Husband's Authority Quotes
This quotation is interesting for two reasons. First, it is one of the few fatwas that recognize women to make a decision that might be against her husband’s wishes—a rarity in Islam which is even more sexist than traditional Western religions. Second, and more important, this fatwa is often used by Muslim fundamentalist terrorists to justify the use of women as suicide bombers. Even with a modern Islamist like al-Qaradawi, the obligation to defend with life if necessary any Muslim nation (right or wrong) is paramount and justifies almost anything else that otherwise might not be permitted. This is very different from most of the rest of the world where national interests are rarely perceived as religious and most attacks on a country have nothing to do with religion but with vested interests.
This prevented a woman from leaving her husband and taking the children to another country, where she might get a divorce and custody. The Egyptian woman may get a divorce but for narrow grounds which she must prove before the court. A man can unilaterally divorce a woman and need not go before a judge or court—just file his papers.
