BrandyBlue
1-15-04, 09:37 PM
Imam Convicted for Advice on How to Beat Wives
Thu Jan 15, 8:46 AM ET Add Oddly Enough - Reuters to My Yahoo!
MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish court sentenced an imam to 15 months in prison Wednesday for writing a book instructing husbands how to beat their wives without leaving bruises.
A lawyer for the Egyptian-born imam, Mohamed Kamal Mustafa, 44, vowed to appeal, telling state radio the ruling was unjust.
The Barcelona court found Mustafa guilty of provoking violence on the basis of gender in his book "Women in Islam," published in 2000.
The book recommends that in the case of a "rebellious woman" a husband should attempt "serene dialogue" and if that fails, refuse to sleep in the same bed.
If rebellion persists, the woman should be struck in a "symbolic" way and "without excesses," the court order cited the book as saying.
"If one needs to use blows, they should be administered to specific parts of the body like the feet and hands, using a light and thin stick so it will not leave scars or bruising on the body," read an excerpt from the book quoted in the ruling.
In the trial Mustafa argued that much of his advice was based on the Koran, the Muslim holy book.
But the court said today's society was "not the Arabian desert of 14 centuries ago," and ruled that some passages violated the penal code and women's constitutional rights, partly because Mustafa was a prayer leader with influence over people at his mosque near Malaga, on the southern coast.
Spanish media reported that Mustafa would not go to jail because first time offenders in Spain who receive terms of less than 28 months usually have their sentences suspended.
The court also fined Mustafa 2,160 euros ($2,742) and ordered copies of the book to be confiscated, according to the written court order.
The court said parts of the book addressing menstruation, childbirth, makeup and clothing promoted sexual discrimination that was "intolerable and criminally reproachable."
Thu Jan 15, 8:46 AM ET Add Oddly Enough - Reuters to My Yahoo!
MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish court sentenced an imam to 15 months in prison Wednesday for writing a book instructing husbands how to beat their wives without leaving bruises.
A lawyer for the Egyptian-born imam, Mohamed Kamal Mustafa, 44, vowed to appeal, telling state radio the ruling was unjust.
The Barcelona court found Mustafa guilty of provoking violence on the basis of gender in his book "Women in Islam," published in 2000.
The book recommends that in the case of a "rebellious woman" a husband should attempt "serene dialogue" and if that fails, refuse to sleep in the same bed.
If rebellion persists, the woman should be struck in a "symbolic" way and "without excesses," the court order cited the book as saying.
"If one needs to use blows, they should be administered to specific parts of the body like the feet and hands, using a light and thin stick so it will not leave scars or bruising on the body," read an excerpt from the book quoted in the ruling.
In the trial Mustafa argued that much of his advice was based on the Koran, the Muslim holy book.
But the court said today's society was "not the Arabian desert of 14 centuries ago," and ruled that some passages violated the penal code and women's constitutional rights, partly because Mustafa was a prayer leader with influence over people at his mosque near Malaga, on the southern coast.
Spanish media reported that Mustafa would not go to jail because first time offenders in Spain who receive terms of less than 28 months usually have their sentences suspended.
The court also fined Mustafa 2,160 euros ($2,742) and ordered copies of the book to be confiscated, according to the written court order.
The court said parts of the book addressing menstruation, childbirth, makeup and clothing promoted sexual discrimination that was "intolerable and criminally reproachable."