MEMRI reports on a Sunni extremist Egyptian cleric Mazen Al-Sarsawi promoting wife beating and denouncing women’s rights. Mazen Al-Sarsawi has also previously attacked other branches of Islam, and has condemned all Shiite Muslims.

Egyptian Cleric Mazen Al-Sarsawi Cites 7th-Century Muslim Scholar: If Your Wife Bothers You – Beat Her with the Rod

— MEMRI reports: “In a recent TV sermon, Egyptian cleric Mazen Al-Sarsawi extolled the virtues of corporal punishment to keep wives in check. Using stories from the early days of Islam to support his argument, Al-Sawsawi said that when there are marital problems, ‘the solution is to give the man a free hand to discipline his family members and to control them. By no means can a woman be the head [of the family].'”

— “In the sermon, aired January 7, 2010 on the Egyptian Islamic channel Al-Nas TV, Al-Sawsawi recounted the story of Said Ibn Al-Musayyib, a 7th-century Muslim scholar known for his piety, who married off his daughter to his student, Abu Wada’. Al-Musayyib imparted to his son-in-law advice on how to deal with his new wife: ‘If she bothers you – if something annoys you, or if you suspect anything – beat her on the spot with the rod. Break her head.'”

— “He continued with another story – that of Asmaa, the daughter of the Caliph Abu Bakr, whose husband Zubeir would tie her to his other wife by their hair and beat them both. When Asmaa complained to her father about this unfairness, (‘he beat me black and blue, even though I didn’t do a thing”), Abu Bakr’s response was: ‘Go back to Zubeir. He is a good man, and he may become your husband in Paradise.'”

— “Al-Sarsawi blamed modern media – television and the movies – for fomenting ‘a revolution in domestic leadership,’ such that today ‘in many homes, the woman is the man. She tells her husband what to do, and he says: ‘Yes, ma’am.'” He warned that handing over the leadership to women, who “cannot drive a car, let alone head a home, or anything beyond that,’ is destroying Muslim homes.”

— “Al-Sarsawi also lashed out at women’s rights supporters, saying that they hate women and “bring them down to sin.” He said that women who go out to work expect equality and want to discuss everything – with the result that the home is turned “into a parliament.” “Women’s rights supporters in Europe and America are all swindlers,’ he said.”

Video Clip on MEMRI TV

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