Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Muslim cleric currently on a controversial visit to Britain, believes that female rape victims should be punished if dressed "immodestly" when assaulted. The 78-year-old Egyptian-born scholar, allowed into the country despite his open support of Palestinian suicide bombers and his extreme views on homosexuality, says that women can be guilty of provoking a sexual attack if their dress or behaviour arouses a man.
| And there ain't nobody as easily aroused as a Muslim man... |
Dr al-Qaradawi's views on rape appear on a website called IslamOnline, which purports to give a modern interpretation of Islam. He is the website's chief scholar and leader of a group of Islamic academics who provide answers to questions posed by Muslims on moral issues. One question asked: "Are raped women punished in Islam?" A panel, headed by Mr al-Qaradawi, replied: "To be absolved from guilt, the raped woman must have shown some sort of good conduct . . . Islam addresses women to maintain their modesty, as not to open the door for evil. The Koran calls upon Muslim women in general to preserve their dignity and modesty, just to save themselves from any harassment. So for a rape victim to be absolved from guilt, she must not be the one that opens . . . her dignity for deflowering."
| "So no titties! And no thighs, dammit! And get rid of those buttocks! And the ankles, too! |
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