'Wife beating' cleric deported

An Muslim cleric who condoned wife beating and the stoning of women was deported from France today

Chirane Abdelkader Bouziane’s expulsion to Algeria came a day after his remarks, made to a magazine, were widely reported by French media and drew swift reaction from authorities and Muslim leaders.

Under police escort, Bouziane was taken to Lyon airport Wednesday and put on a charter flight to Algiers.

His lawyer, Mahmoud Hebia, said he planned to appeal the expulsion on grounds that his client should not be separated from his family – two wives and 16 children – that remained in France.

Bouziane, 52, imam of a mosque in the Lyon suburb of Venissieux, told a Lyon magazine that a man could beat his wife “under certain conditions, notably if the woman cheats on her husband.”

He claimed that the Koran, the Muslim holy book, “authorises” such punishment – an interpretation rejected by most Muslims.

Asked if he was in favour of stoning, he replied, “yes.”

Bouziane reiterated comments about the acceptability of wife-beating yesterday, adding that blows to a woman’s face should be avoided.

“Don’t aim at the face, don’t aim at the eyes, the ears, the nose,” he said on television. “Hit low, that is, on the bottom.”

The remarks provoked a storm of indignation from the French government and moderate Muslim leaders.

Dalil Boubakeur, president of the mainstream French council of the Muslim religion, said the remarks were ”scandalous and revolting.”

“You don’t say things of such gravity without suffering very serious consequences,” said Boubakeur, whose council serves as a link to the government.

The Interior Ministry said France “cannot tolerate remarks in public that are contrary to human rights, detrimental to human dignity and in particular to the dignity of women.”