Don’t misuse Prophet Muhammad’s name to justify rape and marriage: Malaysian ex-mufti

KUALA LUMPUR — Islam does not suggest that it is okay to have sex and then marry minors, the former mufti of Terengganu said on Sunday (May 7).

At a public forum on child marriages, Ismail Yahya chided Muslims who have been misusing the name of their last prophet, Muhammad, to justify their lust and as a form of “escapism”.

“That is not right. The religion does not suggest that,” said Mr Ismail, who is also a former Terengganu Syariah court judge.

He noted there were Muslims who had cited Prophet Muhammad’s marriage to Aisha, often portrayed as a nine-year old girl in the Quran, but said there have been many Islamic scholars who have questioned the calculation of her age.

He then said there were other considerations for a Syariah judge before approving marriage applications to minors.

“To me, how far the marriage can make the child happy is subjective. It’s to do with how she is treated and nafkah,” he said, using an Arabic word meaning subsistence for living.

“But, just because he has raped the girl, that is not a reason for a Syariah Court judge to approve the marriage application,” he added.

Mr Ismail warned those seeking to legitimise statutory rape and marriage with their victims behind the cloak of religion that Islam had dire penalties for rapists.

“For men like these, according to Islamic laws, it is the death penalty. Death by stoning. Not marriage.

“So if we want to apply the law, we apply it together and not in parts,” he said.

Also at the same forum was Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) Youth leader Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman who said he shared the same view.

“To the majority of Malay Muslims out there, you are not Prophet Muhammad. Stop pretending you are Prophet Muhammad,” the former national debater said to applause from the audience.

Mr Syed Saddiq urged religious leaders and those who propagate the idea of a moderate Islam to speak out against child marriages.

“As of now, there is no legitimate religious voice to speak up against child marriages,” he said, claiming this to be the reason why many Muslims were afraid to voice their opinions.

Both Mr Ismail and Mr Syed Saddiq were speaking at the forum titled “Child marriage: Setting our children up to fail”.

The subject had sparked a national uproar last month after the Umno MP for Tasek Gelugor Shabudin Yahaya suggested in Malaysia’s Parliament that marriage might be a solution for statutory rape. MALAY MAIL ONLINE