UNABASHED REMARKS ON THE FLOGGING OF A FEMALE RAPE VICTIM

By AIYAH SAIHATI
aiyah.saihati@gmail.com

As some of you might know, a situation in Saudi Arabia occurred sometime ago that captured much attention. A Saudi Arabian woman went out to meet a person she knew, who happened to be male. She found herself in a situation where seven men abducted her and her male companion and then proceeded to gang rape the two abductees.

Instead of only having her persecutors brought to justice, this woman, a victim of brutal rape, was then treated like a criminal and sentenced. Initially, the woman was sentenced to 90 lashes. When her lawyer appealed the sentence and spoke about the injustice of the situation to the media, her sentence was increased to 6 months in jail and 200 lashes.

I, as a Saudi woman, committed to my government and its equal treatment of all its citizens, refuse to accept that this will be the fate of this woman. It is our collective responsibility, as concerned citizens of this great nation, and of the world, to eradicate the mindset and flaws in the system that allow such a miscarriage of justice to stand and that can cause such a woman to have to be sentenced for an action of which she was the victim.

The legal and Islamic bases for such sentencing are unfounded. Although it is true that according to Quranic teaching, a woman may not meet a man in secret, no punishment was decreed for taking such action.1
In addition, when placed in context, it is clear that the restrictive statement was made to be purely instructional, and no language in the relevant verse itself, nor in the following verses, can be used to deduce punishment. Regardless as to whether or not the woman met her male companion in secret, which is the justification the judges imposing the flogging used to impose her sentence, nothing she has done could be classified as a crime. Flogging is the punishment of a person who committed Zena, which is the term used for BOTH fornication and adultery alike.2

Flogging in the case of Zena only applies if two conditions are present. First, the man and woman must be witnessed in engaging in the sexual act, which includes penetration. In other words, even if a man and woman's bodies were found naked and glued to one another, the condition does not apply. Second, there must be at least four witnesses to the event. In practical terms, unless the participating man and woman were engaging in lewd exhibitionist behavior, it is nearly impossible to incriminate them. There is wisdom and protection behind such a condition. From this, it follows that there is absolutely no ground according to the Sharia for the woman in this case to be flogged.

Her sentence is from all angles purely un Islamic, as is evidenced from even the most basic reading of the texts.

What even more greatly saddens me is that this case has shown how little Muslims have come to rely on one of the most progressive and just aspects of our religion – the requirement that each and every Muslim use their own critical faculties to think and assess each aspect of the religion themselves. Islam was promoted by Mohammad PBUH as a religion of simplicity and moderation. The Quran is a book of teaching that is easy for the layman to understand. Islamic belief is founded on a central idea that there is no mediator between the individual and God. We need not saints, popes or even imams for that matter to act as mediators to God. In other words, each and every person is empowered and encouraged to read the Quran and assert their own understanding of the universal teachings of Islam. A cleric is meant only to help in that individual thought process. To succumb without question to the decrees of others, clerics or otherwise, is to me an indicator of the death of the individual moral consciousness. It would be hard to rescue the collective moral consciousness if on an individual level so many people are so deeply asleep. I encourage everybody to socially promote Islamic awareness and engage at every possible chance in debating this and similar issues so that our rights as individuals can be preserved.




Footnotes:
* I recommend for Arabic speaking individuals to read the verses in Arabic for the precise weight attached to the language. In the above article, I use the translation of the Holy Quran by the esteemed Quranic scholar Abdullah Yusuf Ali. Because of minor differences in syntax, I used two different editions. One edition is by Amana Publications; the other, by the King Fahad Complex for the printing of the Holy Quran. For readers in English, I also highly recommend the Quranic translation by esteemed scholar Mohammad Marmaduke Pickthall.
1 This is stated in the Quran explicitly (see Al Baqarah, "The Heifer" verse # 235).
“There is no blame on you if you make an offer of betrothal or hold it in your hearts. Allah knows that ye cherish them in your hearts: But do not make a secret contract (meeting) with them except that you speak to them in terms honorable, nor resolve on the tie of marriage till the term prescribed is fulfilled. And know that Allah knoweth what is in your hearts, and take heed of him ; and know that Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Forbearing."
2 This is clear in the first few verses of Al Nur, "The Light":
"2. The woman and the man guilty of adultery or fornication- Flog each with a hundred stripes. Let not compassion move you in their case, in a matter prescribed by Allah, if ye believe in Allah and the Last Day: and let a party of Believers witness their punishment. 3. Let no man guilty of adultery of fornication marry any but a woman similarly guilty, or an unbeliever (idolatress): Nor let any such woman marry any but a man similarly guilty, or an unbeliever (idolater). To the believers such a thing is forbidden.
4. And those who launch a charge against chaste women, and produce not four witnesses ( to support their allegations )—Flog them with eighty stripes, and reject their evidence ever after, for such men are wicked transgressors.
5. Unless they repent thereafter and mend (their conduct); for Allah is Oft- Forgiving, most merciful.
…
13. Why did they not bring four witnesses to prove it? When they have not brought the witnesses, such men, in the sight of Allah (stand forth) themselves as liars!
…
15. Behold, ye receive it on your tongues, and said out of your mouths THINGS OF WHICH YOU HAD NO KNOWLEDGE, and you thought it would be a light matter, while it is most serious in the sight of Allah.
16. And why did you not when you heard it, say "IT IS NOT RIGHT OF US TO SPEAK OF THIS : Glory to Thee (our lord) this is a most serious slander!”
And also, more on this can be found in Al Nisa, "The Women" from which one can infer the direction of mercy.
"15. If any of your women are guilty of lewdness, take the evidence of four (Reliable) witnesses from amongst you against them, and if they testify (affirming the witnesses claim), confine them to houses until death do claim them, or Allah ordain for them some other way.
16. If two men among you are guilty of lewdness, punish them both. If they repent and amend, Leave them alone, for Allah is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful.
17. Allah accepts the repentance of those who do evil in ignorance and repent soon afterwards, to them will Allah turn in Mercy: For Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom.”
Abdullah Yusuf Ali uses footnotes for commentary on the verses and their translations. In his footnote pertaining to the above mentioned verses, he explains that punishment has later been ordained in the verses of the flogging in Al Nur, "The Light". He also explains that what is applicable for men is also applicable for women. Therefore, if the women repent soon after, they too must be left alone. The following verse reinforces the former.