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A
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Additional
Reporting By Al-Amin Andalusi, IOL Correspondent
MADRID,
December 21 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - A federal court in
the northeastern Spanish city of Barcelona freed Monday, December 20,
an imam jailed for a controversial book seen as inciting violence
against women.
The
court suspended a prison term of 15 months handed down in January to
Egyptian-born Mohammad Kamal Mustafa, 44, imam of the southern town of
Fuengirola since 1992, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
On
November 25, a Barcelona judge ordered that the imam be imprisoned,
arguing that the Muslim preacher presented a danger to society.
In
this latest decision the court agreed with Mustafa's lawyer that
keeping the imam in prison would not help his reintegration into
society.
However,
it ruled that he should attend classes on the rights accorded to women
by the Spanish constitution and on the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights.
In
his book, called "Women in Islam", which was published in
1997 in Spanish, Mustafa said that Muslim males could beat their wives
lightly and in a symbolic way as a kind of punishment.
"The
beatings must be administered to specific parts of the body, such as
the feet and hands, using a stick that is not too big so as not to
leave scars and bruises," he wrote.
No
sooner had Kamal published his book than it was confiscated by Spanish
authorities.
Mostafa
has sent a message to the Spanish Muslim Committee, the main
representative body of Muslims in Spain, stressing that his words were
taken out of context.
"Neither
the Qur’an nor Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) sayings allowed
maltreatment of any person, male or female," he wrote.
"Hence,
I would like to let all know that I condemn all forms of violence
against women."
According
to the Noble Qur'an , the
relationship between the husband and wife should be based on mutual
love and kindness.
However,
in some cases a husband may use some light disciplinary action in
order to correct the moral infraction of his wife, but this is only
applicable in extreme cases and it should be resorted to if one is
sure it would improve the situation.
Too
Much Fuss
Muslim
figures in Spain said that Spanish media had made too much fuss about
nothing.
They
said Kamal’s books did not speak directly or indirectly about
Spanish women in the first place, though Spanish statistics showed
that they were subject to domestic violence which led often to deaths.
They
said Spain has one of the most bad domestic violence records in
Europe.
According
to the National Spanish Observatory for Fighting Violence against
Women, around 170 Spanish wives have been killed at the hands of their
husbands during the past three years.
Other
statistics prepared by Spanish feminist groups put the number of
victimized wives at more than 200 during the same period, including 88
wives killed in 2003 alone.
Official
statistics published in July showed that more than 10,000 women in
Spain were at risk of domestic violence.
Most
of the incidents are concentrated in south Spain, Valencia and
Catalonia.
Spanish
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has made tackling the
problem of domestic violence in Spain a top priority and said on
taking office in April that he saw violence against women as the
country's "worst shame."
Spain
has a Muslim community of about 600,000 people out of a total
population of 40 million. Some 94 percent of its population are
Christian Catholics.
The
country has recognized Islam through the law of religious freedom,
issued in July 1967.
In
1989, the Union of the Islamic Association was set up, comprising 15
bodies to be merged later with the 17-strong Union of Islamic Society
under the umbrella of the Spanish Muslim Committee.
