19 March, 2024

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The Need To Legalize ‘Underage Marriages’

By Muhammed Fazl

Muhammed Fazl

“When a woman has scholarly inclinations, there is usually something wrong with her sexuality” – Friedrich Nietzsche

The last time I attended a panel discussion on ‘Constitutional Reforms’ where feminist movements were seen ‘moving mountains’ to change divine laws governing Muslim marriages and inheritance among other changes to the Constitution, I couldn’t help but notice such organizations having a sizeable number of staff consisting of members of the LGBTQ community, divorcees, single women etc. While I am of the opinion that what we do define who we are, I sincerely hope my contribution towards addressing a key part of the Muslim Personal Law (MPL) would be taken into serious consideration by all concerned.

As usual, Islam and Muslims of Sri Lanka have come under attack once again. This time, the enemies and their collaborators seem to have adopted a more genteel approach in infringing the rights of Muslims in order to suppress the influence the faith of peace wields. It is said that ‘when India sneezes, Sri Lanka catches a cold’. Coincidence it is or a well-orchestrated stratagem by a devious third party to ‘address’ the issue of MPL simultaneously in both countries, I do not know. But ring an alarm bell it does in the minds of the local Muslim community when attempts are being made to single out the Islamic faith and its adherents by invalidating centuries-old and divine laws while more virulent and present-and-clear dangers to society are ignored.

Times have changed for worse no doubt. fourteen  years or eighteen, if a girl thinks it is her right and engages in a sexual relationship with the opposite sex, there is no further argument there…., ‘cos she is ready for marriage as well! The online activist that I am, to sum it all up, six months ago, I wrote the following on my personal Facebook page and that which was taken down since then by its administrators for reasons best known to them. Extracts of that post are as follows:-

“If a girl has reached the age of puberty, and if she is ready or willing to be married (and not coaxed into), no force on earth should have the power to act against her. End of the day, it is her life and her body. Feminist movements and rights organizations can scream as loud as they wish, but laws of nature does not pay no heed to their hypocrisy.

Living in an age where parents find it ‘cool’ allowing boyfriends to ‘pop the cherries’ of their teenage daughters’ (mostly in non-Muslim families), I somehow find it very hard to digest their hypocrisy when they oppose ‘underage’ (even if matured enough) girls wanting to get married to one man and have a family, secure life etc….

While my grandmother got married when she was 13 and had 11 healthy kids, my paternal aunt too got married when she was 13 and gave birth to 8 kids. They say age is just a number…. and it is. Needless to say, there exist kids aged between 14-16 who are much smarter than 18yr olds and who would even score a lot higher should they be tested for their IQ, general knowledge, common sense and their levels of maturity.

While education is necessary, if one is to take a good look at women with loose morals aka ‘harlots of Colombo’, he/she will see that most of them are highly educated and having come from broken families or having changed hands from one man to another when in search of emotional solace or sexual gratification. At the same time, teenage girls graduated from universities in Western countries do not seem to be fairing any better either when they are seen doing the rounds in social circles of Colombo in skimpy clothing and failing miserably in their quest for contentment, happiness and inner peace of life, and eliciting nothing but pity on themselves..

While the debate for changes to MPL rages on, one thing that should not be up for debate is the fact that no girl should be forced to or forced not to marry a man, not even by her own parents! Minimum age restrictions may limit sexual exploitation of the vulnerable to a certain extent, but in the same vein, wouldn’t it be a slap on the face of law when parents allow their teenage daughters to freely intermingle with boys of their age or older and often resulting in sexual relationships abortions and pregnancies? The hypocrisy of the ‘modern society’ is such that teenage daughters having half a dozen boyfriends (sexual partners) before they even turn 20 is considered ‘cool’ and acceptable, as against ‘hell breaking lose’ when a decent young girl under 18 years of age wants to be married and be happy. And it is not as if the so-called ‘champions of women’ causes would go out of the way to uplift the standard of living of a less fortunate young girl…, let alone help financially to sustain her or the family she belongs to. While I am no medical doctor, respect as well we must medical opinions should it go against marrying early. But then again, it would be exceptional cases”.

While I do not dispute the fact that Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) of 1951 needs to be rewritten, as long as it does not contravene the teachings of Islam, I believe it should be alright to accommodate requirements of the modern society that we live in. Having examined few clauses of the existing act, I would appreciate should knowledgeable individuals respond to the following:-

1 – While it is disappointing seeing local feminists and/or representatives in NGOs of Crusader countries misconstruing on public media the notion of girls not having reached the age of 18 to be as 12-year olds as if it is a rule, reflect does it not their true intentions, one of them being to demean Islamic laws and Muslims in general?

2 – As per the demands of feminist rights movements, if reaching 18 years of age is what it takes to be considered as ‘matured and ready for marriage’, would a girl who is only 17 years and 360 days old be considered ‘immature and NOT ready for marriage’? And if so, wouldn’t that be an insult to the intelligence of girls who are much younger than 18, but who could possibly be a lot more matured, educated and intelligent than some 25-year olds of the same sex? I mean who set reaching 18 years of age as the standard for one to be considered as ‘mature’ in the first place?

3 – If 13 years of secular schooling is what it takes for a girl to be considered as someone with a ‘sound mind’, would that be an indication of being educated enough to take correct decisions and make righteous judgements in life? And if so, wouldn’t that criteria make a mockery of this ‘13 years of schooling’, education etc. when the so-called ‘educated women’ end up being promiscuous or lead adulterous lives even when married in addition to having other anti-social habits in their latter years of their lives?

4 – Based on isolated incidents. If ‘underage marriages’ result in sexual and physical abuse of children as claimed by feminist rights movements hell-bent on ‘reforming’ MPL, would marrying once they reach the ‘age of consent’ help them find the perfect life, married or otherwise for certain? To throw a challenge, if these feminist movements can list X number of cases of abuse resulting from ‘underage marriages’, I probably could prepare a bigger list (many times the X number) of women who got married long after the suggested 18-year threshold and who now literally live a ‘life of hell’!

The point I try making here is, instead of burying our heads in the sand highlighting the age factor alone, the focus should be on the abuse itself. And to educate the ignorant, statistics also reveal that, countries championing causes in favor of minimum age laws having the highest divorce rates of more than 50%…. not to mention a considerable percentage from the other half having adulterous relationships with co-workers and friends while remaining ‘married’.

5 – As claimed by feminist rights movements, if physical and sexual abuse of minors are a problem in countries where no minimum-age requirement laws for marriages are strictly implemented, does it not the following report prove them feminists organizations wrong and expose their devious and manipulating ways? And ironic is it not when countries that champion laws governing minimum age requirements happens to be among top on the list of countries with the highest cases of physical and sexual abuse of women and teenage girls as against statistics of Islamic countries where girls marry young?

6 – Contradict themselves do they not when the Zionist/Christian West falsely claims to be liberating women from an ‘oppressive’ culture/religion, suppresses rights of Muslims for exercising the right of their women for choosing their attire when in public? In the same vein, attempts of the so-called ‘reformist’ feminist rights movements here in Sri Lanka the same when they force their agenda on an unsuspecting community quite content with their religion and their traditions?

I am indeed impressed by the ability of the West to instill ‘values’ that determine the wrongs and rights in the minds of the ‘Westernized’ but ignorant Muslim population of Sri Lanka. If modern day fathers cannot fathom the fact their daughters will be deflowered at some stage in their teenage years, they might as well restrict their daughters from having any kind of contacts with the opposite sex. If a daughter who is just 14 years old is considered as a mere ‘baby’ to parents, does she ceases to be such when she turns 18? I guess it does only when we allow elements in the West and their ‘foot soldiers’ here at home to ‘brainwash’ us into thinking in those lines. Times have changed and so have attitudes towards life and sex in the minds of the young. If marrying an ‘underage’ girl raises the question of possible sexual abuse, let us also criminalize the act of sex between teenagers and jail half of International school-going kids in Colombo for engaging in such!

The body and life of a girl/woman is hers alone. Eighteen or not, girls should be able to decide on whom to marry and when to marry. And if one has not reached the age of 18, to strike a compromise, her case should be addressed by a respectable judge on an individual basis and on its own merit. When it comes to matters of love, life and happiness, ‘one-size-fits-all’ approaches should be discouraged. As much as we the right-thinking, lobbyists and policy makers are against forced and child marriages, we should also be careful enough not to enforce ourselves and prevent a holy matrimony from taking place. As long as the bride has attained the age of sexual maturity and if she is mentally and physically strong enough to embark on a long journey, what right should an unrelated third party have in preventing the same girl from entering into a union that provides her with love, sustenance and security among others? And what if the couple intending to get married are ‘soul mates’ and meant for each other? Not to mention the economic situation of the girl and her family…. Or should we be promoting the prevailing promiscuous culture amongst teens in the West right here in Sri Lanka by delaying their chances for marriage? And while at it, making it a lot easier for teenage girls to experience and enjoy sex with as many partners before the thought of marriage even cross their minds?

I mean are we so blind to realities in life that we fail to acknowledge the fact that promiscuity and debauchery at early stages in life contributing to break down of marriages and loss of family values often resulting in increased levels of crime as an addition?

Let’s admit it…. Muslims and Islam are the real targets here for this ‘reforms’ to MPL. It is my firm belief that the Zionist/Crusader West is on an ‘unholy’ mission to castigate the Prophet of Islam in a negative light and to make him look a ‘pedophile’ in the eyes of millions of unsuspecting masses for his marriage to his very young wife Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). The fact is, as it was customary those days to marry young, the Prophet of Islam consummated the marriage ONLY AFTER his young bride attained age.  While the following link enlightens us of the ‘age of consent’ in both past and present times, I believe the world needs to stop the use of words such as ‘Pedophilia’ and ‘Child Marriages’ irresponsibly, and to stop using them as weapons to fulfil their ulterior motives when they are blind themselves to realities in life and lack the resolve to move ahead.

There is never a day where we don’t read about incidents of teachers having sex with their young students in Western countries…. Not to mention it being considered an extreme rare case not being able to find a 14-year old virgin among school-going kids in those same countries. In this context, why are we making a mountain out of a molehill here? And if sex with multiple partners is good and an acceptable norm when 13-17 year olds engage in it, WHY NOT marriage with just one man while being provided with a sense of security, love and all good things that come along with it?

If the welfare of children in general is of utmost importance to those striving to change MPL, why not start with Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka where I believe 99% of them tiny ‘monks’ who are no more than 6 years of age and who are sexually abused on a daily basis by seniors wearing robes of a monk and claiming to be monks? It is not right for those little boys to be ‘caged’ with unrelated male strangers who apparently and outwardly claim to live a life of celibacy…. and devoid of women! I mean, how hard is it for one to figure out what really goes behind those walls? Little boys being ‘spiritual’ and gaining knowledge about Buddha’s teachings when they should be having a normal childhood and an upbringing? I mean is this a bad joke that nobody takes notice no more? Surely, instead of being stuck with isolated cases of abuse resulting from ‘child marriages’ numbering not more than a dozen, shouldn’t the government and children’s rights movements be cracking down hard on temples and cracking down NOW?

To allay any misconceptions about the title of this article, legalizing ‘underage’ marriages is NOT necessarily to enforce the practice as a norm, but to allow girls in certain situations to exercise their right to a decent life should that option be in their best interests. And in the event the government goes ahead with making changes before having proper consultations with representatives of all concerned Muslim and Islamic religious organizations, I fear the inevitability of extremist forces amongst the Muslim population declaring a semi-war on the government.

It is 15:35 in Colombo and even though the old saying – “after 12, it is lunch time” comes to my mind, just as I delay experiencing all that is beautiful till the times of sunset when calmness reigns at around 18 hundred hours, I would expect the same patience or more for all stakeholders to exercise before they rush into taking drastic decisions that one day our future generations could hold us accountable for.

*Editor’s note: The Colombo Telegraph does not hold any or all of the views of the writer of this essay. Prior to publication the editorial board pondered on the contents of the essay. We felt the essay was representative of the mindset of many Muslim males. We believe that this essay by an English speaker would be reflective of a deep rooted regression among the community.

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Latest comments

  • 35
    3

    What a bloody demented jerk is this moron?? He needs to be kicked out of job. Sick dog that he is.

  • 31
    2

    please go back to your time line neanderthal

  • 20
    3

    Holy cow… Maybe this man Fazi would like to marry an under-aged girl??? Maybe he wants his young daughter to marry an 80 year old pervert who can’t control his sexuality??? Man Fazi, we all know these Laws, as you call them, were made when Muslim men were acting like the desert dogs they were, raping and killing young girls??? Why can’t you bloody morons go castrate yourselves in the name of Islam??? Why don’t you first control yourself man and stop castigating Islam for your selfish needs… just like what the ‘Prophet’ did??? And you cann yourself a damn MAN????? A human???

  • 22
    4

    Some one has to talk with Fazi’s wife who is a former buddhist to see how she is treated and look afrer.

    Probably her only job is producing children and cooking.

    A little bit advanced than animals because live inside houses.

  • 5
    2

    Fazl looks youthful. How many non-Muslim youths say such Fasl things – that too matter-of-factly. Why? Because at school (including Sunday/Poyaday schools) such things are not even mentioned and taken for granted as plain wrong. There is a case to monitor what is taught in Fazl-schools.

  • 11
    2

    Stop talking rubbish . Let women live before having to settle down . Lowering the age of consent will exacerbate the problems that exist throughout Asian countries , notably sex tourism. I’ve visited Sri Lanka twice and both times offered sex with children , the secod tome i had the perpetrator arrested . He should be stewing in galle goal now .

    As a father of a 22 year old daughter living in England , I find it quite offensive that the author can make a judgement on my parenting skills and those of other non muslims . We protect our children too and make sure they are safe and make the correct decisions in life . I guess she has had partners by now , how many though is none of my business . She’s a Phd Psychology student and hopefully will comtribute to society .

    Here’s my point . Let them live . Let them grow and teach them to be good and most importantly how to dream . They’ll marry in their own time ( if at all I’m 43 and unmarried ) . Lowering the age of consent is an awful thing to do .

  • 9
    1

    In response to the writer, M Fazl’s queries:

    1 – While it is disappointing seeing local feminists and/or representatives in NGOs of Crusader countries misconstruing on public media the notion of girls not having reached the age of 18 to be as 12-year olds as if it is a rule, reflect does it not their true intentions, one of them being to demean Islamic laws and Muslims in general?

    Response – The real disappointment is in having to constantly correct the views of men like the writer who live in denial of the issues facing the women & children of the Muslim community & as a result perpetuate their current undignified treatment by men like themselves which is notably NOT Islamic. By referencing feminists, NGO’s & the ‘west’ he points to other players with evil intentions as the source for the call for reform so as to not acknowledge that this call comes from within the community – he silences the voices of women, both poor & privileged, who have spoken up for reform.
    It is the writer who demeans Islamic law & Muslims with his writing that shows no compassion & understanding.

  • 7
    0

    2 – As per the demands of feminist rights movements, if reaching 18 years of age is what it takes to be considered as ‘matured and ready for marriage’, would a girl who is only 17 years and 360 days old be considered ‘immature and NOT ready for marriage’? And if so, wouldn’t that be an insult to the intelligence of girls who are much younger than 18, but who could possibly be a lot more matured, educated and intelligent than some 25-year olds of the same sex? I mean who set reaching 18 years of age as the standard for one to be considered as ‘mature’ in the first place?

    Response – FYI, 18 years is not an arbitrary number but rather the age at which a child, boy or girl, would have studied to the highest level of Secondary education. Maturity is subjective – but education gives us the greatest opportunity to reach maturity. Insulting the intelligence of younger more mature girls ready for marriage is less of a risk than permitting the marriage of children incapable of dealing with the institution of marriage physically, mentally & with maturity.
    The math is simple – educate a woman (to the best possible level) and you educate a family – a community – a nation.

  • 6
    0

    3 – If 13 years of secular schooling is what it takes for a girl to be considered as someone with a ‘sound mind’, would that be an indication of being educated enough to take correct decisions and make righteous judgements in life? And if so, wouldn’t that criteria make a mockery of this ‘13 years of schooling’, education etc. when the so-called ‘educated women’ end up being promiscuous or lead adulterous lives even when married in addition to having other anti-social habits in their latter years of their lives?

    Response – Yes, with the right education & up bringing by the parents a girl can be expected to take the correct decisions & judgments. It is sad that the writer has ever only encountered educated women who are promiscuous / adulterous & anti-social, he will be heartened to know that this is not always the case – levels of education & promiscuity are not directly proportional – and subjugating children to marriage to prevent their education is not a solution to promiscuity, adultery.
    Note to the writer – it takes two to commit adultery, women are not the sole miscreants and their marriage as children would not reduce the number of promiscuous & adulterous men.

  • 3
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    4 – Based on isolated incidents. If ‘underage marriages’ result in sexual and physical abuse of children as claimed by feminist rights movements hell-bent on ‘reforming’ MPL, would marrying once they reach the ‘age of consent’ help them find the perfect life, married or otherwise for certain? To throw a challenge, if these feminist movements can list X number of cases of abuse resulting from ‘underage marriages’, I probably could prepare a bigger list (many times the X number) of women who got married long after the suggested 18-year threshold and who now literally live a ‘life of hell’!
    The point I try making here is, instead of burying our heads in the sand highlighting the age factor alone, the focus should be on the abuse itself. And to educate the ignorant, statistics also reveal that, countries championing causes in favor of minimum age laws having the highest divorce rates of more than 50%…. not to mention a considerable percentage from the other half having adulterous relationships with co-workers and friends while remaining ‘married’.

    Response – Protective clauses such as a minimum age would ensure that every child is protected – even if the number of cases of abuse were low, which they are not, the duty to protect the one child exists.
    While there is much to be gained by the girl, her husband & community by her education there is much more lost by her marriage as a child. Simply put no one wins with child marriages and it is therefore in the interests of the community to end this practice.

    The writer is requested to refer the link https://mplreforms.com/unequal-citizens-study/ to inform himself of the Sri Lankan Muslim women & children who have suffered from child marriage and decide on the number at which he will be comfortable supporting the reform –hopefully 01 or maybe a 100 – as it seems that he needs a number to act honorably and with common sense.

    We welcome the writers pledge to provide a list of women who have married over the age of 18 & now live a hellish life – we would appreciate a note of the reasons for their hellish lives, abusive husbands etc. and a separate campaign to assist these women can be arranged. All women deserve compassion not only the young ones.

  • 2
    0

    5 – As claimed by feminist rights movements, if physical and sexual abuse of minors are a problem in countries where no minimum-age requirement laws for marriages are strictly implemented, does it not the following report prove them feminists organizations wrong and expose their devious and manipulating ways? And ironic is it not when countries that champion laws governing minimum age requirements happens to be among top on the list of countries with the highest cases of physical and sexual abuse of women and teenage girls as against statistics of Islamic countries where girls marry young?

    Response – The irony lies in that the writer seems to imply that to reduce the physical & sexual abuse of women & children a country must permit girls to marry young and not in correcting the men who perpetrate the violence.

    The writer’s reference to statistics on ‘Violence against Women around the Globe’ has one major item to be considered & that is that the statistics showcase ‘Reported’ numbers of violence, it is not that there is less violence in Asian & African countries, where child marriages are most prevalent, but just that the violence is not reported.
    To explain, ‘Sweden’ is high on the list of countries with reported number of cases of violence against women but is also, as reported in the same article, one of the best countries for women, due to the equality & safety it provides its female citizens. To connect the dots, it is the ease of reporting a sexual crime without fear of reprimand that allows for Sweden to achieve the status of ‘best country for women’ albeit having high number of cases of violence.

  • 2
    0

    6 – Contradict themselves do they not when the Zionist/Christian West falsely claims to be liberating women from an ‘oppressive’ culture/religion, suppresses rights of Muslims for exercising the right of their women for choosing their attire when in public? In the same vein, attempts of the so-called ‘reformist’ feminist rights movements here in Sri Lanka the same when they force their agenda on an unsuspecting community quite content with their religion and their traditions?

    Response – The writer shows here that he is uninformed about the ground realities and seems to have based his opinions on his family alone. While we are glad the he & his family live contently, the women, the mothers, the girls of the Sri Lankan Muslim community have spoken out for protection and have been doing so for the last two decades only to be stifled by men like the writer who pivot from the real issues, name alien propagandists to create a smoke screen around the issues and hope that we deny change for fear of the Zionist/Christian West.

    It is clear that this article is spinning information to try & legitimize the writer’s irrational claims & is indicative of the poor judgment & analysis of information by the writer. He is not an authority that the Muslim or any community should pay heed to and whose work should be published by any reputable organization.

    There is no right corner to this article & there rose the need to debunk and untangle the web of misinformation written to divert the reader’s attention away from understanding & acting in empathy to protect children of our community.

  • 3
    0

    Much corrosive vitriol, and opprobrium, has been heaped on the hapless Fazl (talk about giving Muhammed a bad name!). . Masters of the old school would probably call him a ‘cnut’. Short and simple. The thing is that he may well be voicing what a huge number of Muslims think. BUT even more Muslims, do not agree with.

    The modern Muslims that I am fortunate to associate with would certainly not agree with Fazl. I know that without exception they want not just their sons, but their daughters too, to choose. CHOOSE a good school, get a good education, learn to think, and to reason. Choose good friends. Choose a career. Choose a partner who will be your equal, and earn your respect. AND, every now and then these good parents have their children reward them with a hug in appreciation.

    These are the good Muslim parents that will not dream of writing to CT. But they do exist. They are the unseen heroes of Islam, and not the likes of Fazl, Erdogan et al.

    I cannot for the likes of me think what goes through the mind of Fazl. Maybe he should have read Kant and not Nietzsche.

  • 9
    0

    In his defence, Muhammed Fazl displays the intellectual prowess of a troglodyte who has spent his entire life reading one book. So indeed, he is right.

  • 5
    0

    The rationale for this justification is in his statement i.e. “While my grandmother got married when she was 13 and had 11 healthy kids”

    POPULATION INCREASE

  • 9
    0

    I would like to know the number of under-age girls Mr Muhammed Fazl raped…..er I meant by his standards, saved. I am also curious to know if this is a justification to further a compulsive genetic predisposition.

    What fascinates me even more is the mental aptitude of the half-wits who employ him.

    You all need serious help.

  • 3
    0

    Mr Muhammed Fazl assertion of the definition of intelligence is alarming. IQ does not represent the whole of intelligence.

    Anyone who has read a decent book on neuroscience would know that the decisions making part of the brain (Prefrontal cortex) reaches its full development, generally between the late 20’s and the mid 30’s. This is the established and verified pattern based on peer reviewed and accepted research. There will always be exceptions to the rule, but cannot be considered as the norm due to its uniqueness. The Majority of young girls or boys (below 20y) are not sound decision makers. Every parent with teenagers are aware of this.

    This article reveals the following,

    1. Sex and Marriage are two different aspects.
    2. Justification of Pedophilia, Hebephilia by proxy.
    3. Using anecdotal biases as evidence.
    4. Using archaic text and Divine Law as an excuse to further immoral behaviour and a crime.

    I can only conclude, although Mr Muhammed Fazl conveniently leaves it to under-age girls to decide, He is trying to justify the most immoral, unethical and unforgivable crime known to mankind.

    Yes. Mr Muhammed Fazl is either a Paedophile or a Supporter.

  • 9
    2

    However repugnant Fazl’s views on this issue are, I remember that when Gotabhaya was terrorizing people in Colombo, especially minorities, before the new regime of Sirisena-Ranil came into power, it was this Fazl who openly and fearlessly questioned it and spoke out about justice for war crimes, in articles and comments right here on CT. And there were videos of him challenging the Rajapaksa toady, Dayan Jayatilleka, at a meeting in person.

    Everybody knows the murderous tyranny and bestiality of the Rajapaksas but there were many–including many of those who take a holier-than-thou attitude toward Fazl here in the comment pages–who still supported them with various rationalizations. Many even now want to bring the Rajapaksas back to power.

    Indeed, I believe it was the tyranny of the Rajapaksas that gave an ‘activist’ sheen to someone who might otherwise have been just another Islamic radical with jihadist sympathies and stone age views about women’s place in society. So his critics need to take a hard look at themselves first.

  • 4
    0

    When a man has manic sexual inclinations, there is usually something wrong with his mentality. Thus he belongs to a lunatic asylum. – Humanity (About M. Fazi)

  • 3
    0

    This is exactly why the Sri Lankan constitution and the governing bodies should be secular. No religion should be given prominence over the other. The law and order should be above all the religions including Buddhism and Islam.

    No religious group should have the right to lobby for laws that violate basic human rights. Women have a right to education. In a secular state a religious group will have no power to deny this right based on a twisted interpretation of their religion. There should be no place for any ‘divine laws’. Laws should not violate the basic human rights, period.

  • 1
    0

    1) Regarding the accusation that the Prophet married a minor:
    There is much information on the internet about this. However there are 2 very prominent versions of the traditions and laws, from Sunni and Shia sources. I do not wish to open the Pandora’s box between these 2 warring groups, but I found it noteworthy that the Shia versions are far more respectful towards Mohamed and his family.
    Furthermore Shia don’t state stuff which enable the Islam-haters to attack Mohamed, notably the age of his wife at marriage.
    Although the Sunnis stick dogmatically to the version his wife was a minor at marriage, the Shia have quoted many Sunni historians to prove the opposite, e.g.
    Muslim authors who calculate Aisha’s age based on the more detailed information available about her sister Asma, estimate that she was between seventeen and nineteen at the time of her marriage.
    Muhammad Niknam Arabshahi, an Iranian Islamic scholar and historian, has considered six different approaches to determining Aisha’a age and concluded that she was engaged in her late teens.
    Another example:
    Barlas, Asma (2012). “Believing Women” in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur’an. University of Texas Press. p. 126. On the other hand, however, Muslims who calculate ‘Ayesha’s age based on details of her sister Asma’s age, about whom more is known, as well as on details of the Hijra (the Prophet’s migration from Mecca to Madina), maintain that she was over thirteen and perhaps between seventeen and nineteen when she got married. Such views cohere with those Ahadith that claim that at her marriage Ayesha had “good knowledge of Ancient Arabic poetry and genealogy” and “pronounced the fundamental rules of Arabic Islamic ethics”.

  • 3
    0

    2) It seems to me that Muslim men are charging in blindly to defend a practice which they attribute to their Prophet, thus leaving them (and their Prophet) vulnerable to attack from all sides, especially the haters of Islam and Muslims.
    Perhaps Muslims should start thinking more logically and rationally, and examine the sources of their information. The Muslims believe that the Koran is the Word of God to the letter. The interpretation of this Word is supposed to be in the Six Authentic Books of Narrations.
    However they say there are very weak narrations and very strong narrations, some even opposing the Koran. If that is the case, I fail to understand how these Books are called Authentic. And of course there are the Shia narrations that totally contradict the Sunni versions.
    In fact on further analysis, one finds that theologians in the recent past have discarded one of these authentic books and replaced it with another. The reason behind this, according to the Shias, is that the original one was more in line with the Shia narrations, hence not suitable for the Wahabis.
    When I inquired from my well educated Sunni friends as to why they do not compare their narrations with the Shia narrations, the answer is that they fear their faith being corrupted.
    Of course to be fair this is to be seen in other faiths too.
    Why don’t these Muslims read up on both versions and use their logic and reasoning to verify if what they are following is correct. After all one of these traditions says: “Go seek knowledge, even unto China”. China was a non-Muslim country even then.

  • 1
    0

    3) Regarding marriageable age starting at the onset of puberty:
    One wonders if the myriad stories of the Prophets child bride were fabricated to give Aisha a very prominent place in the society as the favourite wife, so as to back up the caliphate of her father Abu Bakr, which was being challenged by Ali.
    Around the time these religions were revealed, the volume of knowledge an average man or woman had to study was small. Hence the woman for instance could have finished her studies at the onset of puberty.
    Nowadays since the volume of knowledge is so much more, it is necessary for a man or woman to study at least until 18 to achieve this status, when they can decide for themselves whether to pursue studies further, or marry and have children.
    Of course there are minimal exceptions to all such man made rules, but if the state makes a rule that the minimum age for marriage should be 18 so as to avoid any abuse, is it not incumbent on the citizens to accept this and abide by it?

  • 3
    0

    Why does the Colombo Telegraph still even publish this type of maniacal blathering? I’d far rather read some shark stories by five-year-olds.

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