In Britain, a number of religious preachers have come under scrutiny for promoting domestic violence against wives during sermons and lectures delivered within Muslim communities. A recent video showing Yasin Munye, a preacher from The Hackney Islamic Community Centre in east London, advocating for husbands to physically discipline their wives for refusing intimacy has highlighted concerns around misogynistic teachings. Munye urged men not to tolerate disobedience and advocated "lightly hitting" wives to assert control, referencing religious texts to justify such behavior.
The video, which emerged last week, prompted reports to the Charity Commission and a Metropolitan Police assessment, though no immediate public action has followed. This case, however, appears representative of a wider phenomenon. Investigations reveal that similar messages are being conveyed by other imams across the country via online video sermons. Examples include exhortations for husbands to admonish wives over sexual refusal and, if necessary, resort to non-injurious physical punishment.
These teachings are taking place amid broader debates about multiculturalism, integration, and the role of religious authority in the UK. Rakib Ehsan, an expert on social integration, criticized Britain's multicultural model for failing women within segregated communities, allowing regressive attitudes to persist. He said light-touch policing and a lack of state engagement have emboldened some imams to promote ideas that run counter to British laws and societal norms.
Groups specializing in violence against women have expressed particular concern. Jeena International, a domestic abuse charity, described such sermons as reinforcing harmful cultural beliefs, including the notion that rape cannot occur within marriage. Rani Bilkhu, the charity’s founder, argued that these preachers use religion to exert coercive control and tacitly approve of domestic abuse, thereby discouraging Muslim women from reporting such crimes. Bilkhu highlighted additional barriers to reporting, such as language difficulties and fears within minority communities about being stigmatized, emphasizing the need to treat the issue as a safeguarding concern rather than a matter of cultural sensitivity.
Other sermons have included disparaging remarks about women who wear perfume outside the home and warnings about the consequences of wives opposing their husbands. Abu Sa’ad Muhammad, who preaches alongside Munye at the same mosque in Hackney, lamented that wives in the UK are quick to involve the police after even minor incidents of physical discipline. Similarly, Mahamed AbdurRazaq of the An-Noor Masjid and Community Centre in Birmingham has advised men that non-bruising and non-bone-breaking physical punishment may be permissible after verbal admonishment fails.
Under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, any form of physical violence, regardless of severity, can be classified as domestic abuse and prosecuted accordingly. Despite this legal framework, enforcement remains inconsistent, with advocates calling for stronger action to address religiously justified domestic abuse preaching. The Metropolitan Police’s current investigation into Munye’s case is ongoing, but the wider challenge remains tackling embedded misogynistic attitudes propagated through religious platforms in communities across Britain.