1. This is a subject that troubles me a lot because I am an Alim myself. I know boys who have been sexually abused. But it is their silence more than anything else that troubles me the most. By remaining silent, they let this evil flourish and find a new victim.
2. You just have to view the links on my website to know how widespread and rampant sexual abuse of boys in the Madrasa system is. According to Manusher Jonno Foundation [1] 25 boys in madrasas were raped by their teachers, principals or other madrasa people in 2020. In 2019, 19 madrasa boys were raped by their teachers or principals between January and October 2019. Additional research newspaper reports put the number at 35.[2] In December 2021, a Madrasa teacher was sent to prison for raping his student.[3] In September 2021, a boy was raped by his Madrasa teacher in Sylhet.[4] Another 9 year old boy was raped by his teacher in September 2021 in Manikganj.[5]
3. The true figure is greater because victims of Madrasa sexual abuse and their parents do not report these cases.[6] Based on my own experience, I would say that the main reason is actual disbelief that a servant of Allah who has memorised the Quran could sexually abuse a boy. It is too unthinkable. We are taught that for the Quran teacher who has memorised the Quran, the Quran will intercede for him on the Day of Judgement, because the Prophet (PBUH) said:
“Fasting and the Quran will intercede for a person on the Day of Judgement. Fasting will say, ‘O Lord, I deprived him of food and desires during the day, so let me intercede for him. ’ The Quran will say, ‘O Lord I deprived him of his sleep at night, so let me intercede for him. ’ Then they will both intercede for him.” (Narrated by Ahmad, , al-Tabaraani and Al-Haakim; classed as Sahih (authentic) by Al-Albaani , in Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 3882)) [7]
4. But what we need to know is that:
Abdullah ibn Amr reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, “Verily, most of the hypocrites of my Ummah are among those who have memorised Quran “ .” (Musnad Ahmad 6455, classed as Sahih (authentic according to Al-Arna’ut). ) [8]
5. What the Prophet (PBUH) is saying is that most of those who have memorised the Quran are hypocrites. Despite knowing the Quran, they abuse the Quran. I know why these hyponitrites sexually abuse boys in their care. There is a belief amongst the hypocrites that Islam forbids sex between men, not men and boys. Homosexuality is sex between men so the verse of Prophet LUT (PBUH) does not apply to sex between men and boys. It is not a surprise the Prophet (PBUH) called them hypocrites!
6. Homosexuality means having intercourse with males in the anus. This was the action of the accursed people of LUT. In Shariah, it refers to inserting the tip of the penis into the anus of a male.[9] We know Allah destroyed the people of LUT for their sodomy. [10] There are also many hadith of our Prophet (PBUH) which say those who commit sodomy should be killed. For example:[11]
Ibn Abbas said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘Whoever you find doing the deed of the people of Lut, kill the one who does it and the one to whom it is done.” (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 1456; Abu Dawud, 4462; Ibn Majah, 2561. This hadith was classed as sahih by Shaykh al-Albani in Sahih al-Jami’, no. 6589).
7. The Quran and hadith refer strictly to sex between men, not boys and men. What is clear is that the Quran and our Prophet (PBUH) did not mention anything about sex with boys. However, religious scholars have forbidden sex with boys, because it is common sense that you do not need a verse in the Quran to know that sex between men and boys is against Islam. But, it is the lack of a verse in the Quran or a saying of the Prophet (PBUH) which is the root of the problem. Because there is no punishment stated in the Quran, these hypocrites sexually abuse boys in their care. And, they are not only hypocrites, but also paedophiles.
8. Paedophilia is a mental disorder in which an adult or older person experiences a sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty at age 10 or 11, and boys at age 11 or 12, the criteria for paedophilia covers anyone under the age of 13. A person must be at least 16 years old, and at least five years older than the prepubescent child, for the attraction to be diagnosed as paedophilia.[12] Paedophilia is recognised as a mental disorder in the the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). The International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) also accepts it as a mental disorder.[13]
9. Our Prophet (PBUH) never had sex with boys. We are required to follow the Prophet (PBUH) example. If he did something, we do it. If he did not do something, we do not do it. It is known as the Sunnah of our Prophet (PBUH), and is collected in hadith. All Muslims know this. We do not need proof for this.
10. It is part of our faith. Even though hadith does not forbid sex with boys, we need to follow our Prophet (PBUH) example. He did not have sex with boys. You don’t need a verse in the Quran to know that it is an evil thing to rape boys. Evil people will always act on their evil urges even if there is a verse in the Quran to forbid that evil thing. For example, in the Quran it is said adultery and fornication are forbidden. Yet, Muslim men and women all over the world are committing adultery and fornication. But, what these hypocrites are doing is due to a mental disorder known as “paedophilia”.
11. What a lot of Muslims do now know is that some non-Muslims say our Prophet (PBUH) was a paedophile[14] because of his marriage to Hazrat Aisha. However, other non-Muslim writers reject this. For example, Karen Armstrong said, there was nothing wrong with the marriage, and that this practice continued in Europe well into the early modern period.[15] Muslim scholars have pointed out that Christian tradition records a similar marriage between the Saint Joseph to Virgin Mary.[16]
12. But, just imagine if our Prophet was alive today, and he married Hazrat Aisha, who was according to hadith 9 years old when our Prophet (PBUH) took her virginity. Now, I know some scholars say she was older. But the majority of Muslims accept that she was 9 years old. I tremble to say this, but the simple truth is he would be declared a paedophile, and sent to prison.
13. What I would say is that what the Prophet (PBUH) did, he did with the permission and knowledge of Allah. But it is a crime to sexually abuse boys and girls. Islam needs to respond to changing attitudes about sex and age of marriage. Islam is a complete way of life. Islam has a system called “Ijma” for achieving this. Ijma for achieving this. Ijma, is a term for universal consensus of the ummah in Sharia law. There is a hadith of our Prophet (PBUH) which states that "Allah will ensure my ummah will never agree in an error”, and has been mentioned in the books of Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, Musnah Ahmad, and Darimi.[17]
14. This is very important because after the death of our Prophet (PBUH), if something is viewed by the majority of the Muslim Ummah as evil such as sex with boys, and there is no guidance in the Quran or hadith, Muslim scholars can condemn the act and turn into a crime. The problem is that even if you have laws that punish sexual abuse of boys, the hypocrites you are targeting will ignore it because according to them the Quran and hadith do not forbid sex with boys. If they are raping young girls every day, even though Quran and hadith confirm you cannot have sex with a female before marriage, how can you stop them from sexually abusing boys? These hypocrites are paedophiles. We cannot ignore that there is a paedophilia problem with our Madrasa teachers.
15. We need reach a universal consensus that sex with a minor is paedophilia, boy or girl.
[1] https://m.theindependentbd.com/arcprint/details/197517/2019-04-29
[2] https://archive.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2021/09/16/principal-arrested-for-raping-madrasa-student-in-sylhet
[3] https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2021/12/25/madrasa-teacher-lands-in-jail-for-raping-male-student
[4] https://archive.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2021/09/16/principal-arrested-for-raping-madrasa-student-in-sylhet
[5] https://archive.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/nation/2021/09/22/9-year-old-boy-sexually-assaulted-inside-manikganj-madrasa
[6] https://archive.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2021/04/08/rapes-in-madrasas-breaking-the-silence
[7] https://islamqa.info/en/answers/20803/reward-for-memorizing-quraan ; https://portalislam.org/index.php/blessing-of-reading-quran
[8] https://islamqa.info/en/answers/20803/reward-for-memorizing-quraan ; https://www.abuaminaelias.com/dailyhadithonline/2014/06/21/majority-hypocrisy/
[9] https://islamqa.info/en/answers/10050/why-does-islam-forbid-lesbianism-and-homosexuality
[10] https://islamqa.info/en/answers/10050/why-does-islam-forbid-lesbianism-and-homosexuality
[11] https://islamqa.info/en/answers/10050/why-does-islam-forbid-lesbianism-and-homosexuality
[12] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedophilia
[13] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedophilia
[14] https://www.answering-islam.org/Authors/Wood/pedophile.htm
[15] https://www.abuaminaelias.com/was-prophet-muhammad-pedophile/
[16] https://www.abuaminaelias.com/was-prophet-muhammad-pedophile/
