Um…I suppose I run the risk of getting my head bit off here but…
How is this different then us in the US?  I mean really, if you hit someone, but don’t leave a mark, most people wouldn’t even think of pressing charges, and even if they try, they’ll probably lose in court.
With your kids?  Hitting them lightly (and not leaving a mark is usually pretty light) is kinda regular.  A mom swatting an errant child over the head, a dad spanking a kid… it’s kinda… well… routine.
I mean, there’s a pretty big difference between slapping someone and leaving no mark and pulling out the switch and tanning their hide.
And, in practice, this is pretty much what most people go by.  The more personal you are with the person, the more likely you are to ignore non-substantive hits.

Why does that comment remind me of the movie the Color Purple“Womens is like children.”  I guess what I am trying to say is that comparing wives to children isn’t exactly a good idea. I know that’s not where you meant to go, but you look to be headed in that direction.

Are you sh*tting me?This is state-sanctioned abuse, not some neighbor winking and nodding about spanking their kids.  Considering many women in Arab states under sharia law are forced to wear head-to-toe garments, most men will be able to abuse at will since no signs of abuse will be visible.
Please get a clue.

Umm…as a practitioner of BDSM, who hasmade cash money by beating the crap out of boys, girls and some folks in-between, sometimes on video-tape (I’m old) may I say that the association to religious fundamentalists of any stripe is really uncool.
The Abu Dhabian family cited needs family therapy. Non-consensual domestic violence is a problem. Please don’t bring religion into the mix, we safe-and-saners have enough trouble distinguishing ourselves from actual abusers. It’s hard enough getting cops to understand the difference between domestic violence and, “Yes, officer, I understand this looks bad, but…” No way am I saying Jebus is giving me an alibi.  

Not as many as you seem to assume.No more than half of fundies would want to see this, that being the male half.  People only favor laws the help them and/or hurt others, but are disinclined to favor laws that hurt themselves, regardless of what the Bible says.  After all, the Bible is a tool for rationalizing what you want, not a book of law telling you how to live.  Biblical law only truly applies to other people.  Believers just naturally follow the Bible without having to read it or work at it, because they are just naturally rightious.  Ask any fundie, they’ll tell you.  So where male fundies might enjoy the thought of being allowed to hit their wives, not many of the wives are likely to have eyes that focus clearly on stripture supporting it.
Children, I’m afraid, are different.  It’s amazing to me the degree to which child raising culture has changed in this country since I was a kid.  When I was a youth, “spare the rod, spoil the child” was still a common expression.  Parents believed that not spanking or whipping a child was the definition of bad parenting.  All teachers in elementary school had paddles hanging prominently in the classroom, and required little inticement to take them down and press them into service.  Some teachers deliberately drilled holes in the paddles to relieve the air cushion that naturally occurs as the flat surface rapidly approaches the derriere.
That was America just a generation or two ago.  Attitudes have changed radically since then.  Most of that has gone the way of the carburetor.  Corporal punishment has disappeared from the schools out of fears that parents would sue them to death for even having a paddle hidden in the classroom someplace.  However, to the best of my knowledge, laws regarding how parents treat their children haven’t changed that much.  There are probably localities where they have, but as far as I know, parents today are still allowed to be as physically abusive with their kids as they want, provided they don’t cross some “reasonable line”.  I’ll bet physical violence that falls short of leaving a mark is still well within that legally prescribed “reasonable line” to this day.  I’ll also bet that the there are still pockets of the child raising culture I grew up in still around today.  I think for children, America isn’t that different than this Abu Dhabi judge’s decicion.

Yes, a comparison I didn’ t make is a bad comparison.I’m not comparing wives to children, I’m pointing out that hits that don’t leave bruises don’t often get prosecuted.  
That this law is sexist and angled one way is a problem, yes, but it’s not actually different then the rules we play with here, where, for the most part, any hit that doesn’t leave a mark isn’t going to lead to much in court.

No, I’m notWomen’s treatment in Arab states is a problem.
This particular ruling, however, isn’t much of a problem.  At worst, it’s as bad as us.
The judge didn’t say that so long as you could cover up and not show anything, that it wasn’t crossing a line.  Heck, in this case, which the judge did rule as crossing the line, injuries that could be covered up were enough to cross it.
So regardless of all the other problems in the UAE, that a judge acknowledged that most people won’t take claims of assault/abuse seriously if there isn’t a mark really isn’t one of them.

You’ve never lived with domestic violence, have you?You wouldn’t be so flippant about it if you had, or so ready to explain it away as not so bad.
This judge just said it was okay for men to beat their wives, so long as there were no marks left.
Did you know that if you beat someone with a rubber hose there are little to no marks? The impact goes deeper into the muscles tissue, so the bruises aren’t close enough to the surface to be visible.
Dragging someone around by her hair won’t leave a mark, either.
Neither will denying her food and water for days at a time as punishment.
Neither will subjecting her to severe heat or cold for long periods.
Neither will rape.
Neither will threatening to do the same thing to her children.
But all of those sure as shit will scare a woman into submission, and make her life a living hell.
I could go on, but hopefully you get the point. This isn’t about a few playful scuffles, or a smack on the back of the head. This is about state-sanctioned abuse, allowable so long as no one finds out about it. And you are aware that in Muslim countries, it takes the testimony of two women to equal that of a man? You really think that any woman who is abused like that is going to come forward? This case is the anomaly in domestic violence situations, not the norm.
I survived an abusive spouse. I speak from experience.

I’m finished defending Muslimsthey totally suck as much as Christians.

Six of one…As much as the TeaBirchers are whining about 'Sharia law in the US', if they had their way the Pentateuch would be the unchallengeable law of America. 'A' religion isn't the problem.RELIGION is the problem.

Thanks“After all, the Bible is a tool for rationalizing what you want, not a book of law telling you how to live.  Biblical law only truly applies to other people.  Believers just naturally follow the Bible without having to read it or work at it, because they are just naturally righteous.”
I have been having the same religious argument with different people since I was 4. 9/10′s of my life. This is a new one for me. Obvious and not formerly in my arsenal. Thanks.

Amen

We Need to get off Oil!!!When you are sprawled on the floor, twitching, needing a fix, is not the time you can effectively get your heroin dealer to treat you more humanely.  

Yes, Let’s Continue To Wait…and wait, and wait, and wait.
Perhaps cold-turkey IS the way to go? Sure it’ll be hell. But, it won’t last forever and it just might spur people to get off their butts and find real solutions.

huh?WTF does any of this have to do with BDSM?