Posted by DrHassaballa 4/22/2011 1:49 AM

On April 21, the Supreme Court in Pakistan upheld the acquittal of five men accused in the gang-rape of Mukhtar Mai. The brutal attack occurred in 2002, when the council in her village in Punjab province alleged ordered she be gang-raped as punishment for a suspected affair committed by her 13-year-old brother. All but one of her alleged attackers were set free, with one continuing to serve a life sentence.

Our sister Mukhtar Mai said, "I am scared these 13 people will come back to my village and harm me and my family. I have lost faith in the courts, and now I am leaving my case to the court of God. I am sure God will punish those who molested me."

To God we belong, and to Him shall we return.

This is a total outrage. The Court system in Pakistan has failed our sister. This brutality has no room in any Muslim country. Islam came to eliminate such brutality against women, yet old habits die hard, and it seems that - in many Muslim countries - the jahiliyyah of the pre-Islamic era has endured. Contrary to what many would say, Islam is innocent of this outrage. This has occured in clear defiance of our faith.

May the Precious Beloved Lord soothe our sister Mukhtar Mai, and may He bring her justice and protect her and her family. Yet, whenever I think about this developement, all I can say is: 

To God we belong, and to Him shall we return.