We just had an arrest in Florida of a young man, who is a self-proclaimed scholar. He’s 22. Went to college, studied psychology, and then started an “academy”. I’m not sure what the heck this academy did, but I will tell you, he was invited to a gathering to give us all a religious lecture (I found out later, he has done ZERO formal training religiously, and yet people are calling him as a formal speaker!). I prayed NAMAZ behind a frikkin pedophile.
The guy was arrested in a sting operation where cops posed as a 12 year old girl. He offered sex, and showed up to an abandoned house where the cops were waiting for him. About 100 people got arrested and he was the one muslim, that too, a “religious scholar” that has gained speed and popularity in the central florida area as a RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY for the youth. Turned out he was a youth camp leader also , so now they’re tracing those young boys and girls to see if he raped any of them in the past.
I wouldn’t have in my wildest dreams thought that this guy is a pedophile. Socially stupid, yes. Misogynst, maybe - he refused to be near the girls the entire picnic, or to talk to them. And he convinced all the guys to hang out separately too because it’s haraam to speak to women.
Itni mushkil se, we got a group of men and women together in a mixed gender environment since the masjids just do not allow it at all, and he takes away all the guys from us, so we can’t talk to them. (Whole group was young professional singles).
But it’s ok for him to fondle a 12 year old?
So this case reminds me of the Chicago mullah who has a case going for molestation - there are THREE girls who have testified against him, and he still walks, and people are still supporting him in the community.
I am not sure how much of this stems from hadith regarding Aisha (R) being 6 at the time of marriage, nevermind the other numerous hadith that suggest she was in the 15-20 range when married. And I don’t know how much of this is their suppressive wahabbi ideas that lead to unhealthy segregation of the sexes. Or how much of this is just psychological problems that exist from beforehand, which make becoming a mullah an easy vocation - you don’t have to mingle socially much, you can be a social weirdo and that’s acceptable, you have young girls and boys being sent to you to study Quran so easy access to victims, and lack of regulation from the masjid administrations (there is no screening on their mental health prior to employment, and I’m not sure what interviews they go through but these same weirdos wouldn’t even get hired to sit at 7-11, I bet, they’re just too odd socially).
I know there are good scholars out there, and these people muddy them. But why are we allowing people who have NO RELIGIOUS TRAINING to take these kinds of positions in our society?
I have been wanting the president of that organization to apologize for inviting a PEDOPHILE to talk at the event, and I want to urge them to maybe use common sense - if you’re not going to hire this guy at your work-place because there are socially alarming signs and behaviors, then don’t have them come talk to us about Islam either.