Men must be fully responsible for rape; gays should be helped out of sin- Muslim cleric

Last Updated on Sunday, 28 April 2013, 14:53 by GxMedia

Moulana Abu Bak’r (left) appearing on Plain Talk.

Men should take full responsibility for raping women and gays should be provided assistance to abandon their sinful and abominable lifestyle, according to a local Muslim Cleric.

Appearing on the January 27 edition of Christopher Ram’s television interview programme, ‘Plain Talk,’ Moulana Abu Bak’r, however, assured that gays would not be rejected.

“I would try my best to fix (wouldn’t chase him out) but the community would look at him with a certain degree of reproach and I cannot blame them for that but it is not that he is a lesser human being but he needs help and help should be provided,” said Bak’r.

You can watch the entire programme here.

While Moulana Bak’r said gays should not face discrimination, he insisted that homosexuality is an intolerable sin. Persons, he said, are allowed to make choices but not impose them on others.

On the issue of rape, the Muslim Cleric, who is based at the Lusignan Masjid, East Coast Demerara, he said women should not be held accountable for the actions of rapists. “I don’t think that a woman should be held accountable for being raped. She is not held accountable for the crime perpetrated against her by a twisted individual,” he said.

At the same time, he ruled out females becoming Moulvis because Islam does not permit that due to their menstruation. He explained that women are not allowed to pray while menstruating and if they were to become Moulvis they would be unable to lead prayer during that period.

Describing rape as a “terrible crime”, he said even a husband could be charged with having non-consensual sex with his wife. “It is the hurt and the wounding that has to be compensated,” he said.

Moulana Bak’r also addressed issues such as physically reprimanding one’s wife and when should a female be allowed to marry. He, however, assured that local laws must be respected.

“Islam does not impose marriage at a specific age. It is not possible for you to say that the younger the better…. You are bound by the local law. In Islam the permissibility for marriage for the consummation of marriage would be puberty. It is not an age, it is an experience,” he said.

The age of maturity and understanding in Islam is 15 years, he noted.