A Texas mother pleads to abuse of her 14-year-old child. This includes beatings, choking, and even burning. While this case is horrifying in itself, it also highlights deeper issues that are not being addressed in American society. Eventually, these issues will become apparent and unavoidable.
Click2Houston reported that Sittarh Mazhar Khan, a Muslim woman in Kingwood Texas (a part of Houston), was “accused” of beating, burning, and choking her 14-year-old daughter last October. According to an officer, the defendant was upset that the complainant did not wear her hijab at school and had choked and beaten her. This caused the complainant to lose consciousness.
Khan was furious when her daughter overcooked the pita bread. Khan’s punishment is minimal. “Khan’s plea agreement includes a three-year deferred adjudication.” She must perform 100 hours of community service and give $100 to Houston Food Bank. She is not allowed to drink alcohol or take drugs during this period.
The prohibition of drugs and alcohol is irrelevant. Khan’s anger management class is also irrelevant since she is unlikely to act out of an uncontrollable fit. Khan’s anger management class is also irrelevant because she would not act in an uncontrollable rage.
It is easy to feel sympathy for Sittarh Mazhar Khan who, like her daughter, is also a victim of an oppressive culture that has been passing on such behavior from generation to generation for centuries. She probably treated her daughter in the same way that she was treated as a teenager. Abuse of women has been ingrained in Islamic texts for centuries.
@ntvamerica Sittarh Khan charged with assaulting daughter for not wearing hijab #DomesticViolence #HijabAssault #ParentalAbuse #FamilySafety #LegalAction #AssaultCharges #ProtectingRights #EndAbuse ♬ original sound – NTV America
The Qur’an states that men are superior to women and can beat them if they fear disobedience: “Men have authority over women because Allah has made the one superior to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because Allah has guarded them. As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them and send them to beds apart and beat them.” (4:34) These teachings are not outdated; they are still considered valid. According to a hadith, Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, once struck his child bride, Aisha, causing her pain. She reported him saying, “Did you think that Allah and His Apostle would deal unjustly with you?” (Sahih Muslim 2127)
Another hadith recounts: “Rifa’a divorced his wife, after which AbdurRahman bin Az-Zubair Al-Qurazi married her. `Aisha mentioned that the lady came, wearing a green veil, complained to her of her husband, and showed her a green spot on her skin caused by beating. It was customary for women to support each other, so when Allah’s Messenger came, Aisha said, ‘I have not seen any woman suffer as much as the believing women. Look! Her skin is greener than her clothes!’” (Sahih Bukhari 7.77.5825)
Sittarh Khan’s case should have been a warning to all, but it was not.
