Police union raises concerns about Muslim chaplain

Despite video extolling obedience, counsellor denies he views women as ‘second-class’ citizens

The Toronto Police Association is raising concerns about the police service’s newest Muslim chaplain and his views on women and marriage.

In a 2013 webinar called The Heart of the Home: the Rights and Responsibilities of a Wife, Musleh Khan describes himself as a marriage counsellor who wants to help couples of the Muslim faith stay married.

A woman should be “obedient” to her husband at all times and must not refrain from intimacy without a “valid excuse,” he says.

The slide show accompanying Khan’s lecture says sickness and obligatory fasting would qualify.

Islamic scholars say if a woman refuses “without a valid reason then she committed a major sin,” Khan says.

“For a man, the way Allah created him, many, many times he may need his wife there more than she might need him.” MUSLEH KHAN IN A WEB SEMINAR ABOUT THE ‘RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF A WIFE’

“We need each other to complete one another. That’s the bottom line and especially for a man, the way Allah created him, many, many times he may need his wife there more than she might need him. This is just a nature of man, this is just a nature Allah Almighty created with us,” Khan tells listeners.

“So sisters, it’s part of your act of worship towards Allah that you try to respond to this as best as you can as part of your duties as the wife.”

Wives should also seek permission from their husband before leaving the home because they are the guardians of the marital home, Khan says.

Toronto Police Association president Mike McCormack said Monday he is receiving emails and calls from members questioning whether the service should be associated with someone who believes women are “second-class citizens.”

Toronto Police Service spokesperson Meaghan Gray said Monday that Khan did not want to comment for the Star’s article but was taken aback by the negative comments that have appeared online.

He believes some of his comments have been “taken out of context in the larger lecture in which they were delivered,” she said.

“He does not believe women are second-class citizens. In fact, he frequently lectures to women and focuses on the affects of domestic violence in the community.”

She added Khan appreciates the support he has received from members of the service “and hopes we can move forward so he can continue to serve the service.”

McCormack said Khan “needs to clarify his comments.”

“This is not acceptable in our city, or country,” McCormack said, reading from an email sent by a union member.

“I think a lot of our members have an issue with that type of viewpoint,” he said. “We’re dealing with domestic violence and getting women to come forward, to help victims, because of this type of viewpoint.”

The Toronto police chaplaincy program began in1999 and currently has 19 representatives from15 faiths. The first Muslim chaplain joined in 2007.

Chaplains are volunteer positions offering support and guidance for all members of the Toronto Police Service, regardless of their religious affiliation, Gray said.