Some teensy comparisons on an important issue...

Greetings Blogarians! I have returned for a moment!

As I'm avoiding cleaning my room, I find myself reading the Qu'ran in an effort to find an answer to a question I've recently heard about Islam being a religion of peace and teaching "love". So, I've prepared a few excerpts from the Qu'ran along with some parallel excerpts from the Bible, just to see how they compare. Let's take a peeksy:

1. An-Nisáa (women) 015-16 "As for those of your women who are guilty of lewdness, call to witness four of you against them. And if they testify (to the truth of the allegation) then confine them to the houses until death take them or (until) Allah appoint for them a way (through new legislation). And as for the two of you who are guilty thereof, punish them both. And if they repent and improve, then let them be. Lo! Allah is ever relenting, Merciful."

Leviticus 20:10 - "If a man commits adultery with another man's wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death."

So, giving Christianity the worst possible representation (ignoring the fact that Christians don't even need to keep the law and the New Testament gives specific instruction regarding this issue in 1 Corinthians 7), Islam and Christianity look similar. I'm not sure what "lewdness" would mean, but I'm guessing it's something similar to adultery. Seeing that I know more about Christianity than I do Islam, I will be open to the possibility of other Islamic teachings to which I am unaware so I'll let this one be called a tie. Both seem to have harsh regulations regarding adultery (assuming lewdness is adultery).

2. An-Nisáa (women) 034 "Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women). So good women are the obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah hath guarded. As for those from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beds apart, and scourge them. Then if they obey you, seek not a way against them. Lo! Allah is ever High, Exalted, Great."

1 Peter 3:7 - "Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers."

Ephesians 5:25-30 - "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. "

Uh Oh. The Qu'ran has an explicit command instructing husbands to beat their wives. It's true that the Old Testament may contain at least 1 narrative record of women being beaten (possibly inferred in Genesis 16:6, though not necessarily), but the women who is beaten is a slave and the beating of a slave is allowed, at least in the Old Testament (Exodus 21:20, and again I'm giving Christianity its worst possible representation). That being what it may, nowhere in the Bible is wife beating explicitly commanded, sanctioned or even spoken of in any sort of positive light.

The Qu'ran explicitly commands wife beating, and the Bible does not.

You learn something new every day, though this is not something that I'm pleased to learn. Also, if anyone is curious, I found this debate on Youtube from Qatar TV on the issue. I don't recommend that any women with light stomachs watch it though.



Either way, I suspect that the western, secularized representatives of Islam wouldn't want the average American investigating the Islamic teachings on this issue that are common knowledge and experience in the middle east; knowing about explicitly commanded wife beating wouldn't help win points for the western Islamic clean up campaign ("We're not violent...HONEST!"). Until Next Time,

The Armchair Theologian