I was going to have another go at Iran today but I couldn’t resist this one. It’s sadly far too close to home.
The age of consent in the UK has come about because 16 is what we as a society have decided is a sensible compromise age at which to be able to mentally consent to sexual relations and or marriage and an age where someone is physically capable of having sex and bearing children. In other times in the UK it was lower and in other nations it is either higher or lower depending on the nation. 16 is the age at which we as a country have chosen to set the age of consent.
However, yet again we have a situation where those who are guests of the UK are not abiding by our rules.
I’m sorry about the Daily Mail link but the Sunday Times site wants me to pay them money and I can’t be arsed to do that. However the print edition of the Sunday Times is running this on its front page and on page 16 of today’s edition.
Suzannah Hills writing in the Daily Mail says:”According to the newspaper, the reporter was told by Imam Mohamed Kassamali that ‘under sharia [Islamic law] there is no problem’ in marrying a 12-year-old.
But while he declared Islamic Law dictated a girl should see ‘her first sign of puberty at the house of her husband’, he admitted they would all get in to trouble if she went to police saying she was forced into the marriage. ”
Suzanne Hills added:”But another retired Imam, Abdul Haque, who worships at the Shoreditch Mosque in east London, agreed to carry out the ceremony on the condition the parents kept it a secret from the authorities.
The Imam urged the undercover reporter to lie about the marriage and keep it a secret.
Haque said: ‘Tell people it is an engagement but it will be a marriage.
‘In Islam, once the girl reaches puberty the father has the right, the parents have the right, but under the laws of this country if the girl complains and says her marriage has been arranged and she wasn’t of marriageable age, then the person who performed the marriage will be jailed as well as the mother and father.’
He then warned: ‘Nobody should know about this and the girl must not complain… If she talks in school they will take the girl, social workers will take her and afterwards you and I will be in trouble.’
The current British law allows for Imans to carry out religious marriage ceremonies of consenting brides and grooms aged under 16 so long as they don’t have sex until they are 16.
Under Sharia law both parties must to consent to the marriage and they can then live as man and wife and have sex irrespective of age.”
This article begs the question: Why are we allowing mosques to carry out religious marriage ceremonies when one or both parties are obviously underage.
Mazher Mahmood and Marie Woolf writing in the Sunday Times said:”Two imams told an undercover reporter that they were willing to officiate at the wedding of an underage girl to a man in his 20s, despite the possibility of the youngster then having sex with her husband”
The journalists quoted Abdul Haque who explained how the Prophet Mohammed had married a 7 year old girl before adding:”We have to follow the way of our holy prophet. We are his followers and that is what you must explain to your daughter.”
Mazher Mahmood and Marie Woolf added:”Almost one in seven of the estimated forced marriages of Britons each year are believed to involve girls of 15 or under. One case last year involved a girl of 5 years old”
What is frightening about this story is how many other cases are there like this where children have been married off illegally to older men?
Sharia Law is sick and we as a nation seem to be ignoring this sickness and in some cases encouraging it. Mohammed was a nonce (well established fact) and it seems that an acceptance of underage sex is far too common amongst our Islamic guests. It’s a shame that they haven’t grown out of this in a similar way to how the Christian and Jewish population has grown out of things such as violent intra-religious strife and the stoning of adulteresses.
There is no case for cultural sensitivity where protecting children from nonces is concerned. What boils my piss about this story is that while ordinary people are having to shell out for intrusive and in some cases unnecessary CRB checks when wishing to work with children it seems that Islamic noncery like this story has been going on in the background and most worryingly unchecked by the normally over zealous authorities.
Islam, child protection the 7th Century way.
UPDATE: It appears that one of the Imams in the above case, Mohamed Kassamali has agreed to resign. More details via the Daily Mail at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2200980/Imam-Mohamed-Kassamali-steps-caught-agreeing-marry-girl-12.html?openGraphAuthor=%2Fhome%2Fsearch.html%3Fs%3D%26authornamef%3DRebecca%2BSeales
I remain more than a bit convinced (though open to arguement) that most of the lack ofcriticism comes down to two things:
1. Fear of being accused of racism; muslims generally being of the brown persuasion though islam is not a race.
2. Fear of criticising people who have brought shrill whining and threats of kicking off to an art form.
Three things.
3. Fear of names such as islamophobic.
Hi Robert,
I remain more than a bit convinced (though open to arguement) that most of the lack ofcriticism comes down to two things:
1. Fear of being accused of racism; muslims generally being of the brown persuasion though islam is not a race.
Completely agree there. The use of the word ‘racist’ is a complete misnomer as Islam isn’t a race.
2. Fear of criticising people who have brought shrill whining and threats of kicking off to an art form.
Yup. The fear of violence or harm to a career or business or family is a biggie.
3. Fear of names such as islamophobic.
I used to fear being called Islamophobic but now I have learned about Islam I take it as a badge of honour. There is a good thread over on the left of centre Harry’s place blog about this in the context of limits to free speech. See http://hurryupharry.org/2012/09/08/freedom-of-speech-where-to-draw-the-line/
If there is islamophobia then the Islamic community have only themselves to blame.
I don’t give a shit what people call me, I hate stinking muslims.
You are entitled to your opinion but it is the stinking ideology of Islam that is the problem. There are a lot ol Muslims who are also imprisoned by the ideology, women for instance, or anyone who wants to think for themselves.
It is a huge mistake for the state to pander to Islam, it’s suicide to be quite frank.
Islam is a stinking ideology, those that follow it are equally foul.