Asim Rehman defending women against domestic violence
I first read the following Huffington Post Religion article on the blog The Loon Watch. I'm sure I would have appreciated it at any time, but it struck a particular chord as I was just in a bookstore killing time and looking at the Boxing Week sales. The bookstore was one of the Indigo's chain which dominates retail book sales in Canada. The chain is also the sponsor of a pro-Israel foundation, Heseg Foundation for Lone Soldiers (heseg=achievement in Hebrew; "lone" as in no family in Israel). This program encourages the recruitment of non-Israeli Jews into the IDF by granting them a 4-year all expenses paid scholarship to an Israeli university if they serve 2 years in the IDF. "All expenses" very generously includes all living expenses as well as tuition and academic supplies--which is rare. Most scholarships at the undergraduate level cover only tuition and maybe books. Certain countries, including Saudi Arabia, do offer scholarships which include a sum adequate to cover living expenses, but these are the exception.
As I was browsing, not buying, I wondered how many of the titles on sale at the local Indigo's would be from what I call the "I was abused by a Muslim man" shelf. Indigo's is very good at stocking and profiling all books on women abused by an individual Muslim man, or an Islamic regime. For a while, most were about Iranian situations. Nowadays, many are about Afghan ones. There is no counterbalancing content. Also the Religion Section has very few books on Islam, while the History and Political section has many about current conflicts, but not from an Arab or Islamic perspective. Needless to say, Bernard Lewis books have pride of place. Yes indeed, all the most recent hardback titles in that category were featured face up on the strategically placed sales tables.
I read the article below with that imbalanced presentation of Muslim men in that particular medium of books and their marketing as one lens. Another lens was that of the Muslim students I meet, men and women, whose fathers, like many of the men mentioned in the article, are encouraging their university studies, and have high hopes and expectations combined with a great deal of material and moral support for both sons and daughters. A third lens was that of Muslim husbands, including the hub, who have made compromises, sacrifices, and accommodations to encourage and support their wives in their chosen careers.
As I was reading, I was struck by how the list reflects the preoccupations of the compiler, though this is to be expected of any list. There is an emphasis on those in prominent positions who are formally as well as informally advocating women's rights, including that to a safe home environment. Domestic violence is a problem in Muslim cultures as in others, past and present. It was not so long ago in Western European and North American societies that domestic violence was tolerated, even supported, by conservative patriarchal elements, and that laws and law enforcement considered it a private matter. If called, police would arrive, calm the situation, ask if the beaten spouse, most often the wife, would like to press charges, and leave it up to them to do so. This changed over time, following the impact of the women's movement beginning in the 70's, and with better understanding of the greater peril that women who pressed charges faced, resulting in their refusal to press charges or dropping them--to the great frustration of police officers. To say that domestic violence is a problem in Muslim cultures is to begin to address it, while not suggesting that all Muslim men are abusive. Some are. Some cloak their behaviour in religion or in tradition, or both. Some make headlines, including in Canada currently, when the abuse rises to the level of "honour killing". Like most headlines, these are the exceptions rather than the rule.
Overall, I found the list more representative of the Muslim men I know, from all walks of society, and a variety of Muslim cultures, than the other headlines. What are your impressions?
Omar Sharif, Peace Corps volunteer in Uganda, center,
creator of business projects headed by women
