A bizarre video has emerged of what appears to be a men's guide on how to beat your wife in a fashion deemed acceptable according to Islam.
The clip was published by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), a non-profit with headquarters in Washington, DC that makes English translations of Middle Eastern media.
The video is in Arabic and is available with English subtitles, which Sputnik checked and confirmed its accuracy. According to MEMRI, the man in the video is Qatari sociologist Abd Al-Aziz Al-Khazraj Al-Ansari.
"Dear viewers, many people — especially people who are married — would like to know how to beat one's wife," he was quoted as saying.
He admitted that a man mustn't beat his wife every day and should do so as a "last resort" in order to maintain his "leadership" of the house.
Al-Ansari is heard saying that a man should give his wife a "disciplinary beating out of love".
"The beating should be light, and must make the wife feel her femininity and her husband's masculinity," he added, going on to demonstrate it in practice on a boy who played the role of a guilty spouse.
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Al-Ansari started the "disciplinary beating" by shaking the boy, before giving him few light taps on his shoulders, then grabbed him by the shoulders and shook them.
He explained that more violent actions — such as slapping the face or hitting the head — are prohibited in Islam.
"Look how merciful Islam is. The Prophet forbade striking the face", he said.
He also claimed that some people beat their wives because the latter like "domineering" and "powerful" husbands.
"With some women, admonishing them and refraining from sharing their beds won't help. The only thing that helps with such women is beating. She needs to feel that you are a real man. That's her nature."
"We must not start asking questions about whether our religion is cruel. No, our religion is a religion of mercy and kindness," he concluded.
This controversial footage has triggered a plethora of reactions on social media, with commenters describing it as "outrageous" and "disturbing".
"Where do I join? This is truly the religion of peace," a user said with apparent sarcasm.
Wives should hit back harder if their husbands do it.
— Vicky (@ilford67486051) 17 апреля 2019 г.
What gives the man the right to determine what his wife can or can’t do? This is a cave man attitude
— Annemiek Alons (@analons) 8 апреля 2019 г.
Al-Ansari appears to have initially uploaded the video to his own YouTube channel, but it is not available there as of the time of the publication. It is unclear whether he deleted it himself or the platform took it down over content policy violation.
