Belgium: 'A daughter is a small catastrophe' for a Muslim

Belgium: 'A daughter is a small catastrophe' for a Muslim


A briefing about Islam earlier this week for Belgian soldiers just before departure to Afghanistan has given rise to controversy. During the briefing professor Jacques Rifflet gave a highly remarkable explanation in which he said that a daughter is a catastrophe for a Muslim man, as it's considered a sign of poor sperm quality and she must be married off, reports Le Soir.

Circulated by news agency 'Parlemento.com', the report got via social networking sites to parliament member Georges Dallemagne (cdH) , who immediately questioned Minister of Defense Pieter De Crem in parliament. Dallemangne has a problem with the cafe-talk cliches and a talk which is out of place and obscene.

On Feb. 1, Belgian soldiers received a briefing and a talk by Jacques Rifflet, professor emeritus of International Law, just before leaving for Afghanistan. When he explained that the prophet Mohammad had five daughters, he said: "A daughter means for a Muslim in general that the man in question has sperm of bad quality. I am not joking. Virile men produce boys, and half-virile men get daughters."

"Naturally, it also plays a part that the daughter must be married off and consequently a dowry must be paid; a daughter is a small catastrophe, he must 'give her to the husband', marry her off. A boy, that is power, a warrior, yes, a boy is very important."

In the absence of Minister of Defense De Crem, his party-member Inge Vervotte answered in his name. She said that the briefing was in French for a Dutch-speaking public, and therefore a language of rich imagery was unavoidable. "The Minister of Defense disassociates himself from this explanation by an external specialist and will instruct the upper command of the army to avoid such interpretations in the future."

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Sources: HLN (Dutch), Le Soir (French)

See also: Denmark: "Muslim girls aren't human beings"