Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has pardoned the Girl of Qatif, a young rape victim who had been sentenced to 200 lashes for being alone with a man at the time of her attack, the AP is reporting today.
Click here for background on the brutal assault case that became a symbol of the abritrariness of the Saudi justice system. In Saudi Arabia, a staunch U.S. ally, jurisprudence comes only from the Quran, but interpretations can vary widely from judge to judge. As a result, there are no uniform sentencing guidelines, so a robber in one city can get 50 lashes while a robber in another city could get 20 years in prison for the same offense.
The Girl of Qatif's pardon included no plans to address the laundry list of other alleged inequalities that human rights activists have uncovered in the Saudi court system.
Saudi Justice Minister Abdullah bin Muhammed al-Sheik told al-Jazirah newspaper that the pardon does not mean the king doubted the country's judges, but instead acted in the "interests of the people," according to the AP.
"The king always looks into alleviating the suffering of the citizens when he becomes sure that these verdicts will leave psychological effects on the convicted people, though he is convinced and sure that the verdicts were fair," al-Jazirah quoted al-Sheik as saying.
For further reading on the Saudi justice system, which critics frequently describe as "medieval," check out:
-- This Financial Times story from October about a royal decree to overhaul the archaic court system.
-- A Human Rights Watch news release about the Girl of Qatif, including an excerpt from HRW's interview with the victim.
-- A U.S. government backgrounder on the Saudi court system can be seen here.
-- An older Amnesty International report on Saudi Arabia, titled "End Secrecy, End Suffering."
Such a bias society for women…double standards allover, women cant drive anywhere, not that they are perfect drivers else where, and when they’ve been violated they get lashed…while the boys are busy every Thursday night crossing the bridge to Bahrain and Dubai for fun under the sun…Long live the king!
Posted by: Andrew | December 18, 2007 at 10:46 PM
Is Muslims’ Treatment of Women Islamic?
On March 11, 2002, fire struck a girls’ school in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The religious police locked the schoolgirls inside the inferno rather than let them escape without their head-to-toe cloak. The firemen were prevented from entering the school for fear that the girls would be seen without their covering. Fourteen young girls were burned to death and dozens more were injured.
Is this treatment Islamic?
To answer this question, a comparison will be made between the fine treatment that the Prophet Muhammad reportedly accorded to His first wife Khadija and the treatment of women that evolved under Sharia (Islamic Law).
We are told that Khadija was the best born, a rich businesswoman who employed Muhammad, proposed marriage to him when He was 25 years of age. She was 15 years his senior and twice a widow. For the 25 years of their marriage, the Prophet remained monogamous. Khadija was the one person to whom He turned for advice. She was the first convert to Islam.
The difference between the Prophet’s treatment of Khadija and the treatment of women under Sharia Law is stark.
The Quran subordinates women to men [see, for example, Verses 2:228 (Chapter 2, Verse 228], 4:34, and 18:46). It decrees that one man is equal to two women when bearing witness in a legal setting (2:282), that a male’s share in inheritance is equal to that of two females (4:11), that a man can have up to four wives simultaneously, on condition of equitable treatment (4:3), that a husband can divorce his wife without giving reason, though the Prophet reportedly discouraged divorce.
Allowing the Muslim male to marry four wives simultaneously and divorce any one of them without giving cause is synonymous with unlimited polygamy.
Additionally, Shiis interpret Verses 4:4 and 4:24 as if men are allowed a temporary marriage contract, called Mut’a, for which a payment to the woman is made for her services.
Sunnis sanction the Misyar marriage. Here, the couple lives apart; the woman relinquishes her right to have financial support and accepts the man’s visits in her family house. Misyar has been sanctioned by the Islamic Jurisprudence Assembly on April 12, 2006 and by the Grand Muftis of Saudi Arabia and Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo.
Misyar and Mut’a marriages are sanctioned adultery.
The Sunna (sayings and acts attributed to the Prophet) contains Traditions unflattering to Women too. Al-Bukhari attributed to the Prophet saying that most of those who are in hell are women, that women’s lack of intelligence is the reason why a woman’s testimony in an Islamic court of law is equal to half that of the Muslim male, and that the reason why Muslim women are prohibited from praying and fasting during menstruation is due to them being deficient in religious belief. Al-Nasai attributed to the Prophet saying: People who entrust the management of their affairs to a woman will fail.
Sharia Law is not applied uniformly in Muslim countries. In Saudi Arabia, Sharia means, among others, strict segregation of the sexes at work, schools, hospitals, shops, public parks, elevators, let alone guardianship by the male in the family. Al-Bukhari’s attributions became a common popular Saudi proverb: “women are light on brains and religion.”
Saudi Sharia eliminates the potential political opposition of one half of the population to the government.
By contrast, in Muslim non-Arab Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Turkey, Sharia means that women can be presidents and prime ministers.
Harmonizing Sharia with the Sunna is critical. Tenth century Ulama turned the Sunna into a source of Sharia equal to the Quran.
In June 2006, Turkey formed a committee of thirty-five scholars to study the removal of Prophetic attributions that encourage violence against women.
Elie Elhadj; author: The Islamic Shield
http://www.universal-publishers.com/book.php?method=ISBN&book=1599424118
Also:
http://journals.aol.com/eeh100/daring-opinion/
Posted by: Elie Elhadj | December 20, 2007 at 03:00 PM
I would endorse the misyar marriage to its fullest.
Men can have and go to any women(protitute)any where but if the security is given to a women in her own house i think lot of evil will go away.
It's not that she is asking for money every time her miyar husban visits her.
She is bound for him and only him,is secured also.
That is why i would like to have this relation ship if any decent lady little witty and with little beauty would opt for a relation ship with me i would want to get into this relationship you can contact me on ajmal 2 u at ho t ma il .com this is without the gaps in between them so a women or a girl from the age of 18 to 40 i would love to take her under my wings.
I am Living in Pakistan and have been living in the U A E so i know the both culture and understand the do's and dont's and i am seperated and have three kids the eldest son is with and he works and comes late after his clubing and the other kids are with my wife.
and i have not touched any other women paid or other wise for last two years.
So would realy like to get into this misyar marriage.
Rgds
Ajmal Shah
Posted by: Syed Ajmal Gillani | June 18, 2008 at 12:58 AM
I am Requesting again for a decesent and witty women for my partener in misyar marrage in Pakistan or UAE or Saudi Ariba.
I am 45 and need a partner who is evry understanding and is not moody ,i would like to take her under my wing and treat her right.
If any one is interested then please e mail me or give me a call at my number in pakistan Islamabad 0092 307 500 77 66 and mail is ajmal2 u @ g o o g l e m a i l . com with out any gaps .
I am waithing for a call or the mail
With best wishes and Rgds
Syed Ajmal Shah Gillani.
Posted by: Syed Ajmal Gillani | June 19, 2008 at 04:24 AM
I am a Muslim woman living in
New York, USA. I am completely sick of reading about the abuse of women and now of a young 8 year old girl in Saudi Arabia. No 47 year old man in Saudi Arabia or any other country should ever have the right to take or marry an 8 year old child.
This is just plain sick and no where in the Qur'an does Allah give permission for this behavior. Every Muslim in the world needs to stand up and go against this stupidity. Men need to stop abusing women and young girls. One day, guaranteed! Allah will severly punish the "Pretenders" people who pretend to be muslim. If you are a real muslim then you must say "Inchallah" before you do or say anything. I do not believe that it is Allah's will for this child to be abused this way. Shame on the father! Shame on the judge who allowed this! Shame on the Saudi Government for not enforcing human rights in Saudi Arabia. Is this what you want the rest of the world to think of Muslims and Islam?
Posted by: Muneerah Al-Shaikh | December 24, 2008 at 09:58 PM