Sweetness & Light picks up from MEMRI an example of the latest innovation from Islam: the text message divorce. The Grand Mufti in the United Arab Emirates issued a fatwa (religious edict) permitting the performance of divorce through an SMS message through cell phones. He said divorce through this modern facility does not differ from a divorce written on paper.
There was one provision - the sender of the message must be the husband.
Source: Al-Rafidyan, London, March 2, 2007
Steve Gilbert comments:
Yet another fine example of how Islam respects and protects women.
But remember, the sender must be the husband.
They have very strict rules on these things.
But I have a slightly different take on the matter:
There are those who impugn Islam as a medieval religion, suitable to a nomadic tribe, but out of touch with the needs of the modern world. I urge CAIR to trumpet this news as a demonstration of the modernity of Islam, as well as its tradition. The religion for all peoples, times and places, as they say. Surely some of those Saudi petro-dollars could buy a full page ad in all the major newspapers, which really need the money, by the way.
We all know that legal costs impose a tremendous burden on society. Text messaging is certainly efficient, avoiding emotionally unpleasant confrontations at the divorce lawyer's office and in court.
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