Grand Mufti of Jerusalem: Women not allowed to travel alone, must be accompanied by male relative
DEC 28, 2020 4:00 PM BY ROBERT SPENCER
Hussein is no “extremist.” A manual of Islamic law certified by Al-Azhar, the foremost authority in Sunni Islam, as “conforming to the practice and faith of the orthodox Sunni community,” stipulates: “[A] woman may not leave the city without her husband or a member of her unmarriageable kin accompanying her, unless the journey is obligatory, like the hajj. It is unlawful for her to travel otherwise, and unlawful for her husband to allow her to.” (Reliance of the Traveller m10.3)
“Top PA religious official prohibits women from traveling without a male relative,” by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik, Palestinian Media Watch, December 27, 2020:
Although the PA likes to present itself as a secular authority, its religious leaders use the official PA TV station to demand a male-dominated society, in which women must be obedient to their husbands as part of their obligation under Islam.
The PA’s Grand Mufti – who was appointed by PA Chairman Abbas himself – was asked on his weekly TV program if a man’s wife is allowed to travel to Dubai with her daughters without a male relative accompanying them. The PA’s top religious official answered that she is not. She would have to be accompanied by “a man from her family”:
Official PA TV host: “The first question is that his wife wants to travel to Dubai with her daughters without the presence of an accompanying man from her family – is this allowed?”
PA Mufti Muhammad Hussein: “There has to be an accompanying man from her family on the trip.”
[Official PA TV, Fatwa, Dec. 16, 2020]
Although the Palestinian Authority might be considered religiously moderate regarding women’s rights compared to other Arab states, top PA religious leaders, including Mahmoud Abbas’ advisor on Islam, have been given time on official PA TV to tell Palestinian men that they are permitted, albeit with restrictions, to beat their wives. Women are taught to obey their husbands, not to leave home without their permission, not to contact Israeli police if their husbands are violent, and even to not refuse their husbands’ demands for sex because it is a husband’s right “to enjoy his wife at any time,” according to the Abbas appointed PA Mufti.
Abbas’ advisor Mahmoud Al-Habbash has explained on official PA TV that there are situations in which men are allowed to beat women, explaining that “as long as Allah permitted a certain type of beating, it is for the good. It is good for society and good for the woman and the man.” He added that it is OK for husbands, fathers, and brothers to beat disobedient women…. |
