Islam Forces Couple To Divorce After Sleeptalking
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in ReligionAhh Islam…how you provide us with such obvious examples of why you need to change.
NEW DELHI, India (Reuters) — A Muslim couple in India have been told by local Islamic leaders they must separate after the husband “divorced” his wife in his sleep, the Press Trust of India reported.Sohela Ansari told friends that her husband Aftab had uttered the word “talaq,” or divorce, three times in his sleep, according to the report published in newspapers on Monday.
When local Islamic leaders got to hear, they said Aftab’s words constituted a divorce under an Islamic procedure known as “triple talaq.” The couple, married for 11 years with three children, were told they had to split.
As frequent commentor Bob Aman said when he forwarded this to me, “Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.”
This entry was posted on Monday, March 27th, 2006 and is filed under Religion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
March 28th, 2006 at 2:34 am
Because obviously those ‘local Islamic leaders’ are the shining example of what Muslim is.
Way to be a bigot.
March 28th, 2006 at 4:49 am
Sounds familiar to me.
Who was the film/song star with the 8 hour marriage - not that long back?
March 28th, 2006 at 8:10 am
(Sohela Ansari told friends that her husband Aftab had uttered the word “talaq,� or divorce, three times in his sleep, according to the report published in newspapers on Monday.)
So, let me get this straight … Sohela and Aftab’s marraige is “colateral damage in an (UN)holy war?
March 28th, 2006 at 8:41 am
I mean, its like Christian leaders espousing the assassination of otheres. Or how about Ann suggesting carpet bombing the middle east? Same same.
March 28th, 2006 at 11:53 am
Serg,
I don’t think you should be throwing around the term “bigot” so easily. I doubt Justin meant to over-generalize. The issue is that we continue to see more an more crazy stories coming from the Islamic world. It would be disingenuous to deny that. And, of course, other religions have crazies too, but right now, Islam has taken center stage.
The Islamic procedure known as “triple talaqâ€Â?? Is that like saying “there’s no place like home” three times or saying “bloody mary” three times”? How about saying “Beetlejuice” three times?
March 28th, 2006 at 12:00 pm
Ha! Do you even know Islamic law Serg? My guess would be no. And to throw the term “bigot” around so liberally speaks incredibly poorly of you.
I have defended Islam on this blog many times before, but there are some big problems with the religion. This is one glaring example. There are others. I urge you to seek them out and start debating why people have to live under such repressive and nonsensical rules.
March 28th, 2006 at 12:14 pm
Am I the only one who finds this story a bit odd (I mean, apart from the obvious bizarreness of it)?
Hell, I’m not of Islam and I know what talaq is (I also know what the Jewish “Get” means). Why did this woman tell her friends? Are they the ones who told the local Islam leaders? What kind of friends does she have? Are all of these people unaware of the weirdness of our times, such that they would feel free to talk casually about this sleeping pillowtalk? Was there some level on which the wife wanted to be away from her husband but then had second thoughts? There are a raft of unanswered questions here, or at least gaps in the story as presented by CNN.
Probligo, I believe you’re thinking of the Britney Spears Does Vegas incident, in 2004.
March 28th, 2006 at 12:33 pm
I’m confused by this.
Shouldn’t this situation be a matter of actual *intent?*
This is obviously not a case of conscously-uttered intent.
Or am I finding too much of a parallell with the construction of “intent and action” that underlies much of christian theology?
March 28th, 2006 at 12:56 pm
I agree that this should be a matter of intent.
I don’t know that Christianity always follows this requirement- punishing everyone for Adam and Eve’s sins, punishing Job just to test him, etc.
March 28th, 2006 at 4:09 pm
It should be intent, but Islamic law doesn’t factor in intent…just the action itself. That’s why it’s a broken system in need for a Reformation of sorts. Hope it happens soon.
March 28th, 2006 at 4:51 pm
I agree with R.I.A. The story smells. Wait for more information. However it’s not “bigotry” to point out the absurdity of another’s behavior. Justin certainly is no slouch about calling out such things in his own culture when he feels they deserve it.
March 28th, 2006 at 6:06 pm
A second thought -
I can not but help feeling that following (and publicising) these kinds of “events” in Islam could only be paralleled by having someone like Jerry Falwell, or Pat Robinson as the primary interpreter of the Christian faith.
On that basis then, to what extent should we accept news of this kind as representative of all Islam?
About as far as Falwell and Robinson represent true Christianity.
March 28th, 2006 at 7:47 pm
Or even Pat Robertson, even.
March 29th, 2006 at 9:20 pm
Cal, don’t denigrate Pat Robertson …. he has a direct connection to God. Don’t mess with him … the weather has been up in farm country …. don’t be inviting natural disasters.
April 2nd, 2006 at 5:58 am
Hey Justin,
I could ensure you that this is not Islam being a muslim myself I can swear to you this is not really what Islam says!!!
Look, what Islam says is that you have to be aware of what you are saying to make the divorce ‘Islamically’ legal, If you utter the word ‘talaq’ when your drunk, angry or forced to say it ! it won’t take place and the woman is still your wife, it has to be a wise, aware and well thought decision! So I guess it is clear what real islamic law says about the case of some sleeping guy’s rhapsody!!!!
Some people are just trying to make a caricature of Islam that’s all! or those Islamic indian are way too far from real Islam!!
April 2nd, 2006 at 6:14 am
…a second thought:
When you say ‘Islamic law doesn’t factor in intent’ it is totally the opposite! one of the most important rules in Islam is ‘intent’!!!!
In Islam: your intention is the most significant thing in what you do! if you make a bad thing but your intention is good that’s really better than making a good thing with a bad intention!! : انما الأعمال بالنيات
so don’t talk about things you are not sure of ;)
April 2nd, 2006 at 6:40 am
As I have read, in at least some of the major Sunni Islamic legal schools, the plain words that make a lawful divorce are legally effective whether one intends divorce by them or not. Only evidence of coercion or insanity can negate them.
So, yes, Islam pays careful attention to “intent,” but in some cases that means deciding that intent has no effect on outcome, and this appears to be one such case.
April 2nd, 2006 at 7:46 pm
Well, let’s see a link to that then.
April 3rd, 2006 at 3:06 am
Sure:
http://www.islamweb.net/ver2/Fatwa/ShowFatwa.php?lang=E&Id=1640&Option=FatwaId
read especially the last lines: ‘…the compulsory condition for a valid divorce is one should pronounce the word of Talaq, or the words which indicate Talaq, intentionally and freely.’
;)
islamweb.net is one of the biggest refrences online for all the muslims!!
April 3rd, 2006 at 7:28 am
But that explicitly denies that a person’s “doubt” about whether he is truly divorced or not has any bearing on his case.
The issue remains whether the words were uttered “intentionally” and “freely.” Most of the writings I have seen concerning these issues deal with compulsion or sanity. No one is saying this man was threatened or compelled, or insane. Hypothetical or real, the case seems to be one in which it is emminently possible to read Shari’a as procla9iming him divorced, whether he wants to be or not.
April 3rd, 2006 at 8:07 am
he was sleeping! he can’t act intentionally while sleeping! is he sure he said ‘talaq’? his wife said so! who knows?! this can’t be a valid divorce!
search http://www.islamweb.net/ for the word divorce and you will find many fatwas about that! you can even ask the question about this case yourself and you will see the answer ;)
August 29th, 2006 at 2:51 am
dont u have to have two witnesses anyway for it to be valid.