Should We Beat Our Wives "Lightly"?

In the Western world the Koranic injunction for husbands to beat their wives seems to be a constant source of embarrassment for those trying to explain Islam to a secular or Christian audience. The way the force of this injunction is muted is to a) argue that Mohammad really loved women and treated them well and b) that "beat them" means "beat them lightly only if it is necessary" (Sura 4:34). Now, anyone who knows me and knows my family knows how well a "light beating" would go over with my missus - the next visitor I'd have would be the coroner. But, that aside, does the Koran really tell husbands to "beat lightly"?

In a word, no. The Koran simply tells husbands to beat their disobedient wives. In most translations of the Koran you find those words in parentheses, indicating that they are added. They are nowhere present in the Arabic text. They are also not implied in the meaning of the word translated thusly. The word in question, daraba, is used to indicate forceful violence. For a very readable article by a non-Muslim Arabic speaker, see here.

A quick YouTube search on "How to Beat Your Wife" will reveal many instructional videos on the practice (all from Islam). Here is one gem. Is it any wonder that it is reported that a woman married to a Muslim is TEN TIMES as likely to be murdered by her husband than a woman married to a non-Muslim in the UK?

Important Documentary on Islam

Rachid, our brother from Morocco who hosts the Christian television program "Life TV," has produced a stunning and informative documentary on Islam. Using Islamic videos and texts and subtitled in English, this documentary will completely transform your understanding of Islam. This is worth the time to watch it.

Here is the video.

Asia Bibi Pardoned and Freed!

Pakistan Releases Christian Woman
Sentenced to Death for 'Blasphemy'


Washington, D.C. (November 22,2010)–International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that today the president of Pakistan has pardoned a Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy.

Asia Bibi was sentenced on November 8 after a court in Punjab province found her guilty of making blasphemous statements against the Islamic prophet Muhammad. According to Pakistan’s blasphemy law, it is a crime punishable by death to blaspheme the Islamic prophet.

Her release came after intense international pressure by politicians and church leaders as well as coverage by several media outlets.

Asia has now been taken to an undisclosed location for her safety. In the past, Christians have been killed by vigilantes after being accused of blasphemy. On July 19, gunmen killed Pastor Rashid Emmanuel and his brother, Sajid Emmanuel, while police were transporting them from the court in Faisalabad to jail. The gunmen also seriously wounded a policeman accompanying them.

Some Muslim lawyers and other fundamentalist Muslims are preparing to demonstrate against Asia’s release.

ICC’s Regional Manager for South Asia, Jonathan Racho, said, “We are delighted to learn about Asia’s release and we would like to commend Pakistan’s president for taking the right action. It’s high time for Pakistan to repeal the blasphemy laws that have caused so much persecution against Christians and other religious minorities.”

Reposted from International Christian Concern.

Praying for the Persecuted on the Day of Fasting

Brothers and Sisters,

As you fast and pray today (I observe the fast from sundown Thursday to sundown Friday) here are some deep needs in the Body of Christ which I found on the International Christian Concern website:

Over ten thousand Christians have fled Burma (Myanmar) for CHINA to escape the ongoing civil conflict in Myanmar. The military government in Myanmar is attempting to crush resistance to their rule in tribal areas. One of these tribal groups are the Karen, a mostly Christian group within the country.

Pakistani Christians continue to be persecuted by the government and attacked by mob violence under the new blasphemy law. Please pray for its repeal and protection for the many Christians in Pakistan.

The South Korean government is seeking to restrict the mission work of their citizens in Islamic countries after many South Korean missionaries have been arrested and expelled by Islamic countries. Please pray that God will keep does open for our brothers and sisters to share the gospel of Jesus in the Islamic world.

Please pray that the government of India will revise the legal status of Dalits from "Backward Classes" to "Scheduled Caste." This will give the Dalits the same political and socio-economic and educational opportunities as others. Many Dalits have become Christians.

Call to Prayer

I have a new hero, Fr. Zakaria Boutros, a Coptic priest now living in the United States. While the rest of us are lamenting Islam, Boutros is putting his life on the line to respond. He is apparently winning converts to Christ from al-Islam.

As a disclaimer, the Copts are not Evangelicals. In, fact they are not even part of Orthodox Christian communion. But as Monophysites, they are about as close as you can be to Orthodoxy (as defined by the Nicean Creed). Oddly, the literature published on his website seems somewhat Evangelical in tone, exhorting people to place their faith in Christ and to receive Jesus into their hearts.