Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Leading Islamic Organization in Indonesia Sanctions Pedophilia


Paul Williams, PhD

One of the world’s largest Islamic organizations has issued a religious ruling stating that Muslims should feel free to marry prepubescent girls as young as six or seven. Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) further ruled that Muslim men may have intimate relationships, including intercourse, with such young children “as long as they are able.” The organization boasts a membership of 30 million throughout Indonesia, including Java, where President Barack Obama lived with his mother and stepfather, Lolo Soetoro. Mr. Soetoro, who served as an army geologist and government relations consultant in Jakarta, reportedly remained a member of NU until his death of liver cancer in 1981.

Cholil Nafis, NU’s secretary of the committee for religious issues, made the announcement sanctioning pedophilia at the conclusion of the organization’s 32nd Congress. Sacred Islamic verses, Mr. Nafis said, do not stipulate a minimum age for a young girl to marry or a certain age for connubial sexual activity. “They can get married at any age, even girls who haven’t started menstruating,” he announced. “And they can have intimate relationships and intercourse, as long as they are able.”

Nafis also said Islamic law suggested only that marriages would be better after a woman had her first period. “As long as the objectives of the marriage are positive, it is allowed,” Mr. Cholil continued. “Mind you, we don’t encourage people just to get married to fulfill their desires, no.”

The edict drew immediate criticism from Komnas Perempuan (KP), the National Commission on Violence Against Women in Jakarta. KP Vice Chairwoman Masruchah said the edict violates the Law on Child Protection, which defines children as being younger than 18 years old. Girls can begin to have their periods as early as the age of 9, but their reproductive system is still fragile and they are “not ready to be a sexually active person,” Ms. Masruchah told the press.

FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Paul L. Williams is the author of The Day of Islam: The Annihilation of America and the Western World, The Al Qaeda Connection, and other best-selling books. He is a frequent guest on such national news networks as ABC News, CBS News, Fox News, MSNBC, and NPR. Visit his website at http://thelastcrusade.org.

Comment: I await to hear from those Muslims who stand against this ruling-please respond to this post.

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