cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/6281406

A Catalan-based author of Moroccan origin is facing heat from both Muslim NGOs and the Spanish left for critical comments she made about the status of women in Islam after a speech given at the start of a Barcelona cultural fair.

Najat El Hachmi, a Moroccan-born novelist earned the ire of multiple Islamic organisations for remarks highlighting patriarchal attitudes within Spain’s 2,3 million strong Muslim community during a prestigious inaugural speech at Barcelona’s Festes de la Mercè late last month.

“Are you uncomfortable if I explain to you that there are girls in this city who cannot learn anything or go hiking?” proclaimed El Hachmi from a podium in city hall as she gave the festival’s traditional opening speech in front of the city’s mayor and other officials.

Muy valiente Najat El Hachmi explicando cómo viven muchas moras en Cataluña bajo el control absoluto del Islam, ejercido por sus familiares y vecinos.

Necesitamos muchísimas más voces como ella para remover conciencias.

Bravo. pic.twitter.com/d4a4PlxX7e
— Yeray (@YerayMellado) September 23, 2023

An accomplished author and journalist, El Hachmi moved to Spain at age seven before having a successful academic and literary career with novels that focus on her dual identity and native Morocco. Her 2008 novel L’últim patriarca (The Last Patriarch) earned literary acclaim for challenging misogynist attitudes faced by women in Morocco. She had previously voiced her opposition to the wearing of Islamic face veils within Spanish schools.

Three Islamic organisations have signed an open letter to the city’s socialist mayor Jaume Collboni asking for the author to be taken to task for her comments about Islam, labelling El Hachmi as ‘Islamophobic.’

Left-wing groups had already tried to deplatform El Hachmi before she made the oration due to her previous statements on transgender legislation. The author also referenced the rise of “identity fundamentalism” within the Islamic community since the 1980s and the plight of cousin marriage in her Barcelona speech.

Approximately 8.1% of Catalonia is Muslim, primarily consisting of first- and second-generation Pakistanis and Moroccans. In 2017, 14 people perished in an Islamist attack on Barcelona’s primary thoroughfare Las Ramblas.

Prominent figures in the region’s literary scene and even the nationalist party VOX have rallied to El Hachmi’s defence as many fear that the incident could be the start of Spain’s very own clash between free speech and Islam.

The question of criticism of Islam has been topical of late in Europe propelled by rioting in Sweden over the burning of the Koran with the incident sparking a diplomatic spat with the Islamic world and Stockholm led by Turkey.

  • Cleverdawny@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    I have a very good friend of mine who is a non-Muslim woman in Egypt. Her criticisms ring true to me.

  • ruford1976@lemmy.worldOP
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    1 year ago

    Quranic verse says that a free man could not be killed for killing a woman or a slave.

    Quran 2:178:
    
    يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْقِصَاصُ فِى ٱلْقَتْلَى ۖ ٱلْحُرُّ بِٱلْحُرِّ وَٱلْعَبْدُ بِٱلْعَبْدِ وَٱلْأُنثَىٰ بِٱلْأُنثَىٰ ۚ
    
    O ye who believe! Retaliation is prescribed for you in the matter of the murdered; the freeman for the freeman, and the slave for the slave, and the female for the female.
    
    • m0darn
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      1 year ago

      I had trouble understanding the archaic sentence structure of the translation. So I looked it up, and it seems that the passage is actually saying the opposite of what you allege. That is: I think it’s saying that only the guilty can serve the penalty for the crime.

      The notes I found explained that whereas in pre-islamic Arabia several low status people (of the accused’s tribe or something) might be executed in place of a convicted high status person, muslims should only punish the guilty individual.

      Also, how does this quote relate to the news article you submitted?

      Also, are you a right wing nationalist?

      • ruford1976@lemmy.worldOP
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        1 year ago

        That is: I think it’s saying that only the guilty can serve the penalty for the crime.

        no , the translation says if a free man kills another free man the killer should be put to death. and same goes for if woman kills woman and a slave kills a slave. it’s pretty clear. for more refer this website

        Also, how does this quote relate to the news article you submitted?

        it talks of the horrible position of women in islam. i mean who tf kills their wife and daughters and gets to simply walk away?

        • m0darn
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          1 year ago

          Maybe it means that. I think the fact that the meaning is not clear is a mark against its claimed divine authorship.

          I think it’s more important to consider the way Islamic law in practice actually treats women rather than try to interpret cherry picked verses.

          Is it true that islamic men can kill their wives and daughters and simply walk away? It seems like you’re engaging with an unhinged version of Islam. The type of interpretation a person would have if their experience with muslims mostly came through nationalistic hate media.

          Are you a right wing nationalist?

          • ruford1976@lemmy.worldOP
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            1 year ago

            Are you a right wing nationalist?

            no.

            i am talking about consensus of sunni scholars (ijmaa)

            they are fine with killing of women under sharia law.

            • m0darn
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              1 year ago

              i am talking about consensus of sunni scholars (ijmaa)

              I don’t believe you that the consensus of sunni scholars is that men can kill their wives and daughters and simply walk away.

              • ruford1976@lemmy.worldOP
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                1 year ago

                I don’t believe you that the consensus of sunni scholars is that men can kill their wives and daughters and simply walk away.

                that’s the same thing i thought at first too. until i came across this

                Honor killing stems from the Islamic concept of ‘the guardianship of blood’ [ولاية الدم]. If a father kills a son or a daughter, he doesn’t get capital >punishment or pay diya because he’s their blood guardian.

                The same rule applies if the likes of his son or brother kill his daughter. He’s permitted to waive the blood and money penalty of the victim since >he’s the blood guardian.

                If he kills his wife and they have a child together, he doesn’t get punished as well because her blood guardianship gets transferred from her >father/male guardian to her child.

                No father gets executed or pays Diya for killing his child, and no child can punish his father even for killing his mother.

                Sources:

                https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi:1400

                https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah:2662

                https://www.islamweb.net/ar/fatwa/257131

          • ???@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            The Quran can be a terrible text but criticizing it won’t get us that far. Better focus on actual law like you said.