Jordi-Lluís de Prada Hernández, titular of Barcelona´s Court of Instruction No. 29, agreed to investigate the charge brought by numerous women´s associations in July 2000 against Imam Mohammed Kamal Mostafa of Fuengirola.
The judge has summoned the accused imam, or community religious leader, because he believes Mostafa´s book «Woman in Islam» might be «a provocation to physical and psychic violence against a specific group of individuals (i.e., married women).»
The judge suspects the imam might have committed the offense of justifying discriminatory violence for reasons of sex and family situation.
In his book, the imam recommends that women be beaten in «specific parts of the body, such as the feet and hands, being sure to use a rod that is not too thick; that is, it should be fine and light, so that it does not leave scars or bruises.»
The strikes should be «strong and hard, because the objective is to make the woman suffer psychologically and not humiliate and mistreat her physically,» the book adds.
