Morning Star

Islam's charge against Saint Joseph

In this clip found on MEMRI, Sheik Abdallah Kamal makes a scurrilous charge against the Holy Family in his attempt to ward off criticism about the Aisha's marriage at age six. He suggests that it was not her first marriage (though she insists that she was a virgin before marriage). Furthermore, he makes the ludicrous charge that girls in warm climates mature around age eight, while those in colder climates mature at around age 21.  Furthermore, the fact that girls can have babies at age nine seems to justify child marriage, rather than providing an impetus for protecting them from such a tragedy.  And as a last point of defense concerning the case of Aisha and Muhammed, he reminds us that since it was "decreed," it stands beyond dispute--so there is no sense arguing against it using either natural law or reason. A shame.

But then the Imam wanders into Christianity, wherein he tries to show that Christians have done the same. He insists that our "holy scriptures" reveal that Joseph was aged 90 when he married Mary, who was aged 12. Isn't that the same thing? Ah, my dear man, no.

• The age of Jospeh, foster father of Jesus, was not known. Many think him older because he seems to have died before Jesus entered adulthood, but that doesn't justify drawing any firm conclusions about his age;
• The marriage of Joseph and Mary was celibate. She remained ever-virgin--even after their marriage, and after the birth of Christ. This is a dogma of our faith, which means that Christians are obliged to believe it--thus even if Joseph was significantly older, he never had relations with her;
• Part of the pious legend about Joseph's advanced age may be to help people believe that he remained chaste and was not unduly drawn towards Our Lady by his passions. There are many who are just as comfortable picturing him as a robust young man--in any case, he was a man of virtue and integrity.
• None of our "holy scriptures" have any details on this couple beyond the basic facts of the Nativity story. The other details are traditions and conjecture--so his admonition to look to them for this information is useless. What he insists is there is not.

Now, he never backed away from his defense of child marriage, because Mohammed, the Perfect Muslim, engaged in one. But for those who have not read the ahadith:

Narrated 'Aisha: that the Prophet married her when she was six years old and he consummated his marriage when she was nine years old, and then she remained with him for nine years (i.e., till his death).  Sahih Bukhari 7:62:64

Narrated Aisha to Ummul Mu'minin: When we came to Medina, the women came to me when I was playing on the swing, and my hair was up to my ears. They brought me, prepared me, and decorated me. Then they brought me to the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) and he took up cohabitation with me, when I was nine.

Abu Dawud 41:4917

Narrated 'Aisha: I used to play with the dolls in the presence of the Prophet, and my girl friends also used to play with me. When Allah's Apostle used to enter (my dwelling place) they used to hide themselves, but the Prophet would call them to join and play with me.  

Sahih Bukhari 8:73:151

[As bad as this is, the other ahadith are very specific about their relations before she turned nine, and the activities which he enjoyed, which are now allowed because of his example. This does nothing to enhance the dignity of women or the purity of children in the Islamic world.]

Who will protect the children?

When fathers and policemen collaborate to abuse the innocence of children, it's very hard to imagine that either one will actually enforce the laws which have been passed to protect them, as this recent story shows:

Ten years after British forces entered the war-ravaged country, the Standard has uncovered shocking evidence of an eight-year-old girl who was married off to a policeman for cash. She was sold to the officer, in his twenties, in clear breach of laws introduced two years ago to protect women.

She was then the subject of a remarkable battle that symbolises the plight of girls in Afghanistan. Her story vividly highlights the failure to bring about social reforms in the stricken nation, despite the long presence of British forces.

It is revealed ahead of tomorrow's 10th anniversary of the first air strikes on Afghanistan and is a grim reminder of how once-high hopes for democracy, modern justice and social progress there have been dashed.

The child was sold to a member of the Afghan border police, a state employee, within the past year by her father in the southern Helmand district of Garmsir. A price was agreed with the father and the marriage was duly solemnised in a ceremony with a mullah. This was against Afghan state law on marriage but the ceremony gave legitimacy and status in the eyes of the communities and the families.

Unfortunately, this wasn't an isolated incident, as more than half the females married are under age 15, despite laws passed to eradicate selling child brides. Nor was her husband's promise to wait to consummate the marriage honoured:

It was agreed in the deal that the groom would not have sex with the bride until she had passed puberty. Under current law, the legal lower age for marriage is 16.

After a few months, the father returned to the bridegroom's family to complain. In breach of the contract, the husband had attempted sex with the child bride.

This was referred, with the help of international advisers and counsellors, to the legal authorities.

The public prosecutor and the Haquq, the local arbitrator and a key figure in community justice in Afghanistan, were requested to consider a prosecution against the abusive husband.

"The child was taken into custody," said my source, a governance adviser from the international community.

"She was examined by a US Marine doctor and was found to have been interfered with." At this point, the authorities decided this was a matter not for the law of Afghanistan but community and tribal custom.

The village elders decided that the husband had breached the agreement and so should pay the bigger bride price demanded by the father. They also ruled the child should return to her husband, whatever the risk to her health, happiness and even life.

Note, that she isn't returned to her family, the husband isn't prosecuted for his action--no! The father only receives more money for the girl. Thus justice doesn't turn on the girl's best interest, but on the details of the marriage contract.

Many may argue that this is based on culture, not theology, but there is the troubling element of Muhammed's child bride, Aisha, which nailed in the prevalent cultural practice 1400 years ago. Until the rights of such children are honoured -- and enforced by the fathers and policemen charged with protecting them -- there is little chance of authentic change, or the establishment of marriage as a noble and emotionally healthy institution.

What is a girl to do?

Child abuse knows no boundaries--every generation, every culture has suffered from this manifestation of human depravity. No religious creed is capable of keeping it at bay, for all creatures are touched by original sin, which darkens the intellect, weakens the will, and confuses the passions. How a culture responds to this despicable behaviour--especially when the abuse is of a sexual nature--is a bellwether of what respect that culture gives to the human person overall.

This Islamic website offers opinions based on shari'a law in response to various dilemmas, and this answer is deeply troubling:

Question: A 14 yr old girl has accused her father of sexually abuse since the age of 9 and also of rape. The mother of the girl says the father has admitted the abuse but not the rape. The father is now flatly denying that anything happened and says the mother has misunderstood what he said. The girl is still adamant that it all took place and by the way the man is on bail. How would this be dealt with according to Islamic law?

Answer [after praise offered to Allah and honour shown to Muhammed]: It is an abominable sin that a father sexually abuses his daughter and it is even more abominable if he rapes her. If he does so with any girl, it is strictly forbidden, let alone him doing so with his own daughter.

However, it is not permissible to accuse the father of rape without evidence. Indeed, the Sharee’ah put some special conditions for proving Zina (fornication or adultery) that are not required in case of other crimes. The crime of Zina is not confirmed except if the fornicator admits it, or with the testimony of four trustworthy men, while the testimony of women is not accepted.

Hence, the statement of this girl or the statement of her mother in itself does not Islamically prove anything against the father, especially that the latter denies it.

Therefore, if this daughter has no evidence to prove that her accusations are true, she should not have claimed that she was raped by her father and she should not have taken him to the court. But if what she says is true, then she has the right to ask for protection from him even by taking him to the court so that he would not continue committing this evil or practice more sinful acts with her. In this case, she would claim his dissoluteness and her fear of his evil so that she will be kept apart from him.

Allaah Knows best.

Thus the child is trapped. She is impugned as a witness because she is a girl, and her charges cannot be substantiated by four witnesses. This is due to a particular incident in the life of Aisha, favourite wife of Muhammed, who was accused of dallying with another man. Since Muhammed preferred to believe her protestations of innocence, he demanded that those charging her with adultery prove it with four witnesses -- which they could not do. To this day, all women in Muslim countries are affected by this incident -- which freed Aisha but burdened all the others by impeding their ability to bring legitimate assailants to justice.

Consider how very hard it is for children to find the courage to speak out against abusive family members. This is further compounded by other family members who are bound by the fear against speaking on their behalf. This poor child has to deal not only with ongoing incest and a mother who betrays the well-being of her own child, but also with religious authorities who shame her for bringing unsubstantiated charges.

It is small consolation that the same authority rendering the verdict expresses repulsion at the thought of a father harming his daughter in such a way, because the shari'a code of justice to which he refers has established a nearly impossible standard of proof for victims -- which every potential abuser knows very well.

Finally, to end this pronouncement with "Allah knows best" is a twist of a very deep knife. 

“And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me. Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of things that cause sin! Such things must come, but woe to the one through whom they come! ... See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father” (Matthew, 18: 5-7, 10).