The Imam of Terrasa and the culture of fear (Citpart)

There are some news that, although we read them a thousand times, still seem impossible, unthinkable for us. This was what happened to me when I read the new of the infamous Imam of Tarrasa. For those who don’t know him, this "person" has become quite famous in our country in the last weeks. They were his speeches, full of "wisdom" and "good advice" the ones that moved him into national popularity. The headline says it all: "A magnet Tarrasa, accused of fanning violence against women."

As in this country are normally prioritized the news to entertain and stun, and not to report (a few days ago, the Duchess of Alba appeared on the news for something silly, really hard for a novice journalist with principles) you may not know what I talking about. The past 6^th of March, the Catalan police accused an Imam in the city of Terrassa. Must be understood for Imam the Muslim religious office (would have been funny to go to stop him and find him stuck to the refrigerator). Against him, they alleged that in his religious talks, instructed men on how to beat their women for correcting misconduct. In addition, he encouraged them to use their methods normally, among which we can find the isolation in homes and denial of sexual relations, to control the ladies. It’s a real gentleman!

And here comes my question: Did the Muslims who attended to these speeches really take these tips as valid, useful and above all, ethically and morally correct? Because the merit of the detention of the Imam lies on the research carried out by the Catalan forces, not on any external complaint. Does this mean that, regardless of his religion or culture, a human being can conceive the physical punishment against another to obey its mandates, as something completely normal? But this is not the first time that something comparable happened.

Similar to this case, back in 2004, an Imam of Fuengirola was sentenced to one year in prison for the same issue. It’s needed at this point to highlight a fragment of his speech, to understand how serious is this matter: "The beatings must be administered to some specific parts of the body as the feet and hands, using a stick not too thick, that is, must be thin and light so it doesn’t leave scars or contusions on his body. The blows mustn’t be strong and tough, because the purpose is to cause psychological suffer and not physical humiliation and abuse. " First, highlight the infinite cowardice that these words show, as they intend to apply the punishment, but hiding later. For me, it is especially disturbing the last sentence, which focuses on the need to harm women psychologically.

This shows the cruelty of his teachings, not just looking for a punishment, which initially may not damage some women of strong conviction, but it also aims to beat her feelings. For this, I dedicate to all of them this article. To not give up, to denounce, fight and overcome certain doctrines that some monsters, shielded by retrograde beliefs (religious or cultural), try to sell them as correct. Lay a hand on a person, whether child, woman or man should never be accepted as an argument. There are some, like these two archaic men, who still understand the world as his particular reign of terror. So, is it not our duty to fight against something like this?