Strange goings-on at the Guardian's CiF. A rather silly piece by Myriam Francois-Cerrah, The truth about Muhammad and Aisha, argues that the charge of paedophilia levelled at Muhammad due to Aisha's age - six at the time of betrothal, nine at the time of consummation - is really not quite as clear-cut as critics claim. Or, since she's studying for a D.Phil. at Oxford:
"The Islamophobic depiction of Muhammad's marriage to Aisha as motivated by misplaced desire fits within a broader Orientalist depiction of Muhammad as a philanderer."
It turns out that there are in fact doubts among Muslim scholars about Aisha's real age and she may well have been, ooh, a lot older. Happily, though, this is the only point where there's any room for doubt about her. Otherwise all is clear: [Mick Hartley] Read more
