By Hud Lesprit -March 3, 2023

As a steadfast advocate of Islam, I must speak out against the rampant criticisms hurled against our noble faith. In a recent debate, the apostate Nuriyah dared to accuse Islam of “legalizing cheating” due to its allowance for men to practice polygyny. This is far from the first time that liberal minds have launched attacks such as this against a time-honored practice.

Many of us Muslims are quick to point out the hypocrisy of these criticisms, especially in light of the fact that Western countries have recorded a staggering rate of adultery. According to the LA Intelligence Detective Agency, the statistics on this deplorable behavior are extremely alarming:

• 30 to 60 percent of married couples will cheat at least once in the marriage

• 74 percent of men and 68 percent of women admit they’d cheat if it was guaranteed they’d never get caught

• 60 percent of affairs start with close friends or coworkers

• An average affair lasts 2 years

• 69 percent of marriages break up as a result of an affair being discovered

The numbers speak for themselves: anywhere between 30 and 60 percent of married couples will cheat on their spouse at least once during their marriage, while 74 percent of men and 68 percent of women admit they would cheat if it was absolutely certain that they would never be caught. Moreover, 60 percent of affairs are with close friends or coworkers, and on average, an affair lasts two years. Worst of all, 69 percent of marriages collapse due to the discovery of an affair.

But there is an even more egregious irony at play here, and this is that almost all liberal countries have effectively legalized adultery, especially for women. When a wife is caught cheating on her husband and is taken to court, what does she risk? No Western country will exercise punishment against such a woman. In fact, she may win a great deal in divorce proceedings! And yet, these murtadds (apostates), infatuated with Western liberalism, have the audacity to allege that Islam somehow “legalizes cheating.”

As a conservative orthodox Muslim, I am absolutely appalled by the ignorance and hypocrisy of these accusations. It is high time that the Western world confronts its own moral decay before going around pointing fingers at Islam. Let us protect our families, uphold the sanctity of marriage and preserve our cherished traditions.

RELATED: Time to Normalize Adultery 

Let us now consider Catholicism, which, like Islam, condemns adultery. However, it also prohibits polygyny, a practice that is permitted by Islam under certain conditions. But before Catholics and other detractors of Islam accuse us of condoning adultery, let us examine their own history and practices.

Let me bring to your attention that the saints of the Roman Church actually defended the legalization of prostitution houses as a necessary evil.

Thomas Aquinas, echoing Augustine of Hippo, famously said:

Prostitution in the towns is like the cesspool in the palace: take away the cesspool and the palace will become an unclean and evil-smelling place.

Moreover, Thomas Aquinas, three times in his theological sum, defended the tolerance for prostitution within a Christian kingdom. Given that a significant portion of the clientele of these houses is married men, is this thus not a form of legalized adultery, since it essentially permits adultery?

RELATED: The Pope Says Adultery Not a Serious Sin While Christian Apologist Mocks Hadith

On the other hand, Islam is the last holdout as the only religion that still condemns cheating, a crime which is punished with the death penalty, highlighting its great severity.

It is also crucial to distinguish between fidelity and loyalty, which Islam strongly emphasizes.

Islam does not propagate the idea that a man should remain exclusive to his wife. Instead, Islam enjoins men to be loyal to their wives, which can be achieved by helping them worship their Lord as they ought to; taking care of their physical and emotional needs; spending on them generously; protecting them; and remembering the favors done unto them by their wives.

Allah says in the Qur’an:

But if you divorce them before you have touched them [in intimacy], and you have already determined for them an obligatory dowry, then [give them] half of what you have already determined, unless they grant remission [of it], or the one in whose hand is the marriage contract grants remission [of it]. Yet if you [believers] grant remission [of the full amount], it is, indeed, nearer to [the virtue of] fearing Allah. Thus do not forget benevolence among yourselves. Indeed, Allah is all-seeing of all that you do. (Qur’an, 2:237)

It is truly disappointing that the enemies of Islam continuously sink so low as to try and use criticisms that apply more aptly to themselves. When they tire of accruing failures, they should take some time to introspect and acknowledge their biases against Islam.

Their problem with Islam is not one of any actual substance but merely an emotional disorder.

They should know that it’s never too late for them to go and seek help.

RELATED: Modernity and the Demise of Love

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