NSS: Islamic charities’ sermons “putting women in danger”

The National Secular Society has alerted the charity regulator to two Islamic charities which recently hosted sermons saying a woman must not refuse to have sex with her husband.

A sermon at An-Noor Masjid and Community Centre in Birmingham said a man is "allowed to hit" his wife if she refuses "intercourse".

Another sermon at Muhammadi Masjid Bradford said it is "not permissible" for a woman to observe a voluntary fast without her husband's permission, because sex is not permitted during fasts in Islam.

Both charities, which are mosques registered under the charitable purpose of 'the advancement of religion', uploaded the sermons to their YouTube accounts earlier this month. The sermons have been made unavailable to the public following the NSS's engagement with the Charity Commission.

An-Noor Masjid lecturer: "if he asks for it at any time, it's his right for her to accept and obey him"

Lecturer Mahamed AbdurRazaq (pictured, left) said in his sermon at An-Noor Masjid that "hitting" wives who repeatedly refuse sex is acceptable.

He said that if a woman refuses to have sex, the husband can give her "advice" and "admonition" and refuse to sleep in the same bed as her.

But if "that doesn't help", the husband is "allowed to hit her" and "shake her" as long as this does not "bruise" or "break bones", he said.

The sermon, entitled "Detailed Rulings on Marriage" and uploaded last week, was based on the Islamic legal text Umdat ul-Fiq.

AbdurRazaq said the "minimum right" of the husband is that his wife "has to listen to him when he commands her" and "specifically even more so when it comes to intercourse".

He said "if he asks for it at any time, it's his right for her to accept and obey him" and this is a "highly stressed right of the husband".

The wife should agree to have sex "straight away", "without delaying" and without showing "dislike" or that they are "being forced to do it", he said.

He said a wife who refuses sex has "no right" to nafaqa (financial support) from her husband.

AbdurRazaq added that a person who is "serious about marriage" should not "give any attention" to "the doubts of the feminists and the kuffar [non-Muslims]".

An-Noor Masjid registered as a charity in 2010. Its website indicates it holds classes for children.

The NSS also alerted the Charity Commission to the Ghamidi Centre in 2021 and Utrujj Foundation in 2022 for condoning violence against women.

Muhammadi Masjid lecturer: Women who challenge men are being 'whispered to' by Satan

In his sermon at Muhammadi Masjid, lecturer Muhammad Huzaifah (pictured, right) said it is "not permissible" for women to observe any fasts outside of Ramadan (nawafil or voluntaryfasts) unless her husband gives permission.

He explained this "is obviously because the husband has certain rights which are not allowed to take place during when a person is fasting, the relationship between a husband and a wife, you can't do those relationships while a person is fasting".

A guide to fasting on the charity's website written by Huzaifah confirms that "marital relations" are forbidden during fasts.

The sermon, entitled "The Rights Of The Spouses" and uploaded on September 6^th, said that "obeying the husband and giving him his rights" is "obligatory" for women.

Huzaifah said it is forbidden for a woman to leave her house or admit somebody into her house without her husband's permission.

He highlighted Islamic texts which suggest most people in Hell are women who are "ungrateful to their husbands".

Huzaifah said a wife who "wears makeup", "beautifies herself" and "allows everybody else to look at her" is one of the types of people who are "destroyed", according to Muhammad.

He added that the hijab (headscarf) is "obligatory upon every single woman" and must "cover everything", including every strand of hair. He said women must wear clothes that are "loose and non-transparent where they can't see the shape of the body".

He said it is "even worse" if a married women does not cover herself, because she is not "upholding the rights of her husband".

Huzaifah said some Muslim women "have a lot of feminism in them" and challenge men who dictate how women should dress, speak and act. But he said this is "just a way of Shaitan (Satan) coming to the women" and "whispering" to her to "neglect her obligations".

He defended men who tell women to wear hijab "properly" and to lower their gaze, saying: "Yes the man [also] should be lowering his gaze, but at the same time you should also be wearing the hijab correctly".

Huzaifah criticised men who are "happy" for women to wear makeup when they go out and "for the whole world to see and to check them out", saying: "How can you let your wife, your daughter, go out and every single person to check them out?"

Last month, Muhammed Hassan was given a suspended sentence after he physically assaulted three women in Bradford for not wearing 'traditional Asian dress'. He had previously verbally abused them as "slags" and "prostitutes" and demanded that they dress conservatively.

The case was called an "outrageous public display of misogyny" during Hassan's sentencing. The prosecutor said the attack appeared to be "motivated by sexist attitudes towards women."

According to the Muhammadi Masjid's website, Huzaifah runs "study classes" at the mosque twice a week. The NSS said it is "especially concerned" that children may have listened to this sermon; at the beginning Huzaifah asked the "youngsters" to come closer so they can hear better.

The mosque registered as a charitable incorporated organisation in 2020 and lists its charitable objects as "advancement of the Islamic faith".

NSS: Mosque is "putting women in danger"

The NSS said Muhammadi Masjid was "putting women in danger" by hosting Huzaifah's sermon.

NSS head of campaigns Megan Manson said:

"The patriarchal ideology spouted by these preachers can fuel misogyny, discrimination and violence against women and girls.

"Recently, women in Bradford have been violently attacked for not 'dressing conservatively'. That's what happens when religious leaders tell men that women who don't obey sexist modesty codes are under Satan's influence.

"Assertions that men can hit their wives if they refuse sex, and that women need their husband's permission to ritually abstain from sex, are deeply disturbing. These ideas effectively condone domestic abuse, violence against women and marital rape.

"We are especially concerned that children may have been exposed to these regressive ideas.

"These charities are putting women in danger by hosting such sermons, in clear contradiction of their duty to serve a public benefit.

"If 'the advancement of religion' charitable purpose is enabling charities to advance misogyny through religious ideology, this purpose must be urgently reviewed."

Last month the NSS wrote to Minister for Sport, Media, Civil Society and Youth Stephanie Peacock expressing concern that some religious organisations are exploiting the third sector to "further their narrow ideologies without benefitting the public - or, worse, to the detriment of the public".

Media coverage:

• Two Islamic charities accused of misogyny (The Telegraph)
• Muhammadi Masjid online recording of sermon is removed (Telegraph & Argus)