In defence of Muslims

A series of shocking revelations in The Age recently have certainly got Australian Muslims looking over our shoulders again!

It seems that out of nowhere, we were being alerted to horrific crimes against Muslim women at the hands recalcitrant husbands with an intransigent clergy seemingly haplessly not knowing what to do.

Then the new Mufti bought into the debate on the segregation in mosques: rather than presenting the balanced and complete picture that we expect from our senior clerical leaders, we have had a knee-jerk-capitulation. A recommendation will be made to take away the private space that women have enjoyed in many mosques and to leave them with one of two options: either put up with men in their private space, or turn their backs on public worship altogether.

Numerous issues came up during the course of a conference by the National Centre of Excellence for Islamic Studies Australia in Melbourne last week. Papers by pioneering Muslim women including Dr Nahid Kabir and PhD candidate Ms Ghena Krayem were overlooked for more sensational issues which were presented to the public with phenomenal headlines that failed to take into account the comparatively high incidence of similar problems in mainstream society.

By Saturday, the Muslim community was again in the dock, defending itsself against the myriad of allegations. Again, rather than putting the allegations into perspective, Muslims are forced to be defensive.

I know that there is some atrocious behaviour by some Muslims, this cannot and will not be excused, however, it should be noted that the behaviour in question is not institutionalised nor is it widespread but is rather an example of isolated incidents and that Muslims in Australia are trying to face the same challenges as every other Australian. These include making sense of the present financial crisis, the receding standard of education, the atrociously under-resourced health system and so on.

Let us try to put things into perspective:

1 - Providing private space for women in some mosques

Much like Christ, peace be upon him, Muslims fall on our face during prayer, and when in a congregation we are packed tightly, shoulder to shoulder and toe to toe, we move in unison like a well rehearsed symphony: prayer being more than chants includes the harmonious movement of the bodies of worshippers.

The movements and tight proximity of worshippers have traditionally made it more practical for members of each gender to have their own private space. Over the centuries, they have opted to fall on their face in congregational prayer without concern for members of the other gender being close by, they earned that space as their own. Today, it would seem that others would like to take that right away from them.

Seeking private space is not unique to Muslim women, nor is it unique to rituals of worship. Fernwood for example is a successful women’s only health club where women can perform their fitness and weight loss routines without worrying about where men might position themselves in an aerobics class.

2 - Domestic violence

A most ignoble and ignominious behaviour - this is a heinous crime all the more so because it often occurs in a place where people should feel safe: their home. The ABS states that 2.56 million women, over the age of 15 (33 per cent of all women) in Australia, have experienced some level of violence. It would be unrealistic to expect this figure to be totally free of Muslim women. Education is the best means to empower women, Muslim or otherwise, to refuse to put up with violence, to avail themselves of the existing services including the police to ensure that no one makes them live in fear for their personal safety.

3 - Rape

This is the most despicable violation against a woman: 1.47 million Australian women (or 19 per cent) over the age of 15 have reported sexual violence against them. Further, in a survey done in 1996, 8 per cent of woman surveyed reported violence in their current relationship and 42 per cent in a previous relationship. Again, this is an area that requires education for both men and women. All women should be advised about the services available to them, including how to report assaults to the police. For something that is part of the life of almost every member of the human family, we can educate ourselves to clearly address the issue so that all men will understand the meaning of “No” and understand the criminal ramifications of failing to respect a clear “No”.

4 - Imams (or a minority thereof) trying to salvage marriages

Is this not a normal human response to family breakdown? Is that not what marriage reconciliation centres do? Does not every decent person try to save a marriage and counsel either or both parties to be better spouses and try to make the marriage work, especially when the marriage has produced children? The irony of this allegation is that the Family Court in Australia “will not usually grant a divorce unless both parties have considered reconciliation with the assistance of a marriage counsellor”. The notion of keeping families together is not exclusive to Muslim clerics but is a social practice that is upheld and enforced by our legal structures such as the Family Court.

5 - Imams (or a minority thereof) blessing plural unions

It seems that we regularly hear a variation of this claim. Yes, there are people in our vast human family who express or experience “love” with more than one partner, traditional people like to do this within an open committed accountable relationship. However, modern societies prefer the second partner to be in a secretive relationship and call her a “mistress”, a “kept woman” or a “lover” or in some cases “a sex worker”. The latest accusation in this secretive category is that against celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, who now threatened to sue the original publication before apologising to his wife for putting her through this.
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Just a week ago, a French MP went to the ultimate extreme while trying to maintain the secrecy of such a relationship by shooting his mistress and then himself.

I can see why modern societies like the secrecy in such relations: it is the secrecy that creates an element of adventurism in what many may see as a dull life dominated by computer screens and hours of commuting to and from work. The secrecy also feeds latent envy and voyeuristic tendencies which in turn creates a gossip industry that thrives in women’s magazines and in a porn industry that exploits women and men.

6 - Women whose divorce has been finalised by the family court were still waiting on the religious system to finalise their divorce

This issue has been at the hands of successive Australian governments for years too numerous to count. The UK government has addressed this by finally giving the Muslim minority a treatment commensurate with their fellow Jewish citizens. Australian governments comments have continued to refuse to address this issue despite pleas by Imams and community leaders.

This issue is not about what Imams will or will not do; it has international ramifications and requires reciprocal arrangements between Australia and other countries where such marriages end up being registered. It makes little difference in such jurisdictions whether the Imam endorses the divorce or not, they require one of two things, either reciprocal arrangements at a political and diplomatic level or for the Family Court to include a clause that a responsible authorised body has ensured that the Sharia clauses of the divorce have been met. This only applies where the couple have opted at their own discretion to enter into a religious rather than a purely secular marriage in the first place. These couples do this because they recognise the holy nature of marriage being first and foremost a union under God.

I suppose points 2 to 6 can be resolved in a completely novel way: let’s return marriage, for those who still opt for it, into the hands of the various faith traditions - both solemnisation and annulment, the legal system need not concern itself with such religious traditions. Then, let us encourage pre-nuptial agreements so that property settlement, child custody and maintenance can be resolved on the basis of these agreements.

After a stressful few days, my mind is still boggled as to why easily accessible information such as I have given here, that would balance the reporting, has not been adequately explored in our mainstream media!