Saudi Court Prohibits 8 Year Old From Divorcing 58 Year Old Husband
The court says the case should wait until the 8 year old reaches puberty and that the divorced mother of the girl doesn’t have the right to bring the case before the court. The father made the marriage conditional that it not be consumated for another 10 years. Facing financial problems the father sold his daughter into marriage for five thousand pounds.
In fact, earlier this year, a Saudi marriage official said 1 year old brides are fine, as long as sex is postponed. Dr. Ahmad Al-Mu’bi explains by sayng, “There Is No Minimal Age For Entering Marriage…the Prophet Muhammad is the model we follow.”
Dr. Ahmad Al-Mu’bi: “Marriage is actually two things: First we are talking about the marriage contract itself. This is one thing, while consummating the marriage – having sex with the wife for the first time – is another thing.
“There is no minimal age for entering marriage. You can have a marriage contract even with a one-year-old girl, not to mention a girl of nine, seven, or eight. This is merely a contract [indicating] consent. The guardian in such a case must be the father, because the father’s opinion is obligatory. Thus, the girl becomes a wife…
“But is the girl ready for sex or not? What is the appropriate age for having sex for the first time? This varies according to environment and traditions. In Yemen, girls are married off at nine, ten, 11, eight, or 13, while in other countries, they are married off at 16. Some countries have legislated laws forbidding having sex before the girl is 18.
[...]
“The Prophet Muhammad is the model we follow. He took ‘Aisha to be his wife when she was six, but he had sex with her only when she was nine.”
Interviewer: “When she was six…”
“If The Guardian is The Father, And He Marries His Daughter Off To a Man of Appropriate Standing, The Marriage is Obviously Valid”
Dr. Ahmad Al-Mu’bi: “He married her [when she was] age six, and he consummated the marriage, by having sex with her for the first time, when she was nine. We consider the Prophet Muhammad to be our model.”
Interviewer: “My question to you is whether the marriage of a 12-year-old boy to an 11-year-old girl is a logical marriage permitted by Islamic law.”
Dr. Ahmad Al-Mu’bi: “If the guardian is the father… There are two different types of guardianship. If the guardian is the father, and he marries his daughter off to a man of appropriate standing, the marriage is obviously valid.
[...]
“People find themselves in all kinds of circumstances. Take, for example, a man who has two, three, or four daughters. He does not have any wives, but he needs to go on a trip. Isn’t it better to marry his daughter to a man who will protect and sustain her, and when she reaches the proper age, he will have sex with her? Who says all men are ferocious wolves?”
The marriage of young girls isn’t the only sad thing here… the extreme poverty that is sometimes responsible for this happening needs to be addressed as well.
December 22nd, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Obviously what is right for Islamic men is not what we in the west consider correct behavior nor will it be viewed by long abused and domineered women as the correct view. Sadly the Islamic Courts have a long way to go in recognizing the human rights of women. I suspect that if the prophet lived today, he might have a much more modern view of things for all the right reasons. Meanwhile their society is trapped in the past, and they will defend the “justice” of their views. SAD!
December 22nd, 2008 at 9:49 pm
At least they now have a court. That is the whole point of the exercise.
December 22nd, 2008 at 10:08 pm
Just another chapter in the long, disreputable history of religion and man-tailored gods.
December 22nd, 2008 at 10:39 pm
They are following what was done back in the 7th century when many girls were orphans and Arab parents didn’t want them because they wanted boys. So, there is the prophet Muhammad coming to the rescue to save these girls from their parents wanted to bury them in the hot sand
and adopt them. But, the way he had to adopt them as part of his family was to marry them. In his day, the Arab tribes were barbarians who would war with each other just for the sake of it and there was plenty of ignorance. According to Islam, God sent the Qur’an to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel to teach Arabs and eventually all of humanity the right way, wisdom, and to turn away from barbarism which happened 1,400 years ago.
The way marriage is conducted today in SA lacks anything that reflects the modern age and the Qur’an, hence is not a living document nor are the various Hadiths.
December 22nd, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Isn’t it interesting that we criticize China and others for their human rights records, yet we mostly turn a blind eye towards the Saudis. Now, I wonder Why?
December 22nd, 2008 at 11:43 pm
I see the Mormons weren’t the only ones to come up with the “underage marriage to dirty old men” meme.
I know the Muslims can also be fans of plural marriage (the proof is in those old harem movies!!) but I don’t see it mentioned “here”.
There’s a common thread running through this deviant behavior.
**Thinking hard with furrowed brow**
I wonder what the common element could be.
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:40 am
New moral compass for life: What would Muhammad do?
December 23rd, 2008 at 2:36 am
Trying not to offend anyone here, but it is quite difficult when I see things like this that are so offensive to me.
Anyone, and I say anyone, that has sex with a 9 year old girl is a pedophile and a pervert. If they come to my state thinking they can do it, they will be locked up so fast that it will make their head spin. 9 is just way too young. Their bodies are not mature at all as they are merely children.
December 23rd, 2008 at 3:57 am
Not approved? Fair enough. I think an off topic/general comments thread is needed. Something permanently on the front page.
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:55 am
Weird. Now the comment is back to awaiting moderation? Ehhh. k.
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:20 am
Some cultural differences are just to big for comprehension.
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:04 am
Susan,
Want to go to war with them? Want to put them in their place? because a lot of democrats on here are saying we should never have gone into iraq and “forced our ideologies” on them. Forget about all the bad stuff THEIR women/girls and even the men were going through.
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:24 am
I’m not down with arranged marriages, but the reality is that it’s practiced in many cultures (including ours…). I take a little comfort in the knowledge that the marriage’s are not to be consummated until the child reaches adulthood. That’s better than these girls being raped. But I wonder, how do they make sure the marriage isn’t consummated, and what consequences does the husband face if he breaks the rule?
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:28 am
Bill~ reread the article.
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:30 am
“…we mostly turn a blind eye towards the Saudis.”
No “we” don’t. But the Bush family certainly does.
December 23rd, 2008 at 11:51 am
You get mad when we don’t do anything about the saudis, you get mad when we do something about the iraqis. Made up your darn mind. You either want the u.s. involved in world affairs or you don’t.
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:03 pm
T. Mason:
Common sense. The Saudis attacked us on 9/11. Bush turned a blind eye because he’s in bed with them. He went after Iraq because he wanted to steal their oil.
He sacrificed hundreds of thousands of lives to further his agenda. That’s a fact. He attacked a country that did nothing to us because they might attack us (”we can’t wait for the smoking gun, the mushroom cloud, etc). It’s called the Bush doctrine.
And Bush is your hero. Amazing.
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:18 pm
TDRO,
The Bush doctrine has many definitions.
I could have sworn Al Qaeda attacked us on 9/11?
It is pretty darn funny that as soon as bush took office iraq and saddam no longer became a threat. bill clinton and other prominent democrats claimed that not only did iraq have WMD’s, saddam was a threat. Did the facts change because a republican that you don’t like took office?
Bush didn’t sacrifice lives. If you believe that, then clinton is guilty as heck too. Wanna be fair? Let’s hear you admit that clinton sent innocent men and women to their slaughter. That is the stance you take with republicans.
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:22 pm
What’s the weather like in your world T. Mason?
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:53 pm
TDRO,
How do you know who exactly attacked us? Do you have a top secret clearance or are you taking the words of other liberals just to be against Bush?
December 23rd, 2008 at 1:44 pm
icy and cold
December 23rd, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Is this not ageism? I mean in this crazy world where anything goes and to stand against anything makes you a hater why does this shock people?
I think Warren is against this type of Marriage OH no we are going to offend Arab population…..
I mean we are suppose to be moral relativists right? Trans-gender Homosexuality etc everything goes….
Sick world for sure-
December 23rd, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Sick is the best way to discribe this issue. Thank GOD we have laws to protect kids.
December 23rd, 2008 at 3:30 pm
No before the “all goes crows gets going no I am not saying they are equal or wrong on the same level of cause one is between consenting adults and one not
Just the absurdity that we all must not offend and not have sexual morals are we hate they are not equal
Unless you hate middle age man but that would be ABSURD WOULD’NT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 23rd, 2008 at 3:31 pm
I must confess you have a point their BRIAN. They don,t like the way we view woopie here in the STATES. Porn,mini skirts, men treating women like queens and equal.
December 23rd, 2008 at 4:03 pm
So can we stop buying oil from them yet?
I’ve been asking since BEFORE September 11th 2001 thank you very much.
Do your own research on this people but oil giants that call themselves American are in fact buying most oil from Saudis and they know better than you or I exactly what goes on in that country.
Hypocrisy is the new American-standard when it comes to energy consumption and I am 100% on-board with one thing said on the O’Reilly ‘Stupid-you-up’ show on TV & radio:
Choke the gas giants! Don’t buy a drop much than you need of fossil fuel products. Keep it up even if gas hits record lows. Don’t drive if you can walk or bike. Carpool and use the bus.
If other CONS on radio said these things alongside all their false liberal bashing I would support their shows in name drops and subscriptions. No joke. A liberal would subscribe to Hannity or Ingram or someone like that.
December 23rd, 2008 at 4:22 pm
The message is always more important than the speaker.
Who said that? That sounds like a famous quote…
December 23rd, 2008 at 4:24 pm
” Let’s hear you admit that clinton sent innocent men and women to their slaughter. That is the stance you take with republicans”
You want to hear me say it?? Okay, no problem. Clinton sent almost as many innocent men and women (and children) to their slaughter.
I’ve never liked Clinton. He was a great asset to the republican party. He bent over backwards trying to please the conservatives while at the same time ignoring his base.
And I stand by what I said. There was absolutely no good excuse for the U.S. to invade Iraq. Now of course there was a real good excuse for Bush to invade Iraq. And most of that is going to China and Russia with bush pocketing the profits.
Right now, Bush is probably thinking, “the American people sure are suckers! They’ll fall for anything”.
December 23rd, 2008 at 5:16 pm
T Mason:What Are you rambling on about now?? “Want to go to war with them? Want to put them in there place?” You have to be the most defensive person on the planet. Did I say ANYTHING about wanting to go to war with them. My point was: Why do we tolerate the Saudi’s stance on human rights and criticize others for the same or less? Now, if you care to comment on that topic fine, but please don’t read more into a comment than is there to begin with. I think it’s over reaching.
December 24th, 2008 at 3:04 am
I am just concerned picking Warren will offend Arab Culture..
He is against this type of relationship-
December 24th, 2008 at 10:47 am
It isn’t over reaching. Liberals gripe about us going into places, and they gripe when we don’t. Typical.
There have been so many blogs and posts where folks are criticizing bush, every republican, every conservative, every chrisitna for pushing our views, ideas, beliefs on other cultures. Now you ask why don’t we question the saudis?
You either want to be involved or you don’t. I didn’t over reach at all. your comment said it all.
December 24th, 2008 at 11:12 am
I have a critique of this post by Alan in my blog, if anyone cares to read it.
December 25th, 2008 at 7:08 am
Well, it’s a critique of Alan more than the subject of the post itself.
December 25th, 2008 at 7:09 am