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Anti-domestic violence bill in Pakistan declared un-Islamic

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/bill-protecting-women-against-domestic-violence-is-un-islamic-pakistani-advisory-group-rules-a6911161.html

An anti-domestic violence bill in Pakistan has been declared un-Islamic by the country’s leading government advisory body on faith issues.

The Women’s Protection Act was passed in the Punjab province last week, the largest district in Pakistan. It gives unprecedented legal protection to women suffering from domestic and sexual violence, as well as emotional abuse.

However, the bill has been met with resistance locally amid concerns that it is incompatible with the Koran. Muhammad Khan Sherani, the head of the Council of Islamic Ideology said at a news conference, that the group believe the law to be ‘un-Islamic’. He said: “The whole law is wrong” and cited passages from the Koran.

The council has previously been criticised for ruling that DNA evidence cannot be used in rape cases and that a woman cannot bring a rape case to court until four male witnesses can testify to the incident.

Fazlur Rehman, chief of Jamiat-i-Ulema Islam, one of Pakistan’s largest religious parties, also said that the law is un-Islamic. He said: “This law makes a man insecure. This law is an attempt to make Pakistan a Western colony again.”

How do these people who have nothing to do with islam keep getting jobs like head of leading government advisory body on faith issues or of the largest religious party (in this case in the 2nd most populous muslim nation in the world)? This is very damaging to the image of real muslims.

Reply 1

MildredMalone

What passages did he cite? For use for next time apologists claim the Koran doesn't support woman beating.

Reply 2

Omen96

You do realise these people are voted in and supported by the large Muslim community?

Reply 3

DiddyDec01

Religion of Peace?

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 4

mariachi

Original post by Erebor

This is very damaging to the image of real muslims.

so, these people "are not real Muslims" ? who exactly are "real Muslims" ?

most importantly : who decides about who are "real Muslims" and who aren't ? perhaps, some "knowledgeable real Muslims" ? and, who decides they are both knowledgeable and real Muslims ? some other knowledgeable "real Muslims" etc etc

seems like a rather hopeless situation : in my view, we will never know who are Muslims and who aren't

Reply 5

Luke Kostanjsek

Original post by Erebor

This here is the single biggest reason why the problems with radical Islam are showing no signs of coming to an end. There's no attempt to navigate through the problems, no attempt to resolve the deeply abhorrent things that the Qur'an and Hadith condones, but instead this head-in-the-sand response of 'but they aren't a real Muslim so it isn't our problem' followed by sticking their fingers in their ears and shouting loudly.

Take Christianity as an example to contrast with. The Bible too has some pretty controversial bits (perhaps not so much as the Qur'an and Hadith, but still none too pleasant) but these have been challenged repeatedly over the years until concessions were made. Prime examples of this include women bishops, the increasing acceptance of homosexuality and the end of racial discrimination in the Church. You didn't have Christians coming out saying 'but the ones in the KKK aren't real Christians so it isn't our issue', they confronted it head on and thankfully have gone a long way to solving their issues. There isn't much I'll commend any religion on, but Christianity has come a long way in revoking a lot of the nastier bits of their faith,

This denial is, in my opinion, the biggest reason why radical Islam retains its power. You have lots of radical muslim clerics pointing to the bits of scripture which condone all these terrible things, and when the moderates come out and say 'no real muslim would do such a thing' they make themselves look foolish. Worse than that, they cast themselves as takfiri in the eyes of the radicals, because they are directly contravening the word of Allah. This drives Muslims in to the path of extremism.

What Islam needs is for leaders of its various bodies to come out and say there are parts of the Qur'an and Hadith which are wrong. None of the ifs and buts, none of the pussyfooting around, they need to condemn the bits which deserve condemning. I mean, there is a direct quote that proclaims that in a court of law, a women's testimony is worth half that of a man's'. We need the moderates to come out and say this is wrong, to say that it is wrong for apostates to be sentenced to death, that it is wrong to sell a women into the sex slave if her people are conquered. They need to set themselves up as direct opponents to the extremists.

Until they do, Islamic extremism is never going to go away.

Reply 6

Erebor

Original post by mariachi

so, these people "are not real Muslims" ? who exactly are "real Muslims" ?

Original post by Omen96

You do realise these people are voted in and supported by the large Muslim community?

Original post by Luke Kostanjsek

Until they do, Islamic extremism is never going to go away.

Well, from what muslims tell me, women are treated like jewels in islam so obv these guys supporting domestic violence are clueless.

Reply 7

patrickstarfish

Original post by Erebor

Well, from what muslims tell me, women are treated like jewels in islam so obv these guys supporting domestic violence are clueless.

maybe they meant like trashbags? like, literally.

Reply 8

mariachi

Original post by Erebor

Well, from what muslims tell me, women are treated like jewels in islam so obv these guys supporting domestic violence are clueless.

you mean, in Islam you are allowed to hit jewels with special toothbrushes ?

Reply 9

username2228735

But guys, white privilege is more dangerous to modern women. I mean, who cares about physical violence when you can focus on 'microaggressions'.

Reply 10

MildredMalone

Original post by Erebor

Well, from what muslims tell me, women are treated like jewels in islam so obv these guys supporting domestic violence are clueless.

They shouldnt be treated like jewels. At the very best, that's somewhere between patronising and objectifying. They should be treated like human beings.