Lest anyone think Islam is a "cruel religion," a Qatari sociologist has uploaded a video to an Arabic YouTube channel in which he demonstrates the proper "Islamic" way to beat one's wife.
Abd Al-Aziz Al-Khazraj Al-Ansari, who uploaded the video March 29 to the Al-Mojtama YouTube channel, explained husbands don't need to beat their wives frequently, but occasionally it's necessary "out of love" so that "life can move on," according to the Middle East Media Research Institute, which translated the video from Arabic.
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"How does a husband beat his wife? He gives her a disciplinary beating out of love. He loves her. The beating should be light, and must make the wife feel her femininity and her husband's masculinity," Al-Ansari said.
In the video, he demonstrates with a boy, Nayef, who presumably is his son.
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He slaps the boy on the shoulders, grabs him and shakes him, and says loudly: "I told you not to leave the house! How many times do I have to tell you?"
Al-Ansari says that many Muslims punch their wives or slap them in the face, but Islam forbids this.
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And beating is the "last resort."
"First, he must 'admonish her' – in other words, he should advise her. Then, he should refrain from sharing a bed with her," the sociologist says.
If none of that works, "we start the beating as a last resort."
He says the husband "must make his wife feel his strength."
"Brothers, why do husbands beat their wives? Because some wives like domineering and authoritative husbands," he explains. "By nature, they like violent and powerful husbands."
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He says that with "some women, admonishing them and refraining from sharing their beds won't help."
"The only thing that helps with such women is beating," he says.
"She needs to feel that you are a real man. That's her nature. Dear brothers, I hope you understood the right to discipline a wife in Islam. We must not start asking questions about whether our religion is cruel. No, our religion is a religion of mercy and kindness."