Earlier this week I wrote about the absurd hypocrisy of Newt Gingrich decrying efforts by Muslims to impose their religious views on the world through Sharia while his very own organization is seeking to impose its religious views on the world through Dominionism.
One of the other points that Gingrich made in that same article was that Sharia tolerates marital rape, but I didn’t bother to include that as it was not related to the point I was making at the time.
But now that Gingrich made the same point in his speech yesterday at the American Enterprise Institute, let’s revisit it:
In June 2009, a New Jersey state judge rejected an allegation that a Muslim man who punished his wife with pain for hours and then raped her repeatedly was guilty of criminal sexual assault, citing his religious beliefs as proof that he did not believe he was acting in a criminal matter. “This court believes that he was operating under his belief that it is, as the husband, his desire to have sex when and whether he wanted to, was something that was consistent with his practices and it was something that was not prohibited.” Thankfully, this ruling was reversed in an appellate court.
As I pointed out earlier this week, you know who else supports marital rape? Phyllis Schlafly:
At one point, Schlafly also contended that married women cannot be sexually assaulted by their husbands.
“By getting married, the woman has consented to sex, and I don’t think you can call it rape,” she said.
Schlafly said that back in 2007. In 2008, Washington University in St. Louis decided to honor Schlafly with an honorary doctorate, which set off protests on campus … to which Schlafly responsed by reiterating this view:
Could you clarify some of the statements that you made in Maine last year about martial rape?
I think that when you get married you have consented to sex. That’s what marriage is all about, I don’t know if maybe these girls missed sex ed. That doesn’t mean the husband can beat you up, we have plenty of laws against assault and battery. If there is any violence or mistreatment that can be dealt with by criminal prosecution, by divorce or in various ways. When it gets down to calling it rape though, it isn’t rape, it’s a he said-she said where it’s just too easy to lie about it.
Was the way in which your statement was portrayed correct?
Yes. Feminists, if they get tired of a husband or if they want to fight over child custody, they can make an accusation of marital rape and they want that to be there, available to them.
So you see this as more of a tool used by people to get out of marriages than as legitimate-
Yes, I certainly do.
And it’s not like this was some anomaly, as Schlafly has a long history of making outrageous statements. I mean, doesn’t anyone remember when she blamed the Virginia Tech massacre on the university’s English Department?
And how does the Religious Right respond to such views? By awarding Schlafly the James C. Dobson Vision and Leadership Award at last year’s Values Voter Summit.
So, to sum up: conservatives are outraged that Sharia says husbands are free to rape their wives, which is proof that Muslim values are at odds with our cherished America values … while Phyllis Schlafly believes the exact same thing and she is honored a visionary and leader of the conservative movement.
