BEATING WOMAN FOR ALLAH. Should non-muslims respect Islamic cultural norms regarding the beating of woman?

Question

Quran 4:34 "(as to those muslimah’s) on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and leave them alone in the sleeping-places and beat them;" http://cwis.usc.edu/dept/msa/quran/004.qmt.html

This IS a part of Islamic culture...that is...the right of men to intimidate woman. Denying it doesnt change what we all know to be a fact.

So if you believe that all religions and/or cultures inherently deserve respect, just for existing, then you MUST respect a Muslim mans right to beat his woman.

Keep in mind, these norms are important to mainsting Islamic culture. The Taliban arent the only Muslims beating woman who show their ankles. Only in the cities do woman have a little more breathing space, however the bulk of Islamic population exists under Islamic norms very much like the Taliban...woman can expect a beating for displaying any feminity.

Answer 1

You are talking about CULTURE, NOT RELIGION. Learn the difference. It's common in American culture, but you don't blame that on religion. Ignorant, uninformed men beat their wife, regardless of their religious beliefs. My husband is Muslim and never abuses me. I am his life, his wife, his queen, and I am treated as such.

Answer 2

Actually it's not. There are two completely different interpretations of that verse. Another interpretation completely leaves off the part about beating them. The worst part of this question is you are using extremists as an example. You really need to educate yourself. So I will do it for you:

The first translation is the one you have and the second is: "Men are the support of women as God gives some more means than others, and because they spend of their wealth (to provide for them)... As for women you feel are averse, talk to them suasively; then leave them alone in bed (without molesting them) and go to bed with them (when they are willing)"

The difficulty is translating the word qawwamuna 'ala an-nisa which could mean, protect, support or attend to. The final word in the verse, adribuhunna (sp?) can either mean beat them or go along with them. Again, it's trying to find an English translation to the varying words in Arabic. If the Bible translations truly are correct, why are there so many different versions of them?

Before the religion of Islam entered into the Arab world, women were seen as chattels and could not own property. If you consider the Christian culture (which is also my religion), they have done the same thing. Women had to stay at home and tend to the house and children while the man went to work.

The idea of women being covered up, (1) was to emulate the way the wives of Muhammad because they were considered "the Mothers of the Ummah". They were never forced to wear them, they were just adopted over a period of time after Muhammad's death. (2) His wives were veiled for a sense of modesty. They had to have their clothes around them a little to be recognized as believers and so no harm will come to them (33:60). After all, they were married to a prophet.

The problem lies in the difficulty of interpreting middle eastern languages to English. There are words in Arabic that may mean admire, but when translated English mean have sex with.

Anything violent is not in the name of Allah. Which is why they don't recognize "holy war" as part of their religion. I am not Muslim. But I do study the culture to help correct people who make assumptions such as this one.

Answer 3

Like you made so clear, it is part of Islamic CULTURE. This does not occur very often (I know you won't believe that because of what you read/hear from your television, but whatever..) and is strongly discouraged in Islam. It is only more common in certain areas, and is hardly done in general (and that's true).

Your statement that the bulk of Islamic population exists under Islamic norms is grossly exaggerated and misleading. Thats not even true, as many Islamic countries do not approve of this as being of the "norm" and are actually quite secular. I wonder where you got this information from?

Besides, I'm sure domestic violence offices aren't filled every day with beaten Muslim wives, but instead families of other religions which really doesn't matter to anyone because they aren't Muslim. But when a Muslim woman shows signs of so-called oppression, it is made a headline...

Consider Blue Sky's answer, you hypocrite. Actually, that is still a law today.

Answer 4

well according to what i have heard, islam is not a religion, it is a way of life (two completely separate things)

Anyways, to completely adopt that way of life, u must be living in an islamic system. There are no true islamic systems anywhere in the world (islamic system - meaning a country has to follow everything in quran; the judicial system, education system etc.)

What muslims are doing now is following some and leaving the other parts...if there is no system, a muslim cannot really practice islam. So the beating of a woman only applies if u r living in an islamic system. Plus someone once told me, that by beating, it does not mean that you have to physically harm a woman, it means to even thouch her with a tooth brush...just to make her realize what she is doing is worng.

Anyways, as someone already mentioned, it is culture that leads us to believe all that.

But my point is that, if there is no islamic system, then a man has no way to judge what he should do, therefore he should not beat her...

Answer 5

If they are in the USA, they are criminals in violation of our laws for abusing any member of their family. Family violence is never acceptable in our country regardless of what religion they call themselves. Look at the religious cults that are polygamists, rape children and women, and beat men to make them follow the rules of their cult.

The United States laws do not permit nor condone any such treatment of any person. To tolerate anyone in our country being abused because of religion is a against the law and punishable just like any other crime of the same nature that isn't due to religious beliefs.

If you witness this crime and do nothing to help, then you are yourself a part of the crime by looking the other way and not reporting to the law enforcement officials so that an arrest can be made to end the suffering of those being abused.

End Family Violence!

Answer 6

No, we should not respect any religion or any system that abuses or belittles any of it's members.
As our own Declaration of Independence states:
All men are created equal, and are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights...
(ahh, for "men", read "human beings")
The idea that the Bible says it is OK for a man to beat his wife is simply not so.
I have never found any such verse in the Bible, nor has anyone else, as far as I know.
Unfortunately, the notion that men are supposed to be dominant has been twisted by a great many people down through the ages in order to "keep them women in their place"...but, now that everyone has the right to read the Bible for themselves, these out-dated and basically false premises are rapidly losing ground.
Even Paul, bless him, thanked the women who taught him.

Answer 7

Yeh, right. . .kinda like in Christian/Judeo scripture where a preacher's daughter has to be set afire if she gets rewarded for having sex. Guess the point is to get dad to drop the weekend job and be a good pimp...

And if you want to ensure that your bride-to-be doesn't get killed for having sex with another man, just make sure she hasn't been emancipated. . . . one of them perks women get for being a slave doncha know ...

The problem is not with the rules, it is with the people who take them too seriously. Doesn't matter if the rules are hiding behind corporate policy, political regiment, or some other form of religiosity . . .

P.S. Don't do any thing silly like wash your car or mow your lawn on the Sabbath - - - it could be fatal.

Remember: Religion is what the powerful use to keep those they oppress from killing them.

Answer 8

Because women aren't possession but individuals with rights, opinions and guns, I would strongly advise against such disgusting displays of violence.

I think you are trying to say if we claim to respect a religion then we can't chose what parts to uphold and what to throw away. However this doesn't work because not all Muslims believe in wife beating.

Answer 9

I'm all for respecting people's cultures and religions as well. The only thing is, if one one is going to follow their beliefs, they also have to respect the laws of the land in which they live. In most countries, it's called domestic battery or something similar. If they beat their wives, they have to be prepared to answer to suffer the consequences of their actions.

Answer 10

I am sorry. I do NOT believe all religions deserve respect. Simply accepting all religions is not only unwise, it is also dangerous. Many have acted wrongly and justified it by their faith. The 9-11 attack was even justified by religion.

Please consider the possibility that many religions have sprung from the lies of deceitful teachers who were willing to lead many astray. Other religions have been based on false assumptions by followers. All beliefs, whether in science or religion, ought to be carefully investigated and evacuated.

We have every right to challenge religions after all... God gave us a brain.