Morning Star

What are "marital duties?"

Often, people will use euphemisms to avoid being graphic about private matters--such as those concerning the intimate life of couples. "Marital duties," to that end, usually mean the sexual union between man and woman, which in the Catholic faith is meant for bonding and babies. The bond helps to tie the two for life, and the children are accepted as a gift of God to be raised for His greater glory. In Christianity, the family itself is understood to be a shared mission built on the solid foundation of mutual submission and respect between husband and wife.

But what does it mean in this context?

Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti okayed marriage for girls starting at age 10 and criticized those who want to raise the legal marriageable age, according to news reports.

Sheikh Abdul-Aziz Al al-Sheikh said a girl becomes ready for marriage at 10 or 12 according to Islam and stressed that Islamic law is not by any means oppressive to women, the London-based al-Hayat reported Wednesday.

"Those who call for raising the age of marriage to 25 are absolutely mistaken," al-Sheikh said in a lecture he gave at the faculty housing mosque of Imam Mohamed bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh.

"Our mothers and grandmothers got married when they were barely 12. Good upbringing makes a girl ready to perform all marital duties at that age."

"All marital duties" make it sound like there are more than just the one named above, but what are these young children capable of, really? In addition to bearing children (which is the consequence of sexual intimacy, obviously) they might be capable of tidying a house, fixing simple meals and various limited chores.

It would be nearly impossible to finish school or maintain critical friendships -- especially with the workload that falls primarily on their young shoulders. There is also the loss of the ongoing formation that only a mother could provide. Childbirth before age 14 is certainly possible, but very hard on a little body, and if they survive, they might have as many as 3 or 4 children before turning 20. Remember also, these girls can be cast off at any time with no recourse, and so they must submit in order to have a place to live and so that they will not lose contact with their own children. In all, these victims will have remarkably stunted lives, which may explain why generation after generation insists on the same abusive scenario--for it follows that their own mothers never had a chance to properly mature.

It is astonishing that grown men see no problems in this system, and have no concern for the intellectual, spiritual or emotional maturity of wives and mothers--in fact, they seem to have no expectation of a mutually edifying relationship. Indeed, if it is true that Islamic tradition states "Paradise lies at the feet of mothers," then there is something terribly wrong either with the Islamic paradise or the Imams who believe it and marry off their girls in this manner.  Either way, the continued inequality in marriage is an ongoing tragedy that seems to have no end in sight.

Where are the feminists?

Saudi Arabia is strong-arming Canadian television stations to get them to pull this ad (CTV has already buckled).

 

Feminists who are remarkably strident about women's rights elsewhere in the world are strangely silent on this issue. The boycott of South Africa over apartheid was very powerful, and there are many voices stressing that Israel be punished for various reasons, but it seems that no one appears to be bothered by the rampant misogyny of Saudi Arabia or companies who do business there.

Many will insist that the Wahabbi version of Islam isn't authentic Islam, but that's not the point. The problem is that the usual voices pressing for full inclusion of women in the public sphere ignore the grave abuses against the women of Saudi Arabia, and it would seem that Bell Canada, General Electric and Starbucks are some of many companies that put profits over ethics.

Child marriages justified

Raymond Ibrahim has pointed out a very troubling fatwa (Islamic ruling) from Saudi Arabia:

Muslim "child-marriage"—euphemism for pedophilia—is making headlines again, at least in Arabic media: Dr. Salih bin Fawzan, a prominent cleric and member of Saudi Arabia's highest religious council, just issued a fatwa asserting that there is no minimum age for marriage, and that girls can be married "even if they are in the cradle."

Appearing in Saudi papers on July 13, the fatwa complains that "Uninformed interference with Sharia rulings by the press and journalists is on the increase, posing dire consequences to society, including their interference with the question of marriage to small girls who have not reached maturity, and their demand that a minimum age be set for girls to marry."

Fawzan insists that nowhere does Sharia set an age limit for marrying girls: like countless Muslim scholars before him, he relies on Koran 65:4, which discusses marriage to females who have not yet begun menstruating (i.e., are prepubescent)  and the fact that Muhammad, Islam's role model, married Aisha when she was 6-years-old, "consummating" the marriage—or, in modern parlance, raping her—when she was 9.

The point of the Saudi fatwa, however, is not that girls as young as 9 can have sex, based on Muhammad's example, but rather that there is no age limit whatsoever; the only question open to consideration is whether the girl is physically capable of handling her husband/rapist.  Fawzan documents this point by quoting Ibn Batal's authoritative exegesis of Sahih Bukhari:

The ulema [Islam's interpreters] have agreed that it is permissible for fathers to marry off their small daughters, even if they are in the cradle.  But it is not permissible for their husbands to have sex with them unless they are capable of being placed beneath and bearing the weight of the men.  And their capability in this regard varies based on their nature and capacity.  Aisha was 6 when she married the prophet, but he had sex with her when she was 9 [i.e., when she was deemed capable].

Fawzan concludes his fatwa with a warning: "It behooves those who call for setting a minimum age for marriage to fear Allah and not contradict his Sharia, or try to legislate things Allah did not permit.  For laws are Allah's province; and legislation is his excusive right, to be shared by none other.  And among these are the rules governing marriage."

Since there is no single authority for all Muslims, they rely primarily on texts to explain what Islamic teaching should be. Thus, while interpretations vary, those that cling to the example of the prophet and the Quran reveal the real heart of the faith. Surely, there are some who might hold the prophet and the texts at arms' length, but it is hard for them to justify it without admitting that they're simply watering down Islam.

It would appear the such fatwas legitimately show that the pure faith is grievously harmful to women and girls.