Koran As Law

A German judge has made reference to the Koran in deciding a legal case.

He beat her and threatened her with murder. But because husband and wife were both from Morocco, a German divorce court judge saw no cause for alarm. It's a religion thing, she argued.

The Koran seems to have become the basis for a court decision in Frankfurt.

Bear in mind that there are many American liberals/leftists who claim that international law must set a precedent for American law, regardless of the Constitution. And before you read further bear in mind that the husband has not only physically abused his wife but also threatened to kill her.

The judge rejected the application for a speedy divorce by referring to a passage in the Koran that some have controversially interpreted to mean that a husband can beat his wife. [ed- there's nothing controversial about that interpretation] It's a supposed right which is the subject of intense debate among Muslim scholars and clerics alike."The exercise of the right to castigate does not fulfill the hardship criteria as defined by Paragraph 1565 (of German federal law)," the daily Frankfurter Rundschau quoted the judge's letter as saying. It must be taken into account, the judge argued, that both man and wife have Moroccan backgrounds.

"The husband can beat his wife"

"The right to castigate means for me: the husband can beat his wife," Becker-Rojczyk said, interpreting the judge's verdict.

In short, their religious norms trump local law. And a precedent now exists in German law- if this stands- that men have a right to beat their wives-. We all know how terrible the consequences of stare decisis can be- one bad decision can lead to many more bad decisions.

It's a preposterous decision but one that I can all too readily see a liberal American judge make too. In fact, it doesn't take much effort at all to see the ACLU backing such a decision to defend the "rights" of a Muslim to follow the tenets of their faith and beat their wives.