The Paradox of teaching the Quran.  

By Ali Sina

French Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin, deported a Muslim cleric who said the Quran permits husbands to beat adulterous wives.

The 52-year-old Abdelkader Bouziane, an Algerian imam who preached at the mosque of Venissieux , a suburb of Lyon , was deported back to his country of origin.

``We cannot tolerate comments made in public that go against human rights, damage human dignity -- particularly that of women - - incite hatred or violence, or justify terrorism,'' government spokesman Jean-Francois Cope said at a press conference after the weekly cabinet meeting in Paris.

The deportation order came on Feb. 26 after monthly magazine Lyon Mag published an interview with the imam, in which Bouziane made his wife-beating comments. In the interview Bouziane encouraged polygamy, called for segregation of the sexes in schools and the workplace, praised the Islamic rule of stoning women and expressed hope that the ``impure'' France and the rest of the world would turn to Islam.

Bouziane has two wives and is the father of 16 children, some of whom have French nationality and therefore give him residency rights.

However the Lyon Mag's Web site, described the deportation of Bouziane as ``idiotic'' and opportunistic.

Deporting someone that advocates beating and stoning women is not idiotic. What is idiotic is the appeasing position of the Lyon Mag. This man insults all women, promotes violence against them, and openly expresses his desire to convert his host country into Islam. What is so idiotic in deporting him? To get his citizenship, he must have sworn the oath of allegiance to France and its constitution, yet he is defiant of that and tries to subvert it. Why such person should not be deported?

The sad reality is that the level of Peeceeism among the socialists in Europe has risen to a level that right and wrong have become blurred to them.  Would these politically correct socialists and Islamic appeasers of France tolerate if a German in their soil makes remarks about the inferiority of French to the Arian race?

Idiotic is the blind support of the Islamists. These goons can commit all sorts of crimes, including rape of the white women and the leftists dare not criticize them. The political left has formed an unholy alliance with Islam and foolishly supports it. It is a shame if one is not outraged of misogynistic statements such as those expressed by Bouziane. But it is a disgrace to defend him and come to his support.

However, Bouziane is not making these asinine statements on his own. He is simply preaching what his religion teaches. Beating the wives is prescribed in the Quran. No Muslim can disagree with that or he would not be a Muslim.

There are of course some deluded Muslims who will tell you Islam elevates the station of women. One such misguided individual is the Noble Prize winner Shirin Ebadi who in her latest public appearance in the SFU of British Columbia , claimed that Islam and democracy are compatible and that she strives to “Re-educate the True Islam”.

Curiously, she claimed no one knows the true Islam. Apparently she thinks that she knows it. It would be interesting to ask her, what is the true meaning of the Quranic verse that says, men can beat their wives if they disobey.  

Bouziane is a cleric. He speaks Arabic and he has studied the Quran in his mother language. His views are compatible with the views of other Muslim clerics. Shirn Ebadi who says no one knows the real Islam, has not read the Quran. Her Islam is a concoction of her own ideas mostly borrowed from the West. She has no knowledge of Islam, has no qualification in Islamic jurisprudence, knows nothing about the hadith and the history of Islam and yet speaks with authority and accuses the real scholars of Islam of not knowing what Islam is.

It is ironic that those Muslims who know Islam best denounce democracy and advocate beating the wives while those who do not know it claim Islam respects women and is compatible with democracy.

France deported Bouziane for saying Quran permits the beating of women. Yet the religion that teaches this kind of violence against women is not banned in France . Isn’t that an irony?  

France ``cannot tolerate comments made in public that go against human rights, damage human dignity -- particularly that of women - - incite hatred or violence, or justify terrorism,''  but it does tolerate a religion that teaches just that.

This position is difficult to understand. At what stage inciting hatred or violence or justifying terrorism becomes illegal? Is it okay for a religious book to incite hatred and violence but the followers must not? How can people practice their religion freely when their religion teaches violence and hate? Shall we ban the religion or shall we ban its practice? Or is there any difference?   

Imam Bouziane said nothing contrary to the Quran. He simply expressed what his holy book teaches. In fact he was too apologetic of the Quran. He said Quran permits a man to beat his adulterous wife. But for an adulterous wife the punishment is stoning. Quran permits a man to beat his wife if she is uppity. Is teaching the Quran illegal?  

Bouziane is not the only Imam preaching hate and violence. Almost all Imams use the same book and say the same things. The governments in western countries come down hard on these imams, fine them, prosecute them or deport them, yet they are tolerant and respectful of the book that contains such teachings. This is a paradox that is difficult to understand.