Rape Culture in Islam

Before I begin this post I want to say I'm only going to be talking about how rape culture is advanced/ perpetuated or allowed to exist and flourish in Muslim societies. I am not talking about rape culture in other societies or religions. I just want you all to know ahead of time that yes I do know that Islam isn't the only thing perpetuating rape culture. But I would also like to add that it is one of them. And here I'm only going to discuss how Islam (for lack of a better word) encourages and allows it.


Rape culture is "a theoretical concept in which rape is pervasive and normalized due to societal attitudes about gender and sexuality. Behaviors commonly associated with rape culture include victim blaming, sexual objectification, trivializing rape, denial of widespread rape, or refusing to acknowledge the harm of some forms of sexual violence." [source]

Quran: Guidance/ Code of Life.

I'm going to start with what Islam doesn't do. If you ask any Muslim about the essence of Islam especially in relation to Quran, they will most likely tell you Islam is a complete religion and the Quran and Hadith dictate or tell you how to live your life. They are code of life and most people are likely to say that the Quran, Sunnah (Life of Muhammad) and Hadith (Sayings of Muhammad) give you a perfect way to live. It is said in the Quran itself that the purpose of Quran is to give "guidance" to the believers about how to live their lives. [XVI: 64] 

So keeping that in mind you would think well then Islam most certainly would address all issues pertaining to life even sex and rape. Well sex may be mentioned numerous times in the Quran especially about what is lawful for a man, but guess what? Rape is nowhere mentioned in the Holy Book. NOWHERE. Now after that sinks in lets see what the Sunnah and Ahadith have to say about rape? Nope NADA. No rule or law against rape. No clear Hadith pertaining to rape or the punishment of it. When you study Islam in context of rape it comes across and hits you in the face that Islam refuses to acknowledge the existence of rape. Yes. Shocking. This comes under one of the behaviors associated with rape culture i.e  "trivializing rape, denial of widespread rape, or refusing to acknowledge the harm."

Silence of the Quran

So the illusion that Islam addresses everything you need to know about life is shattered. But even then man can make their own laws against rape and surely isn't the inborn morality against violence and rape enough for Islam not to have any teachings against it? I mean so what if Islam doesn't acknowledge rape? See therein lies the problem. When approximately 23% of population of the world believes in a religion that refuses to acknowledge rape and the Holy Book of that religion has absolutely nothing to say about it doesn't it mean that this religion is in effect trying to say that rape isn't a problem at all?

Silence on this issue alludes to the fact that basically rape is something we need not be worried about? It is something trivial. Something Muslims should not be concerned with. After all the Holy Quran has no word for the word rape. It is NEVER mentioned the WHOLE 30 chapters of the book. 
Allah had time to talk about homosexuality [Al Shura 25:165] , about beating your wife [Al Nisa Verse 34] , about Prohibition of Pork [2:173, 5:3, 6:145 and 16:115] and even stories of seven heavens [65:12] and that the earth is flat [18:47, 71:19, 78:6]. Allah had time (and space) to talk about all of these some of which are plain false (but I digress and that is a topic for another day) but did not have time to talk about or even mention or condemn or disallow or discourage rape or forceful intercourse or sexual violence. 

It goes without saying that rape and sexual violence is an extremely huge and pervasive and rampant issue. And to think that a book that came directly from God fails to mention it? Fails to name it. Fails to forbid it. The idea is laughable at best. Angering at worst.

Some religious apologists (including me when I was looking for excuses) would say well its a Holy book, pure book. Surely Allah can't talk about sex and things in the Holy book? Well if Allah can talk about menstruation [2:222] and sperm production [86:7] and even adultery (sex outside of marriage) then surely he can also talk about rape or sexual violence can he not? Being the Almighty I think he's  above human ideas of gross or proper/improper things to talk about.

Islam allows and even encourages sex slaves/concubines

1. It is encouraged in the Quran

Surah An-Nisa discusses lawful and forbidden women for Muslims. There is a particular verse in an-Nisa that was revealed at the time of the military expidition to Awtas in the well-known battle of Hunain when the Sahaba were reluctant to have intercourse with captured women who were married to non-believing men. And Allah sent down the verse [4:24]

Also (forbidden are) women already married, except those whom your right hands possess. Thus has Allah ordained for you. All others are lawful, provided you seek them from your property, desiring chastity, not fornication. So with those among them whom you have enjoyed, give them their required due, but if you agree mutually after the requirement (has been determined), there is no sin on you. Surely, Allah is Ever All-Knowing, All-Wise.

Here married women are forbidden to Muslim men except for those whom their right hand posesses. ie. their concubines/slaves/captives of war.


2.It is encouraged in Hadith. Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim
There is an entire chapter devoted to this in Sahih Muslim Collection. And no these are not one of the "weak" hadith. In the Sahih Muslims Kitab-al-Nikah, The title of chapter 29 is 

'Chapter 29: Title: It is permissible to have sexual intercourse with a captive woman after she is purified of menses or delivery. In case she has a husband, her marriage is abrogated after she becomes captive.' 

The Ahadith quoted in the chapter are 

Book 8, Number 3432:

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (Allah her pleased with him) reported that at the Battle of Hanain Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) sent an army to Autas and encountered the enemy and fought with them.Having overcome them and taken them captives, the Companions of Allah's Messenger (may peace te upon him) seemed to refrain from having intercourse with captive women because of their husbands being polytheists.Then Allah, Most High, sent down regarding that: "And women already married, except those whom your right hands possess (iv. 24)" (i.e. they were lawful for them when their 'Idda period came to an end).

and again 

Book 8, Number 3433:
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (Allah be pleased with him) reported that Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) sent a small army.The rest of the hadith is the same except this that he said: Except what your right hands possessout of them are lawful for you; and he did not mention "when their 'idda period comes to an end". This hadith has been reported on the authority of AbuSa'id (al -Khudri) (Allah be pleased with him) through another chain of transmitters and the words are: They took captives (women) on the day of Autas who had their husbands. They were afraid (to have sexual intercourse with them) when this verse was revealed: "And women already married except those whom you right hands posses" (iv. 24)

You are welcome to check out this chapter from Sahih Muslim for yourself. 

Muhammad himself kept war slaves and concubines 

Safiyah and Jawairiyah were two war captives taken by Muhammad. Safiyah the daughter of Huayy was the wife of a Jewish Rabbi named Kinana. When Muhammad conquered the Jewish village of Khaibar, he tortured and killed the Rabbi and took captive his wife. Sahih Bukhari (1:8:367). Do check it out.

Juwairiyah was a beautiful woman of a tribe called Banu Mustaliq whom Muhammad was conquering. He also took her as captive and then later married her. This is testified in Sahih Bukhari as well (Sahih Bukhari 3:46:717).

Not only did Muhammad capture and then later marry said slaves he also made it legal for every Muslim man to have concubines as long as they were captured in war waged in the name of Allah by example and by his own sayings.

Rape was only later outlawed in Islam using Fatwas and even that was selective

Since Quran, Hadith and Sunnah failed to acknowledge or outlaw/forbid rape in islam the only recourse Muslims had was to declare Fatwas against rape and forced intercourse. My peeve with this is that if Islam was so perfect and well-detailed why did Muslim scholars have to go out of their way to agree on the fact that rape shouldn't be allowed and should be punished? Shouldn't Allah have long ago detailed it? And since rape is never mentioned in the Quran or Hadith religious scholars had to improvise. So they declared  the punishment of rape as exactly the same as punishment for Zina (sex outside of marriage). Even the definition of rape in Islamic jurisprudence is given under the broad category of sex outside of marriage.

 So lets talk about Marital Rape. If Rape in Islam is defined only under Zina (Sex outside of marriage) is marital rape even a thing in Islam? The simple answer is a loud, resounding NO. A Muslim man cannot  rape his own wife. There is no such thing in Islam. And therefore not punishable. There is no such thing as rape in marriage, as a man is permitted unrestricted sexual access to his wives.

Quran (2:223)

"Your wives are as a tilth unto you; so approach your tilth when or how ye will..." 

 A few Fatwahs that have come out on this issue though only recognize it as marital rape if it happens when the woman is menstruating or during fasting hours in Ramazan. Any other way and at any other time, in the eyes of Islam your woman is basically legal to you whether she likes it or not. And even these fatwahs are not widely accepted.

It is next to impossible to prove rape in Islam

Under Islamic law, rape can only be proven if the rapist confesses or if there are four male witnesses. Women who allege rape without the benefit of the act having been witnessed by four men (who subsequently develop a conscience) are actually confessing to having sex. They are then confessing to adultery and are actually charged with the punishment for adultery instead.

This is not a joke. The victim if unable to prove that she was raped, is punished for adultery. This is the two edged sword that keeps Muslim women from coming forward in the first place. This among other reasons (societal pressures and taboos) are the major reason of false low rates of rape reported in Muslim countries. Its not that the rapes aren't happening. Its that they are never reported.

What Muslims do to women who alleged rape

Like I said before if a Muslim woman accuses a specific person for rape she must prove it either by elicting a confession from the rapist. Or she must produce 4 witnesses to say the same thing. If she failes to do so she is tried as an adulterer. 

On October 30, 2008, the United Nations condemned the stoning to death of Aisha Duhulowa, a 13-year-old girl who had been gang-raped and then sentenced to death by a Sharia court in Somalia for fornication (Zina). She was screaming and begging for mercy, but when some family members attempted to intervene, shots were fired by the Islamic militia and a baby was killed.

In 2009, the Saudi Gazette reported that a 23-year-old, unmarried woman was sentenced to one year in prison and 100 lashes for adultery. This woman had been gang-raped, became pregnant, and had tried (unsuccessfully) to abort the fetus. The flogging was postponed until after the delivery.

There are numerous more cases like these punishing possible rape victims with lashes and some even with death when they were unable to prove under Islamic law that they were raped. A few more cases can be read here, Here and HERE. We have already seen just how impossible it is to prove rape under Islamic law. Hell its hard to prove under most laws but Islamic law just makes it completely impossible.

Conclusion

So basically not only does Quran and Hadith not recognize or acknowledge Rape, it also encourages Muslim men to commit rape and it does not specify any punishment in this world or in the "hereafter" for those who commit rape. For Islam and for Allah it is a non-issue.

Let me just quickly go over a few rape statistics now just to see whether it really is a non-issue. A United Nations statistical report compiled from government sources showed that more than 250,000 cases of rape or attempted rape were recorded by police annually. And according to RAINN only 32 cases per 100 cases of rape are ever reported to the police. It is something that can happen to anyone. (Man or woman).


Yet Allah and the Muhammad have nothing to say about it. Muslim apologists will say that it is covered under the topic of Zina. But think to yourself. Is this an issue that can really be bundled along with extra-marital sex? If there was an all-knowing God would he really bunch up this violent, inhumane crime along with extra-marital sex and never ever refer to it directly? He would never mention it in his book? Never forbid it. Never talk about it. Never address it. Never lay down a law against it.  And actively encourage it for enslaved women. I don't think so. And I think neither do you.