"Slavery, women, Christianity and Islam"

Submitted by Lactantius Jr. (United Kingdom), Apr 19, 2007 at 16:49

To bobwhite

In responding to you, I refer to and quote verbatim, from the published work of Glenn Miller and Sam Shamoun, available on the Internet.

Glenn Miller of "A Christian Think Tank" has written at considerable length on slavery, titled "Does God condone slavery in the Bible?" posted at:-

http://www.christian-thinktank.com/qnoslave.html

and I refer to his work titled, "The OT institution of Hebrew 'slavery' in the Law of Moses--its nature, purpose, and structure," Which concludes:-

Summary: In the Old Testament, we have NO REASON to believe that Yahweh condoned chattel slavery, and indeed, we have substantial bodies of data and argument to support the contrary--that Yahweh desired the freedom of all men and women within the covenant community ruled by Him. At the end of the day, Israel was just not allowed to mis-treat ANYBODY:

"Although slaves were viewed as the property of heads of households, the latter were not free to brutalize or abuse even non-Israelite members of the household. On the contrary, explicit prohibitions of the oppression/exploitation of slaves appear repeatedly in the Mosaic legislation. In two most remarkable texts, Leviticus 19:34 and Deuteronomy 10:18&19, Yahweh charges all Israelites to love ('aheb) aliens (gerim) who reside in their midst, that is, the foreign members of their households, like they do themselves and to treat these outsiders with the same respect they show their ethnic countrymen.

These Old Testament references, and other references to Old and New Testament I quote, may be referred to, using the online Bible resource, at:-

http://www.biblegateway.com

Sam Shamoun has written extensively about Islam, comparing/contrasting it with Christianity, which is when the contrast is seen most sharply.

In an article titled "Women In Islam" (part 3) at:-

http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/women_in_islam3.htm

Sam writes:-

The Holy Bible, however, prohibits the raping of captive women and condemns adultery completely. Note what God's true Word says about the treatment of captive women:

"When you go to war against your enemies and the LORD your God delivers them into your hands and you take captives, if you notice among the captives a beautiful woman and are attracted to her, you may take her AS YOUR WIFE. Bring her into your home and have her shave her head, trim her nails and put aside the clothes she was wearing when captured. After she has lived in your house and mourned her father and mother for a full month, then you may go to her and be her husband and she shall be your wife. If you are not pleased with her, let her go wherever she wishes. You must not sell her or treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her." Deuteronomy 21:10-14

M.G. Kline, considered one of the leading Old Testament theologians of the last century, wrote regarding God's ruling in Deuteronomy 21:10-14:

This first of three stipulations concerned with the authority of the head of the household (cf. vv. 15-21) deals with the limits of the husband's authority over his wife. The case of a captive woman (vv. 10,11; cf. 20:14; contrast 7:3) is used as a case in point for establishing the rights of the wife, perhaps because the principle would obviously apply, a fortiori in the case of an Israelite wife. On the purificatory acts of verses 12b, 13a, which signified removal from captive-slave status, compare Leviticus 14:8; Numbers 8:7.

On the month's mourning, see Numbers 20:29 and Deuteronomy 34:8. This period would provide for the achieving of inward composure for beginning a new life, as well as for an appropriate expression of filial piety. 14. Thou shalt not sell her. A wife might not be reduced to slave status, not even the wife who had been raised from slave status… then thou shalt let her go whither she will. The severance of the marriage relationship is mentioned here only incidentally to the statement of the main principle that a man's authority did not extend to the right of reducing his wife to a slave. This dissolution of the marriage would have to be accomplished according to the laws of divorce in the theocracy (cf. Deuteronomy 24:1-4). Not that divorce was mandatory, but the granting of freedom in case the man should determine to divorce his wife according to the permission granted by Moses, because of the hardness of their hearts (cf. Matthew 19:8). (Wycliffe Bible Commentary [Oliphants Ltd.: London, 1963), p. 184)

The late chief rabbi of the British Empire, Chief Rabbi J. H. Hertz noted regarding this passage:

"A female war-captive was not to be made a concubine till after an interval of a month. The bitter moments of the captive's first grief had to be respected. She must not subsequently be sold or treated as a slave. 12. bring her home. This law inculcates thoughtfulness and forbearance under circumstances in which the warrior, elated by victory, might deem himself at liberty to act as he pleased (Driver). ‘After the countless rapes of conquered women with which recent history has made us so painfully familiar, it is like hearing soft music to read of the warrior's duty to the enemy woman, of the necessary marriage with its set ritual and its due delay. And the Legislator proceeds to trace the course of the husband's duty in the event of the conquered alien woman failing to bring him the expected delight. ‘Then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not deal with her as a slave, because thou hast humbled her'" (Zangwill)… 13. she shall be thy wife. And enjoy the full rights and duties of a Jewish wife; Exodus xxi, 10.14. no delight in her, i.e. no longer any delight in her. The Rabbis deemed such a marriage a concession to human weakness, as a preventive against worse manifestations of the unbridled passions of man...humbled her. Dishonored her." (Pentateuch & Haftorahs, edited by Dr. J H Hertz [The Soncino Press Limited: London, 1960], p. 840)

Thus, we can clearly see that the Holy Bible dignified even captive gentile women by elevating them to the same status as that of married Israelite women.

The problem, however, sits deeper. Two stories about Muhammad's behavior from his own life will illustrate this.

Jabir reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) saw a woman, and so he came to his wife, Zainab, as she was tanning a leather and had sexual intercourse with her. He then went to his Companions and told them: The woman advances and retires in the shape of a devil, so when one of you sees a woman, he should come to his wife, for that will repel what he feels in his heart. (Sahih Muslim, Book 008, Number 3240)

Narrated Abdullah ibn Mas'ud

Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) saw a woman who charmed him, so he went to Sawdah who was making perfume in the company of some women. They left him, and after he had satisfied his desire he said, "If any man sees a woman who charms him he should go to his wife, for she has the same kind of thing as the other woman."

Darimi transmitted it. (Al-Tirmidhi Hadith, Number 927; ALIM CD-ROM Version)

Nobody has to have sexual intercourse immediately simply because a beautiful woman passes by. Human beings are not animals, but can make a decision where to direct their thoughts and desires. Obviously, Muhammad did not only see a woman, but started to entertain lustful desires for her. The narrations imply that Muhammad became so aroused that he could not bear it anymore and needed to release the pressure immediately, in the middle of the day, interrupting the work his wife was doing, and even sending away visitors who were with his wife at the time. Muhammad committed adultery in his mind and then used the body of one of his wives to release the physical pressure resulting from these adulterous desires. He did not make love to his wife with the intention of making her happy and satisfied, but he simply "satisfied his desire" by using her "thing" while his mind was with the other woman. The fact that there exist at least two narrations about similar but distinct incidents suggests that this seems to have been a habit of his.

God's true Word warns a person from lusting after another man's wife:

"You shall not commit adultery… You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's." Exodus 20:14, 17

"And you shall not lie sexually with your neighbor's wife and so make yourself unclean with her." Leviticus 18:20

"If there is a man who commits adultery with another man's wife, one who commits adultery with his friend's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death." Leviticus 20:10

The Lord Jesus Christ warned his followers:

"You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Matthew 5:27-28

Thus, Muhammad and his teachings come under the condemnation of the plain commandments of God's true Word.

Had Muhammad instructed his followers to discipline their thought life, and not to lust after other women in the first place, things might have been very different.

The readers can see how these specific Muslim teachings once again further expose Islam's degradation and humiliation of women. Both Allah and his messenger viewed women as little more than chattel which could be used, abused, raped and sold by Muslim men.

For more on these issues please read the following articles:

http://answering-islam.org/Silas/femalecaptives.htm
http://answering-islam.org/Silas/childbrides.htm
http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/prepubescent.htm
http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/marriage_age.htm
http://answering-islam.org/Responses/Osama/lesbian.htm

None of this is ‘sound-bite' stuff, and is unsuitable for those with short attention spans, but anyone seeking to gain a clear understanding of what bobwhite describes as "more consideration for the feelings of the slavegirl-concubine," on reading the citations, will see the massive difference between Christianity and Islam.

Lactantius Jr.

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