At the height of domestic violence awareness month, KARAMAH conducted a four-part series about raising domestic violence awareness in Muslim communities. “Love Like the Prophet: Ending Domestic Violence in Muslim Communities” was a program designed to address domestic violence from an Islamic perspective, promote discussion within communities about this issue,and shed light on resources available to victims of domestic violence. While the series kick-off event was held at Busboys and Poets on October 10th, the remaining three parts targeted three different mosque communities in Maryland,Virginia and Washington DC.
As an organization based in scholarship and education, KARAMAH offered a basic foundation of Islamic jurisprudence condemning domestic violence as violating basic Qur’anic principles regarding family relationships, including the emphasis on love, mercy and tranquility between spouses. Muslimaat al-Nisaa, headed by Sister Asma Hanif of Baltimore, MD, offered insight about resources for victims and advocated on behalf of the need for shelters and resources catering to the specific needs of Muslim women.
Dar al-Hijra, located in Fairfax,VA, was the campaign’s first stop on Saturday, October 20. The panel included Ms. Hanif, KARAMAH’s Executive Director Ms. Aisha Rahman,and Dr. Zainab Alwani, a prominent Islamic scholar and professor at Howard University School of Divinity. As was the model for all three presentations, Ms. Hanif provided information on resources for Muslim women victims of domestic violence,and shed further light on the realities of the issue by sharing her personal experiences working with victims. Ms. Rahman, a practicing attorney specializing in family law,focused on the importance of seeking legal assistance and understanding rights in cases of domestic violence while advocating for victims to call KARAMAH for legal referrals.
To illustrate these points Ms. Rahman shared a case study in which a Muslim woman was victimized not only by domestic violence and her lack of legal understanding, but her failure at understanding her rights. Ms. Rahman also made sure to point to the importance having lawyers who understand the religious and cultural nuances of Muslim women. Dr. Zainab Alwani concluded Dar al-Hijra’a panel by discussing Qura’nic passages related to relations between the genders, engendering the idea that while women and men had different purposes, there was no inherent “superiority” of men over women that would mandate mistreatment or dictatorship in a marriage.
Immediately following the panel discussion at Dar al-Hijra, KARAMAH and Muslimaat Al-Nisaa proceeded to the Islamic Society of Frederick in Frederick, MD. In addition to Ms. Rahman and Ms. Hanif’s presentation, Imam Yahya Hendi of Georgetown University spoke to the Islamic emphasis on love, tranquility and harmony within the marriage,and thus within the Muslim family. The musallah was filled with nearly 70 men and women,and many thought-provoking questions were asked of the panel. KARAMAH was pleased to hold an event in a new community, and to see so many new faces at the masjid in support of this initiative.
On Sunday, October 21st, KARAMAH held its last segment of the “Love Like the Prophet” series at Masjid Muhammad in Washington DC. Friends and supporters of KARAMAH as well as newcomers came together in the musallah to listen to the presentation and to share their ideas about combating domestic violence in their own community. Ms. Rahman, Sister Asma, and Imam Talib Shareef provided a strong and concise presentation centered on addressing the issue of domestic violence from an Islamic perspective, and furthermore calling the community to action to help solve the problem.
At all three events, attendees asked many important questions. Some focused on Islamic ideas about family relations, whereas others, some being victims of domestic violence themselves, asked about resources and options for immediate courses of action. KARAMAH succeeded, however, in entering new communities and gaining new recognition as an organization that promotes human rights, and in doing so, promotes the rights of Muslim men and women to feel safe with their families and in their homes. Ending domestic violence in Muslim communities is crucial for protecting the Muslim family. By protecting and strengthening the Muslim family, we can ensure that generations to come will succeed in protecting God given rights.
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