Traditional Pressures Can Persist in U.S.
By Pamela Constable
One was a shy, slender young woman who spoke no English when she was brought from Pakistan to enter an arranged marriage with a stranger in Virginia. The other was a self-confident professional, born in Turkey but raised in the United States, who thought she knew what she was doing when she married an educated Muslim man in Maryland.
Yet both women fell under the sway of the same powerful pressures that sometimes reach around the globe to keep Muslim wives in the Washington region imprisoned in abusive marriages, unable to fight the gossip and shame that come with defying their culture and religion, isolated from help that is just a three-digit phone number away.
"My husband beat. He show knife. I am scared for him, for all family," said Shamim, 21, the Pakistani bride, who was rescued by police. She is being sheltered and tutored in English
at a private home. "They say no money, no call mother at home. I cook for all, I not eat. I not know 911 what is. I think I go crazy."
Shireen, the woman in Maryland, speaks with articulate chagrin about how the crushing weight
of social expectation kept her in a relationship that soon turned violent. Both women's last names are being withheld at their request.
"I was perfectly happy living alone, but the family kept pushing me to marry. I wanted to show them I was a good Muslim girl," said Shireen, now 37 and divorced. When her husband became abusive, she said, relatives told her to be a better wife. When she took him to court, she said, "everyone abandoned me. I was the one who had done something wrong."
Domestic abuse is hardly unique to Muslim immigrant communities; it is a sad fact of life in families of all backgrounds and origins. Yet, according to social workers, Islamic clerics and women's advocates, women from Muslim-majority cultures face extra pressure to submit to violent husbands and intense social ostracism if they muster the courage to file charges or
flee.
A major obstacle to recognizing and fighting abuse, experts said, can be Islam itself. The religion prizes female modesty and fidelity while allowing men to divorce at will and have several wives at once. Many Muslims also believe that men have the right to beat their wives. An often-quoted verse in the Koran says a husband may chastise a disobedient wife, but the phrasing in Arabic is open to several interpretations.
"Many batterers manipulate Islamic law or use its perceived authority to control their wives. A man who has the power to divorce can really twist the knife," said Mazna Hussain, an attorney for abused women at the Tahirih Justice Center in Falls Church. "Muslim women want to be faithful to their religion, and the idea that you cannot disobey the word of God is very compelling, even if you are in an abusive relationship."
Mosques are a central focus of community life for Muslim immigrants, and the influence of their male clerics is enormous. Only a handful of these imams have spoken out on the problem of abuse, a source of shame and denial among their flocks.
In Sterling, Imam Mohamed Magid at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society offers counseling to engaged couples, ensuring they understand their mutual rights and duties. In Silver Spring, Imam Faizul Khan at the Islamic Society of the Washington Area holds weekly counseling sessions for troubled couples.
"For many years, our community did not face these issues. Women suffered in silence and fear. Even today, many imams think it could never happen in their mosque," Khan said. "Islam gives equal rights to men and women, but there are myths in Muslim society that men are superior and violence is permitted. This is wrong, and it needs to be said." [What a load
of rubbish...ed. A.I.]
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A Woman's Worth Relative to a Man's
...
Question:
Does Islam teach that a
woman is worth less than a man?
Summary Answer:
Absolutely. The only
debatable point is by what degree.
The Qur'an:
Sura (4:11) -
(Inheritance) "The male shall have the equal of the portion of two females" (see also Sura (4:176)).
Sura (2:282) - (Court testimony) "And call to witness, from among your men, two witnesses. And if two men be not found then a man and two women"
Sura (2:228) - "and the men are a degree above them [women]"
Sura (5:6) - "And if ye are unclean, purify yourselves. And if ye are sick or on a journey, or one of you cometh from the closet, or ye have had contact with women, and ye find not water, then go to clean, high ground and rub your faces and your hands with some of it" Men are to rub dirt on their hands if there is no water to purify them following casual contact with a woman (such as shaking hands).
Sura (24:31) - Women are to lower their gaze around men, so they do not look them in the eye.
Sura (2:223) - "Your wives are as a tilth unto you; so approach your tilth when or how ye will..." A man has dominion over his wives as he does his land. This verse is sexual and it is widely believed to be addressing the practice of anal intercourse.
Sura (4:3) - (Wife-to-husband ratio) "Marry women of your choice, Two or three or four"
Sura (53:27) - "Those who believe not in the Hereafter, name the angels with female names."
Angels are sublime beings, and would therefore be male.
Sura (4:23) and Sura (33:52) - A man is permitted to take women as sex slaves outside of marriage.
From the Hadith:
Bukhari (6:301) - "[Muhammad] said, 'Is not the evidence of two women equal to the witness of one man?' They replied in the affirmative. He said, 'This is the deficiency in her intelligence.'"
Bukhari (6:301) - continued - "[Muhammad said] 'Isn't it true that a woman can neither pray
nor fast during her menses?' The women replied in the affirmative. He said, 'This is the deficiency in her religion.'" Allah has made women deficient in the practice of their religion as well, by giving them menstrual cycles.
Bukhari (2:28) - Women comprise the majority of Hell's occupants. This is important because the only women in heaven ever mentioned by Muhammad are the virgins who serve the sexual desires of men. (A weak Hadith, Kanz al-`ummal, 22:10, even suggests that 99% of women go to Hell).
Abu Dawud (2:704) - "...the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: When one of you prays without a sutrah, a dog, an ass, a pig, a Jew, a Magian, and a woman cut off his prayer, but it will
suffice if they pass in front of him at a distance of over a stone's throw."
Ishaq 593 - "From the captives of Hunayn, Allah's Messenger gave [his son-in-law] Ali
a slave girl called Baytab and he gave [future Caliph] Uthman a slave girl called Zaynab and [future Caliph] Umar another." - Even in this world, Muhammad treated women like party favors, handing out slave girls to his cronies for sex.
...
and
Does Islam Treat Women as Equals of Men as a
Witness?
by Peace Forever
Most Common Questions asked by Non-Muslims
EQUALITY OF
WITNESSESQuestion:
Why are two witnesses who are women, equivalent to only one witness who is a man?Answer:
It is not true that two female witnesses are always considered as equal to only one male witness. It is true only in certain cases. There are about five verses in the Qur’an that mention witnesses, without specifying male or female. There is only one verse in the Qur’an, that says two female witnesses are equal to one male witness. This verse is Surah Baqarah, chapter 2 verse 282. This is the longest verse in the Qur’an and deals with financial transactions. It says:"Oh! ye who believe! When ye deal with each other, in transactions involving future obligation in a fixed period of time reduce them to writing and get two witnesses out of your own men and if there are not two men, then a man and two women, such as ye choose, for witnesses so that if one of them errs the other can remind her." [Al-Qur’an 2:282]
And then he continues to write:
This verse of the Qur’an deals only with financial transactions. In such cases, it is advised to make an agreement in writing between the parties and take two witnesses, preferably both of which should be men only. In case you cannot find two men, then one man and two women would suffice.
For instance, suppose a person wants to undergo an operation for a particular ailment. To confirm the treatment, he would prefer taking references from two
qualified surgeons. In case he is unable to find two surgeons, his second option
would be one surgeon and two general practitioners who are plain MBBS
doctors.Similarly in financial transactions, two men are preferred. Islam expects men
to be the breadwinners of their families. Since financial responsibility is shouldered by men, they are expected to be well versed in financial transactions as compared to women. As a second option, the witness can be one man and two women, so that if one of the women errs the other can remind her. The Arabic word used in the Qur’an is ‘Tazil’ which means ‘confused’ or ‘to err’. Many have wrongly translated this word as ‘to forget’. Thus financial transactions constitute the only case in which two female witnesses are equal to one male witness.
Dr. Zakir wants us to believe that acting as a witness is something as complex as making a correct diagnosis regarding an ailment, on the contrary acting as a witness only requires you to remember the conditions prescribed in the contract. Dr. Zakir also puts forward the usual argument of error in translation to support his case. Contrary to his claims most translators translate the word as “to err”. Here are a few popular translations:
Yusuf Ali:[002:282] ……….. if there are not two men, then a man and two women, such as ye choose, for witnesses, so that if one of them errs, the other can remind
her…….Sher Ali: [002:282] ……….. if two men be not available, then a man and two women, of such as you approve as witnesses, so that if either of the two women should forget, then one may remind the other……..
Shakir: [002:282] ……….. if there are not two men, then one man and two women from among those whom you choose to be witnesses, so that if one of the two errs, the second of the two may remind the other……
Pickthall: [002:282] ……….. And if two men be not (at hand) then a man and two women, of such as ye approve as witnesses, so that if the one erreth (through forgetfulness) the other will remember…
Sale:
[002:282] ………..if there be not two men, let there be a man and two women of those whom ye shall choose for witnesses: If one of those women should mistake, the other of them will cause her to recollect.Muhammad Al-Hilali & Muhsin Khan: [002:282] ………..if there are not two men (available), then a man and two women, such as you agree for witnesses, so that if one of them (two women) errs, the other can remind her……
Palmer: [002:282] ……….so that if one of the two should err, the second of the two may remind the other…
Arberry:[002:282]………. if one of the two women errs the other will remind her…
Rodwell:[002:282]………. if the one of them should mistake, the other
may cause her to recollect.
Among these popular translations only Sher Ali puts it as “to forget”, not that he is wrong. The verse reads “if one of them errs, the other can remind her”, which alludes the mistake (to err) here is forgetting. Moreover Zakir transliterates the word as “Tazil”, but it is transliterated as “Tadel”. According to native speakers of Arabic, Dr. Zakir is using annoying dialect that disrespects the Arabic alphabet. A dialect mostly used by illiterate Arabs!!
Dr. Zakir wants to assert that this is only due to the issue being a financial transaction in which women are not acquainted too much and has nothing to do with degrading women. Though Dr. Zakir’s reasoning is already faulty, he hides information regarding what Muhammad had to say on the verse i.e. what the verse was really meant to be:
Narrated Abu Said
Al-Khudri:The Prophet said, "Isn't the witness of a woman equal to half of
that of a man?" The women said, "Yes." He said, "THIS IS BECAUSE OF THE
DEFICIENCY OF A WOMAN’S MIND." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 48, Number 826)
Muhammad doesn’t say a woman’s witness is half of a man because she is not well acquainted with financial transaction rather Muhammad says "THIS IS BECAUSE OF THE DEFICIENCY OF A WOMAN’S MIND." Muhammad thought that women should have a lesser say as a witness because they are deficient in mind! Also note that Muhammad says this in general terms and not in terms of being a witness in financial transactions alone!
Renowned Quranic commentator Ibn kathir has this to say on this verse:
This means, the two women, if one of them forgets the testimony, then ‘the other can remind her’, i.e., she can remind her about the matter concerning which testimony is being given. (Tafseer Ibn Katheer, part 1, p. 724)
Another Renowned commentator Ibn Abbas, for whose knowledge (Islamic) Muhammad reportedly had prayed to Allah, has this to say:
(And call to witness) for your rights, (from among your men, two witnesses) from among your free, Muslim men who are of good character. (And if two men be not (at hand) then a man and two women, of such as ye approve as witnesses) from among people who are reliable in their witness, (so that if the one erreth (through forgetfulness)) so that if one of the women forgets (the other) who did not forget (will remind her. And the witnesses must not refuse) to give witness (when they are summoned) to court. (Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs on 2:282)
Tafsir Al-Jalayan also says something similar:
And summon to bear witness, the debt, two witnesses, men, mature Muslim free men; or if the two, witnesses, be not men, then one man and two women, to bear witness, such witnesses as you approve of, on account of their piety and probity; the number of women is because of the fact, so that if one of the two women errs, forgets the testimony, given their lesser astuteness and accuracy; the other, the one remembering, will remind her (read fa-tudhakkira or fa-tudhkira), the one that has forgotten - the 'reminding' clause is the reason [for the choice of two women], that is to say, so that she may be reminded if she errs or strays into error, because this [forgetfulness] is the cause of it (a variant reading [for an, 'that'] has the conditional in, 'if', with [the verb inflected as] tudhakkiru, 'she will remind', making it a new sentence, the response to which [follows]);(Tafsir Al-Jalayan on 2:282)
Dr. Zakir Naik as usual hides this vital information as what Muhammad had in mind regarding this verse and in vain tries to use false analogies to alleviate the ramifications of the
verse.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) For Some Muslim Wives, Abuse Knows No Borders
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