Morning Star

Using Islam as a shield

There is a horrific account of a girl in Arizona being married against her will and subsequently assaulted:

Police noted in the court documents that the victim is Abdullahi's wife via Muslim custom. Police did not release her age, but Sgt. Trent Crump said she is a young adult. Police said the victim's parents married her to Abdullahi in November without her knowledge. She learned of the marriage in December and fled the state but returned two weeks later to finish high school.

The victim's family members reportedly took her to Abdullahi's residence against her will on Monday. Police said Abdullahi punched, bit and strangled her before sexually assaulting her.

"I just heard someone screaming and crying and there were these guys carrying a woman and like dragging her onto the sidewalk," said neighbor Trina Childs. "So I go out into the living room and I look into the peephole and they take her and throw her into the apartment," she continued.

To begin with, we cannot ignore the fact that this young woman was married against her will in a ceremony at which she was not even present. Evidently, her Muslim family thought this ceremony sufficed to force her into an apartment with the putative husband, because in a culture in which purity is paramount in women, this indicates that he had a right to intimacy with her.

 

The horror of the assault is complicated by a bizarre explanation that is self-contradictory:

A spokesperson for the Arizona chapter of the Center for Arabic Islamic Relations (CAIR) said what Abdullahi allegedly did has no basis in the Islamic faith. "Even though (he is) using the Islamic ceremony as a shield, all Muslims are subject to the laws of the land they're living in," said Kristy Sabbah.

Let's unpack that statement:

• If he is using Islam as a shield, then he has found a basis in Islam for his action;
• If her family is Muslim and acted thusly, they also believed their faith allowed it;
• Ms. Sabbah doesn't deny that Islam allows such behaviour, BUT
• She defers to "the law of the land" [the US] to show that this is not allowed, but that doesn't follow--a perfect example of a non sequitor.

Then let's ask some key questions:

• Who performed the ceremony that wed a woman against her will despite her absence?
• What have these people misunderstood about their religion to allow them to act this way?
• Where is a clarification from CAIR about marriage, so that others will not make this "mistake?"
• And will the justification be that Islam doesn't allow it, or that American jurisprudence forbids it?

CAIR has unwittingly revealed that the source of the problem is only that shari'a has not come to Arizona. When it does, there will be no refuge for such women.

Persons as property

As deplorable as the history of Europe and America is for their participation in the slave trade for over 300 years, it is frustrating that 1400 years of Muslim slavery still gets a virtual pass to this day.  

A comparison of the Muslim slave trade to the American slave trade reveals some interesting contrasts. While two out of every three slaves shipped across the Atlantic were men, the proportions were reversed in the Muslim slave trade. Two women for every man were enslaved by the Muslims.

While the mortality rate for slaves being transported across the Atlantic was as high as 10%, the percentage of slaves dying in transit in the Transsahara and East African slave trade was between 80 and 90%!

While almost all the slaves shipped across the Atlantic were for agricultural work, most of the slaves destined for the Muslim Middle East were for sexual exploitation as concubines, in harems, and for military service.

While Christian Reformers spearheaded the antislavery abolitionist movements in Europe and North America, and Great Britain mobilized her Navy, throughout most of the 19th Century, to intercept slave ships and set the captives free, there was no comparable opposition to slavery within the Muslim world.

Even after Britain outlawed the slave trade in 1807 and Europe abolished the slave trade in 1815, Muslim slave traders enslaved a further 2 million Africans. This despite vigorous British Naval  activity and military intervention to limit the Muslim slave trade.

By some calculations the number of victims of the 14 centuries of Muslim slave trade could exceed 180 million. Nearly 100 years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in America, and 130 years after all slaves within the British Empire were set free by parliamentary decree, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, in 1962, and Mauritania in 1980, begrudgingly removed legalized slavery from their statute books. And this only after international pressure was brought to bear. Today numerous international organizations document that slavery still continues in some Muslim countries.

The latest story out of Nigeria concerning the abduction of hundreds of school girls underscores the fact that Islam and slavery are not incompatible, and that certain persons can be the property of others:

The leader of Boko Haram on Monday threatened to sell more than 200 schoolgirls his Islamist militant group kidnapped in northeastern Nigeria last month.

Boko Haram militants stormed an all-girl secondary school in the village of Chibok, in Borno state, on April 14 and packed the teenagers, who had been taking exams, onto trucks and disappeared into a remote area along the border with Cameroon.

The attack shocked Nigerians, who have been growing accustomed to hearing about atrocities in an increasingly bloody five-year-old Islamist insurgency in the north.

"I abducted your girls. I will sell them in the market, by Allah," Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau says in a video, chuckling as he stands in front of an armored personnel carrier with two masked militants wielding AK-47s on either side of him.

"Allah has instructed me to sell them. They are his property and I will carry out his instructions," he says.

Why would this Islamic leader (who rejects all non-Islamic influences in his country) believe that Allah has countenanced the selling of these girls? Perhaps these verses in the Qur'an:

Qur'an (33:50) - "O Prophet! We have made lawful to thee thy wives to whom thou hast paid their dowers; and those (slaves) whom thy right hand possesses out of the prisoners of war whom Allah has assigned to thee"

Qur'an (23:5-6) - "..who abstain from sex, except with those joined to them in the marriagebond, or (the captives) whom their right hands possess..."

Qur'an (8:69) - "But (now) enjoy what ye took in war, lawful and good" 

Qur'an (24:32) - "And marry those among you who are single and those who are fit among your male slaves and your female slaves..."

Qur'an (2:178) - "O ye who believe! Retaliation is prescribed for you in the matter of the murdered; the freeman for the freeman, and the slave for the slave, and the female for the female." 

Qur'an (16:75) - "Allah sets forth the Parable (of two men: one) a slave under the dominion of another; He has no power of any sort; and (the other) a man on whom We have bestowed goodly favours from Ourselves, and he spends thereof (freely), privately and publicly: are the two equal? (By no means;) praise be to Allah." 

This explains why women comprise the greater number of slaves over the centuries, and why Boko Haram, which subscribes to the letter of the law in Islam, believes that Allah smiles on their kidnapping and allows the sale of these girls. In the year 2014! Not only is it appalling that this group believes it has the God-given right to sell the students, but it's equally horrific that there is a market for them in neighbouring Muslim countries. 

Lest anyone argue that this has nothing to do with Islam, let's revisit the salient facts:

Boko Haram, seen as the main security threat to Nigeria, Africa's leading energy producer, is growing bolder and extending its reach... The group's name means "Western education is sinful" and Shekau in the video makes reference to the fact that the girls were undergoing Western education... The militants ... are fighting to reinstate a medieval Islamic caliphate in northern Nigeria...  The girls' abduction has been hugely embarrassing for the government and threatens to overshadow its first hosting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) for Africa on May 7-9.

Prayers for these girls and their families. And let's spread the word about the real "war on women."

 

"A disgrace for the whole of Egypt"

Another horrific story emblematic of a widespread problem in Egypt. Mary Abdelmassih writes:

(AINA) -- Hundreds of Christian Egyptian girls having been abducted and forced to convert to Islam and marry Muslim men since the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. But the case of 14 year old Sarah has become symbolic, bringing to confrontation Muslims groups, whose members are implicated in the kidnappings, and the Coptic Church and human rights organizations.

On Sunday, September 30 Sarah Ishaq Abdelmalek, born on August 1, 1998 in the town of el-Dabaa, 130 kilometers from Mersa Matrouh, was on her way to school with her cousin Miriam, when they stopped at a bookshop. Miriam went ahead of Sarah to school, leaving Sarah behind.

Sarah never made it to school and no one has seen her since then. Her father was hesitant at first to contact the authorities for fear of harm to his family and his other children by the Salafi Muslims, who have a large presence and influence in Mersa Matrouh and Alexandria. He finally filed a report with the police on October 20, accusing 27 year old bookshop keeper and Salafist Mahmoud Abu Zied Abdel Gawwad, a married man and father of children, of abducting Sarah and marrying her against her will (AINA 11-2-2012).

"Sarah was smuggled across the borders to Libya with the help of the Interior Ministry," said Ebram Louis, founder of the Coptic non-governmental organization Association of Victims of Abduction and Enforced Disappearance (AVAED), which handles cases of abducted Coptic minors. Louis blamed the interior ministry for all the disappearances of Coptic minors, saying the ministry colludes with the Muslims.

The recently elected Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II said the kidnapping and forced conversion of Sarah is a "disgrace for the whole of Egypt." During a meeting with a delegation of the Journalists Syndicate Council at Anba Bishoy Monastery in Wadi Natrunon on November 12, he said "Can any family accept the kidnapping of their daughter and her forced conversion?"

The growing fears over kidnapping are leading many Christian families to pull their girls from school, which is a wider unfortunate effect of the policy. The fact that the authorities turn a blind eye to this means that Christians can never expect justice, girls can never feel safe, and that Islam allows a bizarre underpinning to marriage: namely that unions can be based on coercion and duplicity.

In a statement, Salafist Front made clear that they will not hand over Sarah under any circumstances. They claim that "When we take up the issue of the girl Sarah, our response is purely in terms of her human rights." Their spokesman, Khaled el Masry, said that once a girl has embraced Islam she has no Christian guardian and can therefore get married without consent.

Age is also a factor, since she is 14, but that's been discussed here and here. Please pray for Sarah, her family, and all those in captivity -- and spread the word.

Another assault on the Bride of Christ (II)

The latest tragedy was in Aleppo, Syria, where Armenian Christians had gathered to evade growing persecutions. On Monday (29Oct12) their church was torched and a group of Christians are now missing:

Speaking to the online paper, the spokesman [of the local Armenian prelacy], Zhirayr Reisian, confirmed that the church had become a target of rebels and that it had almost been reduced to ashes. Reisian also said that the Mesrobian Armenian school adjacent to the church has been seriously damaged, too.

Later Reisian told state-run agency Armenpress that a group of 10 Christians, including seven Armenians, was kidnapped near Aleppo.

Prayers for our brothers and sisters in Christ -- may they be returned quickly and safely. [This follows closely on the heels of another Muslim attack on a Christian church in Nigeria.]

"One day later..."

What undermines the integrity of Muslims--police, imams, and faithful--is that none of them decry the absurdity of "converting" and disappearing. Even if the conversion were authentic, a religion that undemines family ties, and allows marriage within 24hrs of the "change of heart" cannot garner our respect. Furthermore, the fact that the assault (the punch) in the police station didn't register any response by the authorities who witnessed it clearly reveals the lack of respect for women under Islam.

This is one small anecdote amidst a sea of abductions. It seems doubtful that the West will demand an accounting from Egypt's President Morsi--or any other Middle Eastern officials who let such actions continue without scrutiny. Multiculturalists and feminists, also, are showing their disdain for women when they remain silent.

Al-shabaab and "marriage"

Human Rights Watch has brought to light the terror waged against the girls of Somalia:

Gunmen from the Islamist al-Shabaab militia have routinely abducted teenage girls to work as servants on the frontline and forced them to marry fighters, according to a new report documenting the abuse of children in Somalia's civil war.

Girls who resisted capture can face the most appalling consequences, Human Rights Watch found. A 16-year-old girl who refused to marry an al-Shabaab commander who was three times her age was killed by his men and beheaded. Her head was brought back to the school as a warning to others.

A 19-year-old student from the Bakara district of the capital Mogadishu described how girls were taken from his school.

"Girls were taken at gunpoint. One girl said she could not go and al-Shabaab shot her in the forehead in front of my class. They said that she was a spy for the government. She was 19 years old," he said.

The forced marriage campaign by the al-Qaeda affiliate is part of its effort to impose its harsh version of Sharia on every aspect of the personal lives of women and girls, according to Human Rights Watch.

The report depicts a nightmarish world where the childhoods of boys* and girls are effectively ended at the barrel of a gun and in the short time it takes heavily armed fighters to force children from their classrooms and on to waiting trucks.

Shari'a is the legal code inspired by Islamic theology which clearly sanctions this behaviour, since the wife's consent is not integral to the union, nor is she ever an equal partner in the marriage. While the al-Shabaab version of "marriage" is extreme, it is not unIslamic. Muslim marriages only take on a gentler approach when outside influences appeal to natural law and the dignity of the human person.

[* the HRW report is likewise gravely concerned about the boys, who are also kidnapped at a young age. They are forced to fight in militia battles, and thus essentially provide cannon fodder, due to their inability to do anything of value on the front lines.]

What it means to be free

Fides News Service provides details of a disturbing story that poses serious questions:

Islamabad (Agenzia Fides) - Another case of a Pakistani Christian girl kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam was reported to Fides by the Pakistani Christians Association in Italy. Alfred Arifa is a 27-year old Catholic girl, from Nawa Killi, Quetta, who was kidnapped by a Muslim man, Amjad, in May 2009. The man was helped by two accomplices to coordinate the pre-planned kidnapping.

The kidnapping took place after she was drugged at a friend's house and taken by the man who now claims to be her husband.

Amjad told her that she had converted to Islam and had married him, showing her a fake marriage certificate. Arifa denied that she had converted to Islam, much less to have married him, since she was unconsciousness. To overcome the resistance on behalf of the girl, Amjad subjected her to mental and physical torture. Arifa was constantly drugged, severly beaten and locked in the house for two years. Arifa attempted to escape several times.

The night before August 1, Amjad had beaten Arifa severly, causing other internal injuries. On August 1, she found for the first time in two years the front door of the house unlocked. Although seriously injured, she didn't miss the chance and escaped from the house. She took a rickshaw and went to the Civil Hospital, where she was given primary treatment. She then went to her brother Adnan.

Now Arifa and her family are on the run to save their lives since they have received death threats from Amjad. Amjad says that Arifa is a Muslim and his wife. For this reason she cannot run away from home, otherwise she will be killed along with her family. On the other hand Arifa states: "I am a Christian and have always remained steadfast in my Christian faith and continued to pray to Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary in my heart for liberation during these two years of imprisonment." 

Two years in captivity, and just now she has found her way out. We pray that Our Lady's mantle cover and protect this poor family, which has been subject to such an injustice. Furthermore, we ask:

• How can a marriage have taken place without the consent of the bride?
• How can a conversion have taken place without a conscious assent of the believer?
• Why would a man want to control another person with violence and coercion?
• What sort of culture or religion believes that marriage can be established in this way?

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

The parties to a marriage covenant are a baptized man and woman, free to contract marriage, who freely express their consent; "to be free" means:

• not being under constraint;
• not impeded by any natural or ecclesiastical law.

The Church holds the exchange of consent between the spouses to be the indispensable element that "makes the marriage." If consent is lacking there is no marriage.

The consent consists in a "human act by which the partners mutually give themselves to each other": "I take you to be my wife" - "I take you to be my husband." This consent that binds the spouses to each other finds its fulfillment in the two "becoming one flesh."

The consent must be an act of the will of each of the contracting parties, free of coercion or grave external fear. No human power can substitute for this consent. If this freedom is lacking the marriage is invalid (paragraphs 1625-1628).

Egyptian crisis

Barnabas Aid points out the growing problem:

The problem of the forced conversion of Christian girls, who are then married to Muslim men, is a long-standing one in Egypt. But it has intensified since the January Revolution, with the number of Christian girls affected said to be soaring, amid wider efforts to Islamise the country. One church leader in Cairo estimates that at least 21 young girls have disappeared from his parish since the revolution, while another said that “more than two to three girls disappear everyday in Giza alone”. He added, “The cases that are brought to public attention are few compared to what the numbers actually are.”

The problem is not unique to Egypt; it is also common in Pakistan, and there have been consistent reports of its occurring in India and Sri Lanka. A Christian girl who has been forced to marry a Muslim man faces a virtually hopeless future, held captive by a family who treat her as nothing more than a slave. In Pakistan and Egypt, the woman’s name and identity is changed, with her Christian religious status being replaced with Islam on her identity card.

Please read the whole piece, keeping in mind the fundamental differences between the Islamic and Christian views of marriage. Christian marriage is the freely contracted exclusive union between one man and one woman, founded on mutual respect in order to build a stable and lasting home. The fact that Muslim marriages allow polygamy, unilateral divorce, and fundamental inequality between a husband and his wives makes a stable and respectful home impossible, while making it difficult for a woman to give her heart completely to her husband. Furthermore, when the cultural elements concerning honour are added, rape or any sexual activity on the part of the girl/woman limit her options, forcing her into very bad situations.