Child sex grooming by Muslim gangs in the U.K.

28/6 Khutba – Tackling Street Grooming in the UK

Source. Correct as of 28/6/2013

Jon MC

Here is the English text of the sermon to be read at Friday (Jumaah) prayers in many mosques up and down Britain. (A few minor typos have been corrected.)

Verily, Allah enjoins justice and excellence giving assistance and support to your family and forbids sexual indecency, wickedness and oppression of others. He admonishes you; that you may take heed [Quran 16:90]

In this verse from Surah Nahl Allah Ta’ala commands us to undertake all matters to the highest standard of ihsan or excellence. As Muslims we are commanded to be just and fair. To shun evil, wrongdoing and all forms of indecent and immoral behaviour. To avoid any form of belief, behaviour and action which goes beyond the limits that Allah has set. Failure to remember and act on this results in the community and the society that we are part of decline in social and moral terms.

Today I will speak to you about the subject of ‘Sexual Grooming’ that has been in the news a lot recently with many cases involving mainly men of Pakistani/South Asian background in Derby, Rochdale, Telford, Oxford and West Yorkshire who have been convicted of this wicked and evil crime. Unfortunately there are many other such cases pending which will mean that this issue will continue to be in the headlines for some time to come. The combination of publicity from a number of these cases hitting the headlines in a short space of time and the fallout from the Woolwich case will create a major challenge for the Muslim community. This is such an important issue for us that today, at the same time as I am speaking to you, there are masjids up and down this country, from many different Muslim groups, delivering a khutba on this issue. May Allah make this the first of many many more occasions that the Ummah of the Prophet (PBUH) come together.

These incidents of sexual exploitation have been extremely evil in their nature. Regrettably I have to make you aware of the types of acts that have been undertaken which have involved:

• Kidnapping, trafficking and selling of children as young as 11 for them to be sexually abused and raped,

• Intoxicating children with alcohol and drugs,

• Getting girls as young as 12 dependent on heroin and cocaine,

• Physically beating and intimidating these same girls,

• In some cases this has involved boys who have been sexually abused.

Evil criminals and gangs have undertaken and are currently undertaking such wicked actions in our towns and cities. Not a single one of us could deny these actions are evil and reprehensible and that we would not wish these actions on any person leave alone a child.

We wholeheartedly condemn the disgraceful actions of those involved in these cases and welcome the convictions in the cases that have been through the courts. We wish to show our support for the victims (madhloom) of this terrible crime, many of whom are innocent children and we wish to affirm that Islam as a religion of mercy and compassion places a strong obligation on safeguarding and protecting the weak and vulnerable from oppression (dhulm) and abuse particularly of women and children.

We know that those involved in sexual abuse and in the practice of sexual grooming come from all faiths, communities and backgrounds. However, with so many individuals from a Muslim background involved in such crimes we have a responsibility to condemn this. We must work towards preventing such actions from occurring in the future as this action is reprehensible and forbidden according to the teachings of Islam.

Islam promotes a strict moral code of conduct on men and forbids any sexual activity outside of marriage. We are obliged to be active in ensuring the prevention and avoidance of any behaviour which can lead to inappropriate and unacceptable sexual behaviour and indecency (fahisha):

Tell the believing men to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts, etc.). That is purer for them. Verily, Allah isAll-Aware of what they do [Quran 24:30]

And come not near to unlawful sexual intercourse. Verily, it is a Fahishah [i.e. anything that transgresses its limits (a great sin)], and an evil way [Quran 17:32]

The Quranic injunction in the verse below emphasises the concept of prevention being better than cure:

Verily, Allah enjoins justice and excellence giving assistance and support to your family and forbids sexual indecency, wickedness and oppression of others. He admonishes you; that you may take heed [Qu’an 16:90]

The way the early Muslims took a stance against and took action in response to the reprehensible act of female infanticide, which was the practice of the pagan Arabs at that time, is a good example to us of the clear Islamic obligation of safeguarding and protecting innocent children from abuse and victimisation. The Prophet (PBUH) and his Companions stood alone in that society as they enjoined the command of Allah to protect these female children and so they went about rescuing girls from this wicked practice. The following verses of the Quran were revealed about this issue in Surah At Takwir:

And when the female (infant) buried alive (as the pagan Arabs used to do) shall be questioned. For what crime was she killed? [Quran 81:8-9]

The obligation of safeguarding and protecting women and children from abuse and victimisation is further exemplified in the following noble hadeeth:

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: “Take my advice with regard to women: Act kindly towards women (Bukhari & Muslim)

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, “The believers who show the most perfect Faith are those who have the best behaviour, and the best of you are those who are the best to their women” (At Tirmidhi)

Abu Shuraih Khuwailid bin ‘Amr Al-Khuza’i (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (PBUH) said, “O Allah, I declare inviolable the rights of two weak ones: the orphans and women”. (An Nasa’i)

If we are following the Sunnah then we must be at the forefront of safeguarding and protection and so we speak against sexual grooming and the abuse of girls and children regardless of who the victims are and who commits such acts.

We need to continue to speak against and oppose this crime and make sure that there is a high level of awareness of this issue among our community [and] the damage that it does to the victims who as you have heard today are very often young children. We need to tackle some of the root causes which are quite often linked to criminality in some sections of our community and quite often connected to drugs. In particular we need to work with our young people to keep them away from any crime and wrongdoing.

But more than anything else we need to use Islam as the basis of attacking sexual abuse and to work hard to return people that have turned to this type of behaviour to the practice of Islam as a way of correcting any distortions and corruption. Following Islam comprehensively and completely is critical. This requires development of the Islamic creed and firm belief, Islamic practice and pure and sincere Islamic character and adab (manners) which requires the soul to be purified and the desires to be conquered.

Establish the prayer (five daily salaah) Verily the prayer prevents from sexual indecency and transgression and the remembering of Allah is greater indeed and Allah knows what you do. [Qur’an 29:45]

Let me leave you with a call to action. Along with speaking about this issue to others in our community if you see something that is suspicious or you suspect that sexual grooming is taking place, report it to the authorities (social services or the police). If you need any motivation other than it is the right and Islamic thing to do just consider this – what if it was your daughter and someone you knew had not taken that step? If you report it you will have stopped an evil deed with your action (the highest form of faith) and protected a young person from harm. The Prophet (PBUH) told us:

“Whoever among you sees an evil action, let him change it with his hand (by taking action); if he cannot, then with his tongue (by speaking out); and if he cannot, then with his heart (by hating it and feeling that it is wrong) – and that is the weakest of faith” (Narrated by Muslim)

Produced by Shaykh Alyas Karmani for the Together Against Grooming group

– – – – –

I can only applaud the Shaykh for taking this stand against “Street grooming”. However there are a few phrases with which I find myself taking issue.

In paragraph 5, he states: “many of whom [the victims] are innocent children and we wish to affirm that Islam as a religion of mercy and compassion places a strong obligation on safeguarding and protecting the weak and vulnerable from oppression (dhulm) and abuse particularly of women and children.” Firstly, the implication is that some of the victims are either not children or else are not innocent. I have several objections here: according to the reports I have seen, all the victims were children under British law when their grooming started thus I wonder how some of them are not deemed “innocent”, which seems a calumny. Sadly, I know that according to some Muslim world-views, only Muslims are truly “innocent” – all others are Kafirs and thus guilty of the sin-and-crime of not believing in Islam and thus they are not innocent. Secondly, no Muslim scholar can object to men having sex with girl-children as young as nine (9) years old, since this is according to the Sunnah of Mohammed himself, which raises the question as to the age at which girls cease to be “children” in Islamic eyes. Does this mean that many of the victims (most of whom were older than nine) are not children, Islamically speaking? Third, the matter of “oppression”. Oppression in traditional Islam is defined as anything hampering a fully Islamic (sharia-compliant) lifestyle. The question here is whether or not such action can be justified to the extent of not being “haram” (unlawful) under Sharia. Given that a Mussalman may own sex-slaves and given that sex with nine-year olds is “halal” (lawful), the only question would be whether the Muslims raping these children had obtained them in a legal manner under Sharia.

Paragraph 6: “We must work towards preventing such actions from occurring in the future as this action is reprehensible and forbidden according to the teachings of Islam.” “Reprehensible” and “forbidden” are two separate classifications according to “the teachings of Islam” i.e. Sharia law. “Reprehensible” acts are not forbidden – in fact they are the least “liked” of the halal (“lawful”) classifications. (A classic example of the legality of a reprehensible, but legal, act is that of the man who divorces his wife by “triple talaq” – i.e. saying “I divorce you” three times in one instance. Although the divorce process is “unlawful”, the divorce itself is lawful and legally binding.) Thus these words could be understood to legitimise at least parts of the actions of these gangs. The owning of slaves for sexual purposes is codified within Sharia. Therefore, given that the gang-members sold the groomed girls to each other for sex, is this a lawful transaction in Islam – even if a reprehensible one – and was the rape of these bought-and-paid-for sex slaves then also lawful? Consider the possible parallel to the “triple talaq” divorce.

Paragraph 7: “Islam promotes a strict moral code of conduct on men and forbids any sexual activity outside of marriage. We are obliged to be active in ensuring the prevention and avoidance of any behaviour which can lead to inappropriate and unacceptable sexual behaviour and indecency.” As stated, this is simply false. Islam permits men to have sex with “those your right hand possess”. This phrase occurs in several instances in the Koran and the writers of Tafseers (Koran commentary) are unanimous is stating that “those your right hand possess” means a Mussalman’s female slaves. Were this not so, the Hareem could simply never have existed in Islamic Countries. The Quran quotes that follow are largely irrelevant, since a Mussalman’s sex-slaves are not amongst the “forbidden things”, nor are sex-acts with them “illegal”. Again, we have the Sunnah of Mohammed to verify this.

Paragraph 8: The quote of Q.16:90 “Verily, Allah enjoins justice and excellence giving assistance and support to your family and forbids sexual indecency, wickedness and oppression of others.” speaks of “your [Muslim] family” not mankind and clearly sees Sharia Law as not being oppressive (and it is this law that allows Mussalmen to own sex-slaves).

Paragraph 11: “If we are following the Sunnah then we must be at the forefront of safeguarding and protection and so we speak against sexual grooming and the abuse of girls and children regardless of who the victims are and who commits such acts.” This is his strongest condemnation yet, but we have to bear in mind that this same “Sunnah” permits sex with nine-year olds, which limits the applicability of “abuse” in this paragraph. That said, I commend the universalism of the final phrase “regardless of who the victims are and who commits such acts” since this is implies that the doctrine of “Sitr”{1} should not be used to shield Muslim perpetrators.

Paragraph 12: “In particular we need to work with our young people to keep them away from any crime and wrongdoing.” The final phrase “crime and wrongdoing” deserves further consideration. On one level it reads as tautology – what is the difference between crime and doing wrong? Alternatively, it could mean “crime and immorality”, but if so, why not say so? However, in the Koran “wrongdoers” (“Mushriks”) are (primarily non-Muslims and secondarily) those Muslims who (repeatedly) do un-Islamic things. Given how many Muslims insist on the supremacy of Sharia Law over and above that of any “man-made” legal systems – here UK law – I find this ambiguous at least and disingenuous at worst, since it could be understood to mean “make sure they obey Sharia law and keep within Allah’s limits”, which legitimises many things deemed criminal under UK law (sex-slavery and sex with minors included!).

Paragraph 13: “But more than anything else we need to use Islam as the basis of attacking sexual abuse and to work hard to return people that have turned to this type of behaviour to the practice of Islam as a way of correcting any distortions and corruption. Following Islam comprehensively and completely is critical. This requires development of the Islamic creed and firm belief, Islamic practice and pure and sincere Islamic character and adab (manners) which requires the soul to be purified and the desires to be conquered.” This paragraph almost stands things on their heads: “ Following Islam comprehensively and completely” means the acceptance as lawful of sex-slaves, sex with minors etc.

Paragraph 14: “… if you see something that is suspicious or you suspect that sexual grooming is taking place, report it to the authorities (social services or the police). If you need any motivation other than it is the right and Islamic thing do to just consider this – what if it was your daughter and someone you knew had not taken that step? If you report it you will have stopped an evil deed with your action (the highest form of faith) and protected a young person from harm.” This is a clear call to stop grooming, but what is of note is that the trafficking (selling and exchanging girls as “sex-slaves) part of the behaviour of the gangs is omitted.

Conclusion.

I am not quite sure what to make of this sermon (“Khutba”). On the face of it, it is a clear call to assist the Police etc. in the prevention of child-sex-grooming and as such it can only be welcomed for several reasons. It is an acknowledgement that there is a specific problem within the Muslim community “so many individuals from a Muslim background involved”{2} and recognition of this is to be welcomed, as is the condemnation and calls to support the authorities in reporting suspicions of such actions since “it is the right and Islamic thing to do”.

On the other hand, the sermon contains some errors and ambiguities of which I cannot believe the Shaykh is unaware. He must know that it is “Sunnah” to hold sex-slaves. He must know it is “Sunnah” to have sex with a nine-year old. He must know it is “Sunnah” to engage in slave-trading and he must know that these things are codified in Sharia Law. His call to “[follow] Islam comprehensively and completely” means that he is demanding Sharia-compliance and it is Sharia that legalises these things for Mussalmen for all time.

Thus I find myself a little confused: one the one hand he condemns that actions of these gangs, but on the other calls for Sharia-compliance which would legalise (some of) their activities and behaviours.

UPDATE

The Guardian newspaper, Sat. 29th June, whilst rightly lauding the fact that “500 mosques” around Britain gave this sermon (this is ~30% of them) that some had “altered the wording” to reflect or include “other concerns” according to their Imams.

Thus even these words were too trenchant for some sensitive Muslim ears.

Footnotes and references.

1. “Sitr”. Simply put, according to this doctrine, anything “shameful” that a Muslim does should be “covered up” or overlooked (so as to avoid bringing shame on the individual or, worse, the community) except for repeat offenders. Note that this doctrine applies to both criminal and moral acts.

2. As I demonstrated here, Muslims are over-represented amongst offenders against children.