The Muslim Public Affairs Council, part of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood, has issued a public condemnation of a ruling issued by a court in Saudi Arabia which punished the victim of a gang rape with 200 lashes and six months in jail, calling the decision and the Saudi law used as a basis “an egregious miscarriage of the spirit and letter of Islam.” According to MPAC:
Punishing the victim of a brutal crime is antithetical to the teachings of the faith. Doubling the woman’s punishment for exercising her God-given right to freedom of speech violates core Islamic principles which uphold truth and justice. As the Quran states, “O you who have attained to faith; be ever steadfast in upholding justice, bearing witness to the truth for the sake of God, even though it is against your own selves…” (4:135). There is no basis in the Quran or in the example of the life of the Prophet Muhammad to warrant such abhorrent punishment. Since Saudi Arabia is a major U.S. ally and recipient of U.S. aid, our Administration should insist on this sentence being overturned. MPAC calls upon all people of conscience to speak out, and to work to overturn this sentencing.
Unlike other U.S. Brotherhood organizations, such as the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), MPAC has been generally critical of Saudi Arabia although Maher Hathout, the “Senior Adviser” and one of the founders of MPAC, is listed as a speaker for the Muslim World League of Canada. The MWL is one of the most important Saudi organizations serving the propagation of “Wahhabi” Islam throughout the world and Muslim Brothers played an important role its creation and operation.