Norwegian Equality Minister Karita Bekkemellem wants Muslim communities that are open to the idea of beating women to lose their state support funds

Aftenposten:

Bekkemellem refuses to accept imams who believe that physical punishment against women can be justified and will take up the matter with Minister of Culture and Church Affairs Trond Giske, newspaper Dagsavisen reports.

"It is completely unacceptable and the government will examine using state support as a means of pressure. Imams must distance themselves from violence against women, not come with statements that can legitimize it," Bekkemellem told Dagsavisen.

Imam Ikram Jilani, leader of one of the country's largest Muslim communities, the World Islamic Mission in Oslo's Grønland district, believes that men must be able to hit their wives to show anger in special circumstances, such as when the woman has been unfaithful, as long as she is not visibly injured.

Jilani believes this can be done with a few blows to the body. Hitting should first be considered after the man has tried to get his wife to change her behavior in other ways. According to the Islamic Council this is a case of "symbolic punishment, not physically damaging blows".

"I don't even want to hear the reasoning. It is not on to talk about "symbolic blows". There is zero tolerance for hitting. We will fight violence against women by Norwegians and we cannot accept it from our new countrymen," Bekkemellem said.

Solberg wants Islam 'modernized'

Pull support from imams