What this person did is not sanctioned by the Quran. The Quran allows a man to use corporal punishment against his wife as long as the act does not cause injury.
references:
http://www.themodernreligion.com/women/dv-4-34-shafaat.html
Compare that above with Canadian law regarding corporal punishment of children:
I am not saying women are like children, only that corporal punishment of the same severity as sanctioned by the Quran is legal in Canada.
The rule of law is not side stepped by the teaching of any religion. While there is wiggle room for interpretation, at no time does the law sanction abuse or violence against anyone other than in some very particular and stringent circumstances. Such as the police arresting someone and they resist or as a response to imminent peril to life or limb.
To say the Quran doesn't promote violence is I think an attempt to deflect criticism to the detriment of both the religion and the welfare of those who choose to practice that faith.
There are obviously problems within Islam that must be addressed in the same way that there are problems within Christianity and all other religions that must be addressed.
This just happens to be the moment in time that the focus in on Islam and the teachings of the Quran.
Personally I find that there is more often than not, someone feeling that their belief system is under attack, that they respond in kind and the issue quickly become polarized. How do you talk about the finer interpretations when the rhetoric is used to surround the extreme opposites of the discussion?
It's not just a simple question of regulating away some barbaric aspect of an ancient tradition and calling it progressive thinking. There is always a multi-faceted pressures around any important issue and most often these fail to be addressed which results is a disservice to the people to whom the issues affect most.
As in this case, there was just not enough awareness and support for this kid to make the leap from support by her family to divorcing herself from that support without turning to the street life that awaits so many children who are driven to leave their home.
