“According to Sharia, there’s no problem [with child marriages for sexual pleasure],” said one cleric. Of course not, they are following Muhammad, “the perfect example” whose favorite wife Aisha was six years old when he married her, nine when he consummated the marriage.

Related: Undercover with Imams: little girls sold for sex in temporary ‘pleasure marriages’ that can last as little as an hour – cleric says ‘no problem at all’ to wed a nine-year-old

As Robert Spencer points out: Shi’ites justify temporary marriage, mutah, by their reading of Qur’an 4:24:

And all married women (are forbidden unto you) save those (captives) whom your right hands possess. It is a decree of Allah for you. Lawful unto you are all beyond those mentioned, so that ye seek them with your wealth in honest wedlock, not debauchery. And those of whom ye seek content (by marrying them), give unto them their portions as a duty. And there is no sin for you in what ye do by mutual agreement after the duty (hath been done). Lo! Allah is ever Knower, Wise.

While Sunnis ostensibly reject this practice, it is rising among Saudis and in Egypt.

As for the girls being underage, why not? Muhammad did it: “The Prophet wrote the (marriage contract) with ‘Aisha while she was six years old and consummated his marriage with her while she was nine years old and she remained with him for nine years (i.e. till his death).” — Bukhari 7.62.88

17,000 sign petition demanding BBC removes from iPlayer its ‘pleasure marriages’ expose on how Iraqi Muslim clerics sell young girls for sex because it’s ‘disrespectful’ to Shia Islam BBC broadcast ‘Undercover With The Clerics Iraq’s Secret Sex Trade’ in October

Journalists caught clerics offering ‘pleasure marriages’ to girls as young as nine

In three weeks almost 20,000 have signed a petition demanding its deletion

Supporters say it is misleading and will lead to increased Islamophobia in UK

BBC won’t delete the show ‘saying it fully complies with Editorial Guidelines’ By Martin Robinson, Mail Online 15 October 2019 More than 17,000 people have demanded the BBC take down a documentary about young Iraqi girls being sold for sex – calling it ‘disrespectful’ to law-abiding Shia Muslims. The corporation broadcast ‘Undercover With The Clerics – Iraq ‘s Secret Sex Trade’ on October 3 – an investigation into sexual exploitation of children and young women by clerics in Iraq. Journalists caught clerics offering ‘pleasure marriages’ to girls as young as nine – where men banned from sex outside marriage can pay a dowry for an interim wife. The practice is banned in Iraq but eight out of 10 Shia clerics who were approached were willing to carry it out, the BBC World investigation found. But now more than 17,000 people have signed an e-petition demanding the BBC removes the show from iPlayer. The petition to the change.org petition – set up by ‘Mo K’ – accused the corporation of ‘cherry-picking’ […] ‘misguided men who do not represent Shia Islam in any way’. But a BBC spokesman told MailOnline it won’t be deleted and said: ‘This thorough investigation was conducted over an 11-month period and exposes the sexual exploitation of children and young women. The documentary fully complies with BBC Editorial Guidelines.’ An undercover BBC reporter interviewed this cleric in Baghdad who appeared to agree to a ‘pleasure marriage’ to a 12-year-old >The Muslim ‘sheikh’ also agreed that a child as young as nine was ‘no problem at all’

The petition said the programme was made to ‘tarnish the image of Iraq and Shias worldwide’. It claimed the women and girls in the show ‘did not know that it was being used to belittle Shia Islam’ and their words ‘would be used against their faith’. The petition reads: ‘To the BBC. When we asked for representation, we weren’t expecting this mockery.

‘The BBC have recently published a documentary titled ‘Iraq’s Secret Sex Trade’, in which they go undercover to reveal the heinous crimes committed by a number of men who claim to follow the Shia faith. ‘Instead of making a documentary about the world’s largest, peaceful, annual pilgrimage held in Iraq, hosting 20 million people each year; the BBC have decided to cherry-pick a handful of misguided men who do not represent Shia Islam in any way, shape or form to tarnish the image of Iraq and Shias worldwide.

‘Please sign this petition if you stand with the Shia Muslims who feel that their religion is being gravely misunderstood. ‘This is not just embarrassing, it is the utmost disrespect. ‘To implicitly label us all as compliant with child prostitution is an absolute disgrace. ‘Those who partake in these acts are not our Shias.’ A petition has been signed by 17,000 calling for the BBC to remove it iPlayer – but the corporation is standing firm s part of the show, BBC Arabic’s Nawal Al-Maghafi explored claims since 2003, Iraqi women have been trapped into prostitution and pimped out by the religious elite. One young widow alleged that a cleric sold her to his friends in a prostitution ring, while secret filming revealed another cleric conducting a ‘pleasure marriage’ with a girl, 13. In Karbala, Iraq’s most important religious city, the undercover reporter is introduced to a cleric who claims pleasure marriage with a child is halal: ‘Nine years old plus, there’s no problem.’ Footage showed him explaining: ‘It’s up to you how you want to do it, she’s permitted to you. You’re allowed to perform from behind. Do what you desire.’ Two of the three clerics secretly filmed by BBC Arabic describe themselves as followers of Ayatollah Sistani, one of the most senior figures in Shia Islam. However, in a statement to the BBC, as part of the show, the Ayatollah said: ‘If these practices are happening in the way you are saying then we condemn them unreservedly. ‘Temporary marriage is not allowed as a tool to sell sex in a way that belittles the dignity and humanity of women.’ But thousands have slammed the BBC for allegedly tarnishing Islam ‘on national television at prime time on Friday evenings’ by signing the petition. The petition accused the programme of ignoring the ‘world’s largest, peaceful, annual pilgrimage held in Iraq, hosting 20 million people each year’.

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