KARAMAH’s Executive Director Ms. Aisha Rahman and Chair and Founder Dr. Azizah al-Hibri took the stage at local café Busboys and Poets on October 10th to launch the mini-series “Love Like the Prophet: Ending Domestic Violence in Muslim Communities.” Complimented by Sr. Asma Hanif of Muslimaat Al-Nissa and Nicole Correri of Peaceful Families Project (PFP), the speakers addressed a near full house of old friends and supporters as well as new faces, all inspired and motivated by the importance of addressing domestic violence within Muslim communities.
As attendees enjoyed Busboys and Poet’s casual environment, sipping lattes and listening intently, Ms. Rahman provided a brief introduction about the event and its purpose of raising awareness about the issue of domestic violence and the resources available to the Muslim community.
The first panelist to speak, Sr. Asma Hanif, brought the realities of this issue to the forefront by providing detailed accounts of victims she has worked with in her capacity first as a nurse practioner and later through her shelter, Muslimaat Al-Nissa. By describing the heart-wrenching predicaments of one particular victim, marginalized by both her husband and later her family, Sr. Hanif sought to illustrate the dangers of women remaining silent due to cultural, family, and perceived religious pressures. Similarly, she mentioned the problems associated with community complacency in confronting domestic violence issues, and explained why providing services and resources specifically for Muslim women is crucial.
Ms. Rahman built upon Sr. Hanif’s examples by providing some of her own, while shedding light on the legal issues associated with the domestic violence. In providing a specific case-study in which a domestic violence victim suffered from a slue of legal issues , Ms. Rahman hoped to illustrate the dire importance of women seeking attorney assistance in domestic violence cases. Ms. Rahman discussed also the barriers many Muslim women face in receiving effective help, such as language and lack of legal understanding, and reminded the audience about the plethora of resources available to victims in such circumstances.
Nicole Correri of Peaceful Families Project spoke also of the need for resources specific to the needs of Muslim women victims of domestic violence. Ms. Correri also addressed the importanceof training imams who are often the first point of contact handling domestic disputes.
By the time Dr. al-Hibri stepped in front of the microphone, the audience had been captivated by the stories and experiences shared by the other panelists. In order to bring the discussion on domestic violence back to its foundation for Muslim victims, Dr. al-Hibri discussed the Islamic perspective on domestic violence. She explained the proper understanding of the Qur’anic verse 4:34, which has been often interpreted as condoning violence against women, in light of various other verses that advocate affection and tranquility between the spouses. For a more detailed analysis, see her article entitled “An Islamic Perspective on Domestic Violence” in the Article section of our website.
Dr. al-Hibri then went on to discuss the heavy Qur’anic emphasis on peace and tranquility between spouses, In addition, she also mentioned the importance of following the example of the Prophet Muhammad and to “love like the Prophet.” The Prophet, as Dr. al-Hibri explained, never raised a hand to his wives and dedicated a portion of his final sermon exclusively to women’s rights. Dr. al-Hibri concluded her speech by firmly stating that no one has any right to take away “Karamah” or “dignity” from any human being, for the simple reason that in the Qur’an, dignity is God-given.
After a short Q&A session in which audience members posed questions about the challenges of addressing domestic violence in individual communities, Dr. al-Hibri talked about the life and pioneering work of Sharifa Alkhateeb. Starting from virtually nothing, Mrs. Alkhateeb was able to form Peaceful Families Project, and organization dedicated to promoting the Qur’anic principles of peace, mercy and tranquility within Muslim families and eradicating domestic violence by way of coordinating with community leaders, conducting workshops and extensive research. Dr. al-Hibri wrapped up the event by presenting a PFP representative with an award commemorating Mrs. Alkhateeb’s work.
As the kick-off to KARAMAH’s mini-series on raising domestic violence awareness throughout the month of October, the crowd present at Busboys and Poets was telling of the motivation, creativity and spirit in existence within the community to combat domestic violence. KARAMAH looks forward to continuing the discussion and formulating solutions with later events at Dar al-Hijra, Masjid Muhammad and Islamic Society of Frederick (ISF) later this month.
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