What about the Children?
I am a father of 3 very young children. I, as their father, am responsible for their security more than anything else. Their life is a thousandfold more precious to me than my own. I will ensure that no harm shall fall on any of them and I will protect them with my own life. And in my mission to protect them I shall be aware, vigilant, discerning and observant. I will protect them from physical harm, from abusive relatives and friends and from sexual predators that lurk in our society knowing all too well that if I don't protect my children then absolutely no one will. And that is a serious problem worthy of contemplation.
No sane parent would willingly harm or allow harm to their children. And yet everyday we see and hear heartbreaking news about something happening to some child or children somewhere. A child is molested by 4 men in Vilingili, a child sexually abused by the Quran teacher in Baa Atoll, five children are sexually abused by the imam of Baa atoll Goidhoo, a child is raped by 4 men in some other island, a child is sexually molested by a MNDF officer, and so on and so forth.
What would the parents of these children feel I wonder. What kind of anger and sorrow would parents endure knowing their children had been stripped of their innocence - to say nothing of the permanent psychological trauma inflicted on the children themselves?
Until recently the law did not provide much in the way of punishment for child sex offenders and pedophiles. Readers will remember that a huge public outcry due to lenient sentencing of certain abuse cases lead to changes in regulations just this year only. After how many little innocent lives ruined is that?
Time and time again I've seen the judiciary in a state of disability when it comes to protecting the rights of children. And strangely enough, if you think about this, we too are at a loss as to what kind of punishment must be meted out for pedophiles and child molesters. We know, from divine guidance in the Quran, how many lashes must be administered for having sex outside of marriage or adultery with a consenting partner. But do we know what to do with the 50 year old man who forced himself on the innocent, petrified and sobbing 6 year old child? No! We know what must be done with a thief but we have naught in dealing with the child rapist. Let me ask you this: Is it more important to punish two consenting adults than to save a child from harm? Is it more urgent to specify, in great detail, the punishment for theft or make sexual predation on children a sin?
Somehow children are precious to us mere mortals. It is a biological response that is hardwired into our genes. We weep at the sight of a starving Somalian child, we weep for the children in the West Bank, in Iraq, in Afghanistan and we weep for victims of sexual and physical abuse. It's the children, your children, and their child. We have devised declarations specifically protecting the rights of children in the UN charter and yet, in our most precious books of divine guidance, the Quran or the Bible, the protection of children and their rights are sadly nonexistent.
Why do you think we frequently hear of Quran teachers molesting children? In my opinion, the blame has to be shared between religion, the teacher and the parents. Quran teachers are viewed as people of religion by parents. They entrust their children into their care without a doubt or suspicion of wrong-doing because they see religion as a protective shield that will ensure the safety of their children. After all, a religious man will never harm anyone, let alone a child.
But religion offers no such protection to children.
When the pedophile imam is about to molest his child victim does he have a certain holy verse in his preferred holy book that should dissuade him or is he more reluctant , if at all, because of his act being a societal taboo? Is there such a person as a religious pedophile? If so, does he have anything in the scriptures that warn him of eternal damnation in hell, hellfire, flogging and stoning that awaits he who touches and destroys the innocence and the purity of a child? No, of course not!
But that's the reality, is it not? We are confused and act like a bunch of blinded fools when it comes to children's rights simply because we are left to act based on our own moral judgments. I've read a lot of articles written in outrage and condemnation of child sexual abuse, in print and in blogs, but not one has identified the root of the problem. Let me ask you. What are you thinking when you are watching movies like "Trade" or "The girl next door"? What goes through your mind when you read about your friendly neighbourhood pedophile Quran teacher who abused your neighbour's 7 year old? Ever though if it was your own child that was touched and fondled by the filthy hands of a strange man? Imagine it for a minute if you can handle it. What do you think? I know what I think.
I think the omniscient God forgot about the suffering of his children.
M | August 20, 2008 10:28 AM | Reply
Coz we can't handle the truth! Beware though, that you are lashing out against sexual predation, one of the nations favourite contemporary past times.
Quran teachers are people too. Therefore they too are prone to mistakes. Well, as long as they had performed ablution prior to the deed, I guess at least they would be clean. Comforting thought? No?
As long as you don't commit the sin of high treason, Maldives is a haven for any sort of activity. Taboo is when you criticise the system, like you just did in the post.
M | August 20, 2008 11:06 AM | Reply
And you can get some self help tips here.
Maldiveshealth | August 20, 2008 11:55 AM | Reply
Simon,
At last you decided to break the taboo. When religion steps in... even child abuse become a holy doing. This society of ours sucks big time.
bandey | August 20, 2008 1:29 PM | Reply
the critisim was well over due. i think the taboo is there as a form of protection to other kids. but clearly we now know that its not working well.
al | August 20, 2008 5:31 PM | Reply
When people use religion as a weapon, that doesn't mean religion is the culprit. It seems to me that your purpose in life is to repel people from religion. There's nothing wrong in being in a religion. Just that your agendas are not in line with the religion you used to follow before (more like you couldn't do certain things that you wanted while being in that religion) doesn't mean that the religion is bad.
Your attempt to claim that child molestation is due to a shortcoming in Islam shows your lack of knowledge of Islam. So while not fully knowing Islam, don't talk about it. Sure, you can rant about anything on your blog. But your shortcomings constitute to low credibility.
Al,
My purpose in life is of no concern to you, sir. Being in a religion or not is everyone's right, I respect that. But questioning beliefs is something else.
"more like you couldn't do certain things that you wanted while being in that religion", what is the purpose of these words, Al? What I do is also none of your concern, isn't it?
Perhaps I lack knowledge of Islam. I'll give you that. But I know something you don't know.
Even as a grade school student I knew stealing was haraam, adultery was haram, fornication before marriage was haraam etc etc. But I, like you maybe, was left to my own moral judgments about how I should not violate the innocence of children. This came from societal taboos. Not from religion. Religion never commands that the child is special to God and therefore it is a sin to touch them in funny ways. And what punishment should be given to such sinners.
So which part of the knowledge of Islam am I lacking with respect to the post?
What explanation do you have for that, Al? I sincerely would like to know as soon as you can discard your concern for my credibility, purpose in life and whatever else. Hehe.
If you have nothing concrete to say, why do you bother lifting those fingers to type? Hmm?
Bencher | August 20, 2008 5:57 PM | Reply
Al took the words right out of my mouth
kalhutheyo | August 20, 2008 7:11 PM | Reply
So, you agree the Bible also fails to provide specific punishments for paedophiles/incest/homosexuals??
The catholic church is in quite a conundrum when you consider the level of child abuse- esp boys molestation that occurs among celibate catholic priests. Recently the Pope has been going around, on world tours apologising to everyone and settling thousands of cases with multi-million dollar monetary deals- for all the good it will do.
One might argue whether mentioning fornication with anyone of any age as a vile sin, has had any effect on us. Once again it is social stigmatisation which keeps it simmering under the surface, in our case. One might argue what effect has international treaties has had on curbing child abuse and sexual trafficking. In places such as Phuket and Goa in this region, child sex tourism is an established business- which caters to high end customers from europe. No effective legislation has been in place for fear of deterring precious foreign currency and investment.
Extensive links could be provided furthering all these points.
The reason that an imam and now some Qur'an teachers have been implicated in child molestation is a reflection of a society that has been complacent to underage marriages & courtship(and more importantly in this case is our naivete in assuming religious instructors imply divine priests or Holy-men incapable of human urges).
The same holds true to almost all other neighbouring impoverished nations who are not majority mulsim countries. Where such legilsation is in place (unlike in our phony Qu'ran or the authentic bibles) protecting childrens rights, it is built on a social fabric that is just as complacent towards lechery & sexual debauchery; consider that in most european nations incest is now legal and we all know where homosexuality stands. And of course child moelstors immediately provoke an outcry, but when a child abuse site receives 10million hits in an hour and when apprehended perpetrators are often middle to old aged, often married men- then we have to wonder where this politically correct outcry stands.
Divine Books are not manuals- they provide a foundation for with which to build a morally right and socially just society. The fact that Qur'anic principles are principles for the most part, is why some idiots thought they could construct a sharia and then use the holy book to license it indefinitely. People also have been given a 3oz neural network, and this is not to be abandoned in favor of any external stimuli- even if it be a holy book!
Blaming scriptures does not excuse us from our own actions.
When sexual subjects stop being a taboo, when we are able to talk to our children about sex- even be able to explain at a tender age that it is wrong to touch someone elses nether places, might go a long way.
I find it disgusting how you fashion articles in apparently good samaritan ways and seek to condemn Islam or the Qur'an on everything. But it seems from your mention of international treaties and their failure, we have been able to generate some sense in that thick skull as well.
If you feel your children(for whom I mean no ill) will be safer in a non-moslem nation or in the west- your welcome to take that risk.
aminath | August 20, 2008 7:13 PM | Reply
if you think 'concrete' is commending what you spew, you must have lost it. Big time. But I agree that Child Abuse is the ultimate perversity and it hasn't been duly acknowledged by the Maldivian government. I know Islam just enough to be a Muslim but I'm sure Abuse of anykind is frowned upon and considered a sin in Islam.
Athimath | August 20, 2008 11:45 PM | Reply
Al, i too tried to find the punishment to be given to pedophiles and child molesters in our religion. When i asked the teachers, they always changed the subject and when i persisted the answer was 'call and ask the supreme council for islamic affairs'
Says a lot, doesn't it?
neh nameh | August 21, 2008 12:28 AM | Reply
Good one Simon
Dhivehi Resistance | August 21, 2008 12:51 AM | Reply
Whenever someone brings up the subject of Islam and child abuse among muslims, most muslims will fervently deny that it has nothing to do with Islam.
Then they will go and elect B.A Naseem or some such mullah to the head of some Islamic council etc. They will be quite willing to overlook that the man has objected to minimum age of marriage law. They will point to some passage in the Old Testament, as if, because your neighbor beats his wife, thats reason for you to do it too.
If you muslims want to be taken seriously on this issue, stand up for the rights of children instead of moaning about Islam being targeted.
Kudos Simon.
kalhutheyo | August 21, 2008 2:06 AM | Reply
All i hear is You mourning Miss Gabu Qaaroonu.
To stand up for the rights of children one doesn't need to take islam lessons from the likes of pigs&apes sites. To stand up for childrens rights implies ALL children of all religions everywhere, To stand up for childrens rights one needs to have the capacity to engage in discourse divorced of prejudices against an interpretation of islam that your daddy practises. To stand up for childrens rights requires an understanding that holy scriptures are interpreted as allowing child abuse only by those with paedophilic tendencis or the kind of people who wish to use it as ammunition against those scriptures.
To stand up for children's rights requires the understanding that banning holy scriptures and abolishing religion and ruling God as void & null, does not eradicate the threat of child molestors.
To stand up for childrens rights requires understanding that no amount of legislature, as in your first world, will deter child abuse rings so long as a culture of lechery and sexual debauchery exists ingrained within the very fabric of society. One cannot go rally against child abuse and then go and browse a Barely Legal site showing women dressed as underage girls with pigtails.
you and your kitchen logic again
Simon | August 21, 2008 10:18 AM | Reply
Everyone, let's keep the riffraff to a minimum, shall we?
Kalhutheyo,
Only a religious fundie would say that fornication is a "vile sin". We're not talking about lechery and debauchery. What an adult does privately with another consenting adult(s) is not the issue here.
Yes, international treaties do little to protect children but at least it is there, enshrined in some form or another.
My point is that if religious books outrightly condemned child abuse and sexual abuse of underage children, then who knows, perhaps it would be far more effective than any treaties. But they don't!
Child abuse cannot be stopped. And furthermore, child sexual abuse is not just, as some people think, "kuda kudhinnaa ekee jinsee gulhun hingun", isn't it? Putting it in simplistic terms doesn't justify the kind of heinous acts of abuse people commit on children and the permanent psychological damage children suffer.
Again, it is not about society being complacent towards sexual acts involving adults. It is not about how child abuse can be stopped. You are missing the point by thousands of kilometers.
"Divine books are not manuals", you say. That's your opinion, I presume. But it clearly specifies the punishment for, say, theft: "As to the thief, Male or female, cut off his or her hands: a punishment by way of example, from Allah, for their crime: and Allah is Exalted in power."
Again, where is the guidance for punishment against sexual predation of children? Ah, too complex, here's the 3oz, do your own thinking? Doesn't it put child sexual abuse below the ranking of theft in terms of importance?
I really don't know from which side of your 3oz you're thinking. I am not blaming sciptures for our actions, my friend. I am blaming scriptures for its blatant neglect and omission of children. I feel you cannot make up excuses on behalf of that. What isn't there, isn't there. Correct?
And this one really puts the icing:
"When sexual subjects stop being a taboo, when we are able to talk to our children about sex- even be able to explain at a tender age that it is wrong to touch someone elses nether places, might go a long way."
First question. Do you have children? I will assume not, simply from the kind of ignorance about children you show in that quote above. Aren't you putting part of the blame on children? This is not about children touching "someone elses nether places". This is about adults like you(?) and me taking advantage of their innocense. Whether children are aware of sexual acts or not is out of the question.
No doubt you will find my articles disgusting. With just 3oz of brain matter, I'm not surprised.
Thank you for your concern about my children but you should know you're not in any position to welcome the risks I take. Don't be absurd!
kalhutheyo | August 21, 2008 5:37 PM | Reply
Looks like a repetition is in order.
My 'friend' all paedophiles were once children- therefore their upbringing, the social environment in which they are brought up in has a bearing on their actions as adults. That is why we say healthy child rearing practises has the potential to positively reinforce socially acceptable traits while keeping in check those perverted ones.
That's why children need to be taught what is right & wrong from the most tender of ages; so that 'when they grow up or while they are growing up they won't touch other people's nether places or let others touch theirs'
Duh My 3 oz is at least capable of abstract reasoning and making associations.
The problem is we are Not talking about lechery and sexual debauchery! You imagine that if the Qur’an was abolished and Islam made null, that molesters would disappear into the night? Your ideal western nations are demonstrating how fertile a ground secular soil is for breeding every kind of human perversion. You are missing the point by thousands on purpose.
Where such legislation is in place (unlike in our phony Qur’an or the AUTHENTIC Bible hehe) protecting children’s rights, it is built on a social fabric that is just as complacent towards lechery & sexual debauchery; consider that in most European nations incest is now legal and we all know where homosexuality stands. And of course child molesters immediately provoke an outcry, but when a child abuse site receives 10million hits in an hour and when apprehended perpetrators are often middle to old aged, often married men- then we have to wonder where this politically correct outcry stands.
It is not surprising that such an environment breeds scumbags like Gary Glitter.
For you to pretend that the Qur'ans failure to mention child abuse (it has not mentioned homosexuality or incest either; but maybe only “religious fundies” think these are aberrations of human behaviour, or Christians who think the Lord has forgiveth all their sins before & after) has been the prime reason why an imam and some Qur'an teachers have been implicated in child abuse is self-serving for you and your like only. And for Paedophiles!
We should then be thankful that at least here we don't follow a bible- which is full of sex, esp. incest.
Should I explain the permanent psychological damage that becomes inevitable when a child grows up in an environment that is complacent towards incest (secular and conservative Christian societies); he thinks it's ok to touch his siblings; this is then extrapolated through out his life.
Promiscuity is a contributing factor in an environment which is complacent towards, or even condones, sexual freedoms.
“And furthermore, child sexual abuse is not just, as some people think, "kuda kudhinnaa ekee jinsee gulhun hingun", isn't it? Putting it in simplistic terms”- ?? who the fok is putting it in simple terms, if not You!
And, when you wish to demonstrate someone else’s ignorance make sure you don’t flash your own old man.
The Bible, nor our Fake Qur’an or any secular document is a replacement for Human innate conscience. Only if one is a paedophile will one the Qur’an as being complacent towards child abuse, simple because it has not specified beyond the assertion of sexual excesses as among the gravest of sins.
To stand up for your children's rights requires the understanding that banning holy scriptures and abolishing religion and ruling God as void & null, does not eradicate the threat of child molesters.
To stand up for children’s rights requires understanding that no amount of legislature, as in your first world, will deter child abuse rings so long as a culture of lechery and sexual debauchery exists ingrained within the very fabric of society.
One cannot go rally against child abuse and then go and browse a Barely Legal site showing women dressed as underage girls with ponytails.
Yes your article is disgusting because you are hiding behind your own children- dressed as the concerned good Samaritan, to launch attacks on our fake Qur’an and basing your entire argument on the premise that it is the mere failure to mention specifically child molestation that is the root cause for cases of child abuse on our society. You wish it could be equated to the epic scale of child abuse and sexual molestation rampant among celibate catholic clergy- but you would have to stretch it by ‘thousand’s of kilometres’.
My only concern for your children is that they are forced to lead double lives by a deranged Islamophobic such as you. A guy who cannot make two sentences without pissing on Muslims.
Kalhutheyo,
You very long reply comes down to this:
Yes, Quran doesn't say anything on child abuse but it is prevalent in societies where people have sex (which is every society basically).
In other words, the holy books might as well be useless today. Which, btw, is the whole point of my post. So thank you.
And sir (or madam), you don't know what it means to worry about children so don't tell me you have concern for mine. Heh.
Dhivehi Resistance | August 24, 2008 12:17 AM | Reply
Kalhutheyo,
you say "You imagine that if the Qur’an was abolished and Islam made null, that molesters would disappear into the night? "
The molesters may not disappear into the night. But if you want to do something about it, condemning and standing up to those Islamic clerics who say its ok for a 54 yr old man to marry a 6yr old girl will be a good place to start instead of complaining about some blog posting on the internet.
Some mullahs in our own community preach such vile and disgusting stuff openly. Direct your disgust and anger at them. Blame them if bloggers are making connections between islam and child abuse.
maybe the good theyo has been burnt out and the 3 oz residue of kalhutheyo cannot understand this
Concerned Father | August 24, 2008 3:56 PM | Reply
its strange some ppl do not get the point here (i am referring to the writer claiming to be Kalhutheyo!!
Simon: this is indeed one dimension to the very disgusting issue of children abuse. While i blame the overall social inhumanity for such acts, i entirely endorse your view that had there been directives explicitly given in the Quran (or even in Hadith) on how the child molestors / abusers be treated, this wouldnt probably be as bad! Then there is this whole issue of child marriages in Islam! That's another umaru sumbuli to open up!
-Concerned Father-
mobilephone | August 24, 2008 7:58 PM | Reply
Concerned Father, those that practice such acts do not condemn it, if ya get my drift
Abduall | August 25, 2008 11:50 AM | Reply
On the one hand we complain that Islam put too tough a penalty on sins while on the other we want a system punishes offenders to prevent the crime.
Sexual abuse to children is addressed in Islam. There are severe penalties and unishment for them. The problem is not that Islam is lenient, the problem is that Islam is being bent to fit the views of people. If we were to follow the prescribed punishments we would be better off than now, there is little doubt in my mind.
What you have not stressed on much is the kids, once they have suffered, do not get even the basic medical and social support. There are recognised therapies and counseling interventions around the world and we.....
Thanks Simon for opening this discussion, it has certainly brought out a few people to express their views, all wanting to solve the problem. The disagreement, as always with your posts, is the subtle offence you express towards religion.
Abdulla,
Actually, I'd (and possibly many others) be glad if you could point me to some literature outlining the punishments for sex offenders and predators prescribed in religion: both in Islam and Christianity.
This post was primarily aimed at opening up the discussion, which I honestly think has been kept taboo for too long.
Subtle offense? Few would consider what I write subtly offensive to religion. I don't know if that is a good thing or not. Religion cannot be exempt from critical scrutiny. It has been hidden behind layers upon layers of dogmatic beliefs exempting it from critical views. Why should it be?
Thanks for the comment.
kalhutheyo | August 26, 2008 4:18 AM | Reply
Are you being intentionally daft as usual?? I want to believe so, coz it's either that or there is something pathological about your inability for abstract reasoning & rational association; maybe grounds for an imaging study of your Association-Cortex! (can you tell me how much it weighs?)
But ofcourse we both know what you are upto.
If you see a "SILENCE" warning in a Library, do you take this to imply talking in a hush tone- do you take this to mean it's ok to put up loud speakers inside the library and watch a movie or have a rock concert, so long as you don't SPEAK out loud?!
The moslem Holy Scripture(i dunno about the Authentic Bible) is not a substitute for the human mind. It's code of conduct is a guide- presented in a condensed form and with which we are to form a moral basis for a moslem way of life.
It has stated theft as violation of that code- it has not specified from where or how much or what kind of materials either. It has not stated whether stealing from an old lady is worse or the same as stealing from a child either!
Excesses in sexual gratification are among the most vilified of sin's in the Qur'ans sight. But once again this mayb just what Moslem "religious fundies" think, just as they think homosexuality or Incest classifies as just that.
For you to then draw associations between random cases of child abuse that has occured among religious instructors in a society that already manifests a background level of child abuse, and then to conclude that it is the failure of the scripture to mention specifically child abuse that lies at the heart of the abuse within both groups is what you call a "stretch by thousands of kilometers"!
And No i am not saying it is prevalent in societies that "have sex"; I am saying that no amount of legislature will deter child abuse rings so long as a culture of lechery and sexual debauchery exists ingrained within the very fabric of those societies!! One cannot go rally against child abuse and then go and browse a Barely Legal site showing women DRESSED AS UNDERAGE GIRLS with ponytails.(Yes I know there is no way you can get around that)
Child abuse is prevalent in this society as in any society because some people are perverts, human's with animal urges that can only be kept in check if adequate legislation is in place that adresses this on every level- this implies that lechery & sexual debauchery cannot have a place in a civilized society. This is esp so if it wishes to protect their children from sexual excesses that tends to proliferate in societies that refuse to address the association between that societies complacency towards L & SB with the incidence of child abuse!!
(and the prevalence or incidence in ours is far less compared to secular Godless societies that are complacent towards sexual freedoms of every kind so long as it is with consent! and the younger the better- it's not just Arabs alone who are hypocrites!And no comparison can be made to the epic scale of child abuse and sexual molestation rampant among celibate catholic clergy)
I dunno why i even waste my time with you
Child abuse is of course of concern to everyone, and to imply that I am a paedophile because I prefer to put things in context- because I choose to show those valid sides of opposing arguments which you are actively trying to conceal from the readers, then I say this tells more about your real motives than it says about me. Pathetic
Simon | September 3, 2008 3:43 AM | Reply
Kalhutheyo,
Your long-winded idiotic comments going on and on like a broken record defending scripture bores me to death.
People like you will actively hide the truth in a veil of deceptive reasoning that seem plausible on the surface and try to move the argument away from the original point.
The truth is this: while the scriptures went an unusual long way towards explaining punishment for theft (for instance) it has not mentioned child sexual (and physical, mind you) abuse - an act that robs both parents and the child of so much more than material processions.
Isn't that the truth, sir? Agree or not?
You make such stupid excuses on behalf of scripture.
"It's code of conduct is a guide- presented in a condensed form and with which we are to form a moral basis for a moslem way of life. - you said.
So this supposed "condensed" guide is so condensed that the author forgot to mention children? That is so stupid! Of course, this is you making excuses on the author's behalf. Believe what you want to believe but the truth is it (the scriptures) does not protecte children as it does, say, men.
"For you to then draw associations between random cases of child abuse that has occured among religious instructors in a society that already manifests a background level of child abuse...". Gees, you ARE pretty dense aren't you?