicultural training and education organization in the United States with global reach working to end sexual and domestic violence.
QuranicPath | Collection of 4:34 Translations which do not use "beat/scourge/hit" (violence)

Articles

Rania al-Baz interview shortly after the beating (Youtube)
Dishonored killings
For Some Muslim Wives, Abuse Knows No Borders, Washington Post
{" '}In the Book We Have Left Out Nothing': The Ethical Problem of the Existence of Verse 4:34 in the Qur'an" by Laury Silvers

Islam and domestic violence

Senin, 16 Februari 2015

Islam and domestic violence

Definition