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German judge rouses anger by citing Koran
www.iht.com
A German judge has stirred a storm of protest here by citing the Koran in turning down a German Muslim wife's request for a fast-track divorce on the ground that her husband beat her.
In a remarkable ruling that underlines the tension between Muslim customs and European laws, the judge, Christa Datz-Winter, said the couple came from a Moroccan cultural milieu in which it is common for husbands to beat their wives. The Koran, she wrote, sanctions such physical abuse.
News of the ruling brought swift and sharp condemnation from politicians, legal experts and Muslim leaders in Germany, many of whom said they were confounded that a German judge would put seventh-century Islamic religious teaching ahead of German law in deciding a case of domestic violence.
The court in Frankfurt abruptly removed Datz-Winter from the case on Wednesday, saying it could not justify her reasoning. The woman's lawyer, Barbara Becker-Rojczyk, said she decided to publicize the ruling, which was issued in January, after the court refused her request for a new judge.
"It was terrible for my client," Becker-Rojczyk said. "This man beat her seriously from the beginning of their marriage. After they separated, he called her and threatened to kill her."
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How can anybody justify under any pretense that it is alright to beat up your spouse? This has to do with control and power, not with love. This is not ishk, this is not wadud (all loving).
This is imposing one's ego on someone else. Such behavior comes from insecurity, fear, doubts and all the demons that make a man believe that to be a man it must dominate the beautiful woman that he has made his companion. This is not the exemple of the prophet Mohammed (pbuh) with Khadija, Aisha, and all the women around him. Walking in the footsteps of the prophet (fana fi rassoul) is knowing about the beautiful women around the prophet who as Khadija was a business woman, powerful, confident (she is the one who lifted the veils of doubts when the prophet came from the cave), who trusted in him and gave him the charge of her business first before she gave him all her support in believing in him in his prophecy. In a way, she was his teacher.
As salam aleykum
A German judge has stirred a storm of protest here by citing the Koran in turning down a German Muslim wife's request for a fast-track divorce on the ground that her husband beat her.
In a remarkable ruling that underlines the tension between Muslim customs and European laws, the judge, Christa Datz-Winter, said the couple came from a Moroccan cultural milieu in which it is common for husbands to beat their wives. The Koran, she wrote, sanctions such physical abuse.
News of the ruling brought swift and sharp condemnation from politicians, legal experts and Muslim leaders in Germany, many of whom said they were confounded that a German judge would put seventh-century Islamic religious teaching ahead of German law in deciding a case of domestic violence.
The court in Frankfurt abruptly removed Datz-Winter from the case on Wednesday, saying it could not justify her reasoning. The woman's lawyer, Barbara Becker-Rojczyk, said she decided to publicize the ruling, which was issued in January, after the court refused her request for a new judge.
"It was terrible for my client," Becker-Rojczyk said. "This man beat her seriously from the beginning of their marriage. After they separated, he called her and threatened to kill her."
====
How can anybody justify under any pretense that it is alright to beat up your spouse? This has to do with control and power, not with love. This is not ishk, this is not wadud (all loving).
This is imposing one's ego on someone else. Such behavior comes from insecurity, fear, doubts and all the demons that make a man believe that to be a man it must dominate the beautiful woman that he has made his companion. This is not the exemple of the prophet Mohammed (pbuh) with Khadija, Aisha, and all the women around him. Walking in the footsteps of the prophet (fana fi rassoul) is knowing about the beautiful women around the prophet who as Khadija was a business woman, powerful, confident (she is the one who lifted the veils of doubts when the prophet came from the cave), who trusted in him and gave him the charge of her business first before she gave him all her support in believing in him in his prophecy. In a way, she was his teacher.
As salam aleykum
Comments on this journal
Actually The judge was coming from a valid groubd - namely verse 34 of Sura Al Nisa. Thesame verse, which socalled "scholars" and other muslim "experts" have claimed as being the divine right given to men to beat their wives into obedience. The Quran, as it is transalated and interpreted today, It DOES SANCTION WIFE BEATING.
Never mind the flaws in terms of the failure to acept and acknowledge basic pschological patterns as well as human instincts, I have spoken to modern day "scholars" active in the western world "educating" and influencing youths on this matter. One of them has actually written an in depth manual on exactly how to beat your wife. I am assuming divine intervention and revelation came to him only, - in his dreams from God. Shame God "failed" to reveal this 1400 years ago.Instead we have imams, "scholars, muftis, Alims claiming to know more and certainly know how to interpret thisverse.
So really the Judge is not ouit of line on the matter. I think we need to see the ruling as a harsh yet needed provocation so that we can reflect on our own behaviour. Why is it ok for muslim males (of course not all but majority as well as the self proclaimed "experts" to claim this verse when "enlighting men of their rights over women - and not a single muslim speaks up against this in outrage as well as disgust? Yet we are quick to jump to judgement when a German judge rules in favour of "islamic" ruling on this matter?
Are you aware that domestic violence is not even seen as a crime in majority of muslim countries if not all? It is strictly taken to be a mans right and most women suffer in silence because it is an accepted norm by society and family. It is not something which gives rise to raises eyebrows as it would in non muslim and developed countries.
Allah says something very interesting in his book - in order to want the world to change we must implement and practice that change ourselves. Well are we? No. far from.
So although the ruling would be in breach of german laws on domestic violence and spousal disagreement, it is fully in line with what any imam/"scholar"/mufti/alim will preach. So the interpretation of this verse needs to be revised - not for the sake of pleasing the west (as many would quickly imply perhaps), but in order to restrore the true meaning of Islam - peace. And beating your wife, who you sleep with, who you expect to carry your offspring and to give birth to them, to give you a home, nurture and love you - is just disrespectful and lack of any compassion at all.
But ultimately we need to stop throwing stones when we live in glasshouses and have no intent of dealing with the issue when at the hands of muslims.
The topic is too lengthy to be discussed here but all the time we hear many muslims, settled in non muslim countries to want to practise their faith to full, some even demanding sharia laws to an extent if not sharia states, demanding mosques, demanding hala foods in work places and schools, demanding prayer rooms on campus - and then we are outraged when a judge provokes us by showing us the discrepency of our own manmade laws by violating and tampering with Gods revelation.
Yet no muslim will ever go againstt he words of the local mullah or "scholar" because they can surely not tamper with, misintrepet (consciously), misunderstand Gods revealed words but only a german judge can? That is far fetched.
So either we also need to consider the lame rulings of such mullahs/"scholars"/imams before we point out fingers at one single german judge.
Though it is hard to base anything on 3 posts, I would suggest humbly, that muslims need to enlight themselves on this matter before stating in clear terms that this must be wrong. It is not wrong and to dfate I have yet to meet or speak to a muslim "scholar" who does not support men beting their women in light of beforementioned verse.
And if they wanted to remove the judge they should have done so on the grounds that she didn't know what she was talking about, had mis-quoted/misinterpreted the Quraan and had failed completely in justifying her ruling - instead they qualified the misconceptions she herslef was spreading by using this as a platform to claim that: "seventh-century Islamic religious teaching" was responsible for the husband's behaviour!
How typical.
Peace