KCL student speaker accused of defending child marriage as historically acceptable

A King’s College London medical student has been accused of defending child marriage during a Students’ Union sanctioned event.

According to the Jewish Chronicle, during the event, Abutorab Islam also supposedly claimed that the Prophet Muhammad’s marriage to a nine-year-old girl was justified by religious and cultural context.

In a TikTok clip from the lecture, which has since been taken down, Abutorab Islam reportedly told students: “The Messenger married Aisha when she was six years of age, and he consummated his marriage around three and a half years later.”

It was then reported that he went on to defend the marriage by saying it was based on revelation or what and that Aisha was “physically mature, she was menstruating, she was mentally mature, she was psychologically mature and she had permission from her parents.”

Abutorab supposedly referenced online claims that Aisha was 19 at the time of consummation, before allegedly stating: “It’s mentioned in Bukhari she was nine and we’re not scared to say the truth.”

He was also said to point to historical norms in Britain as justification, saying: “In the UK, from the 1500s to the 1800s, the age of consent was 10.”

It was then further reported that he said British people have “no right” to talk about the age of consent.

The event was part of a lecture series hosted by Muslims Reconnect, an Islamic organisation co-run by Abutorab and fellow KCL medical student Zaid El-Omar. The group, which has over 60,000 followers on Instagram and YouTube, says its goal is to “spread Islam to every corner of the Earth”.

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In the comments under the video, several users defended Islam’s remarks.

One user wrote: “If you can acknowledge the context then none of this would be an issue. Applying 21st century standards is being disingenuous as the core fundamentals of female biological development [haven’t changed].”

Others pointed to shorter life expectancies 1,400 years ago as justification for earlier marriages.

A KCLSU spokesperson told The King’s Tab: “We are aware of the concerns raised regarding a recent student-led event and are currently reviewing the matter internally, in coordination with King’s College London (KCL).

“At KCLSU, the safety and wellbeing of our students is our highest priority. We facilitate a wide range of student-led activities throughout the year and are committed to ensuring that all events align with our values and policies.

“We take all concerns seriously and follow our established procedures to assess and respond appropriately.

“As our review is ongoing, we are unable to comment further at this stage.”

Abutorab Islam, Muslims Reconnect, King’s College London have been contacted for comment.

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