islawmix » domestic violence

The Character Killing: “Ramadan stroll” or weak journalism?

Krystina Friedlander — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 23:56:56 +0000

Chris Boyette at CNN reports that a New Jersey court delivered a 17 count indictment of Kashif Parvaiz for killing his wife Nazish Norrani with the help of Antoinette Stephen, a female friend, while Parvaiz and Norrani were out walking with their three year old son. Stephen then shot Parvaiz, which Parvaiz attempted to use as evidence that anti-Muslim “terrorists” were behind the murder.

A release from the prosecutor's office said that while being treated for his wounds, which were not life-threatening, Parvaiz had described the shooters as three men who shouted “slurs about terrorists” at the couple before fleeing on foot.

The case–referred to by anti-Muslim bloggers as another “honor killing”–incorrectly equates a horrific and bizarre incident of domestic violence with Islam. We here at islawmix have noticed an increase in coverage on Islam, but a marked decrease in standards of journalism. The question is, who here is to blame? Parvaiz, after all, attempted to cover up his crime by capitalizing on the potential for current anti-Muslim sentiment will spill over into violence, as it may have been the case in the murder of Shaima Alawadi. In that case, it has yet to be proven as a hate crime, similarly dubbed “honor killing,” or murder motivated by familial conflict. The risk here is that, painted as a “Muslim” killing, readers may understand something about Parvaiz’ Muslimness as being the culprit for his heinous actions, rather than the troubled man himself.

Problematically, Boyette refers to the killing as having taken place during a “Ramadan stroll,” and the very fact that the murder took place during Islam’s holy month of fasting made the case more interesting to prosecutors.

Morris County Prosecutor Robert A. Bianchi said at a news conference shortly after the killing that the fact that Noorani, a Muslim, was killed during the holy month of Ramadan “made this case especially compelling to us.”

This “especially compelling” interest in the timing of the incident is at odds with the understanding and doctrine surrounding the month of Ramadan in terms of Islamic law. During Ramadan, Muslims not only abstain from food and drink, sexual activity, cigarettes, etc, they are urged to abstain from all negative thoughts–especially anger. “Fasting” during Ramadan is one of the five guiding principles of the Muslim faith, and violence during the holy month is highly upsetting if not anathema to the overwhelming majority of Muslims. Within this context then, the use of the words “Ramadan stroll” draw a direct but contradictory connection between Parvaiz’ faith and his crime.

The bottom line is that there are so many incidents of domestic violence–the Domestic Violence Research Center reports that one in four women are victims of such abuse–that news of domestic violence is sadly uninteresting to most readers. The fact that the perpetrator is Muslim piques people’s salacious interests. Selling the story as the “Ramadan Stroll Murder!” is even sexier.

Not all journalists covering this story played up the Islam angle, and they are to be commended for their honest journalism. Ben Horowitz at the New Jersey Star Ledger makes only one reference to Islam by noting that the killing took place during Ramadan, while the Associated Press only referred to the couple as “Pakistani-American.”

To be fair, Boyette is not solely at fault for associating Islam with the killings, as both Parvaiz and Bianchi made the connection themselves. However, Boyette intensified those associations, instead of adding nuance and value to the story. The truth is, Islamophobia is a real and dangerous problem which the media can either abuse or allay. A recent Southern Poverty Law Center report cites a threefold increase in the number of anti-Muslim hate groups in the United States in 2011 alone. One simple thing that Boyette could have done is to explain what Ramadan is, what Islamic law asks of Muslims during the holy month, and highlight that the case is particularly unusual and tragic because of the emphasis on abstaining from anger and violence. Otherwise, readers might understand that Ramadan is some sort of Muslim domestic violence month.

Qasim Rashid: Domestic violence is not supported by Qur’anic texts

Krystina Friedlander — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 15:54:42 +0000

Author Qasim Rashid argues in The Huffington Post that Islamic texts do not support domestic violence, and in fact offers ways to “peacefully reconcile the dispute” between a husband and wife. Referring to Qur’anic verse 4:34, he writes:

The verse begins by defining a family unit, holding the husband accountable as the household's guardian and provider. This obligation gives him certain authority, privileges and a requirement of magnanimity — but never the right to employ domestic violence. The verse then urges women to also act virtuously, and protect the family unit by cooperating with their husband, listening to him in all good things and to not publicize private family matters.

Engy Abdelkader: “Honor killings” are not supported by Islamic law

Krystina Friedlander — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:06:48 +0000

CNN’s Ralista Vassileva interviews human rights attorney Engy Abdelkader about the recent murder of three Afghan sisters and a friend in Ontario, Canada. Abdelkader states that honor killings “have no sound basis in Islamic jurisprudence” due to the high value placed on human life in the Qur’an, and that the sentiments behind the murders are based in patriarchal cultures and not religious values. She notes that a number of prominent religious leaders have spoken out against gender violence, but that further work needs to be done in mosques and Islamic centers to cement these realities within communities.

Bill O’Reilly responds to the killings in the Boston Herald, stating that American media has whitewashed the case by refusing to refer to the murders as Islamic or motivated by religion. He states that the media has focused more on the cultural roots of the beliefs behind the killings. He writes “The politically correct U.S. media are frightened by Muslim violence. They avoid the issue whenever they can.”

The Huffington Post reports that Canada’s Islamic Supreme Council has issued a fatwa, a non-binding but “morally binding” imperative against “honor killings” in Islam. “So if anybody is thinking that honour killing is allowed in Islam, or domestic violence is OK or misogyny is OK, we are saying no, you are dead wrong” said Syed Soharwardy, an imam based in Calgary.

For months, imams worked together to denounce honour killings and educate Muslims about the call for gender equality at the heart of their faith.

The fatwa “puts some weight” on those efforts by clearly and unequivocally refuting any interpretation of the Qur'an that would allow domestic or honour-related violence, Soharwardy said.

Islamic law is opposed to “honor” murders

Krystina Friedlander — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:43:19 +0000

Richard Allen Greene writes for CNN’s Belief Blog that though “honor” murders take place in Muslim countries, Muslim experts say they are not encouraged, permitted, or justified in Islamic law. He quotes Nadya Khalife, a researcher on women's rights in the Arab world for Human Rights Watch, who says that such killings take place in the Middle East and South Asia as well as within immigrant communities in North America. However, she says they “should not be blamed on Islam,” as the killings are linked to cultural practices instead of religious beliefs.

“It's not linked to religion; it's more cultural,” she said. “There have been several Islamic scholars who have issued fatwas against honor killing.”

Greene also quotes author and activist Irshad Manji, who referred to such murders as “a tribal tradition that emphasizes the family or the tribe or the community over the individual,” she said.

Although the practice may not be Islamic, she said, not all Muslims understand the distinction.

“It is a problem within Islam because of how Muslims often confuse culture and religion,” she said. “It's Muslims who have to learn to separate culture and religion. If we don't, Islam will continue to get the bad name that it gets.”

Lastly, he quotes British Sikh activist Jasvinder Sanghera, who notes that “[s]ignificant cases are happening within South Asian communities, be it Pakistani, Indian, Sikh, Muslim, Kurdish, Iranian, Middle Eastern communities.”

The article was written in the wake of the conviction of a Montreal couple and their son for the murder of four of their family members (CBC News Canada).

Mary Ali: “Islamically, a man is not supposed to hurt his wife”

Krystina Friedlander — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:58:40 +0000

The Chicago Tribune and The Chicago Sun Times cover the recent death of Mary Ali (1939-2011), a well-known Chicago area convert who served as a role model and leader in her community. As a convert, Ali bridged two worlds and often mediated between generational disputes in a largely immigrant-based Muslim community. She converted after meeting and marrying an Indian man studying at the University of Iowa, and swiftly became an active figure in the local community, organizing outings for young women. She also advocated for women who were victims of domestic violence. From the Sun Times:

Some of the women — unsure of their rights and U.S. law — confided in her if there was violence at home. Mrs. Ali would help find them shelter, and “She would tell them, Islamically, a man is not supposed to hurt his wife,” her daughter said.

Wisconsin-based new media initiative Inside Islam: Dialogues and Debates explores a controversial verse

Krystina Friedlander — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 17:59:06 +0000

A post on spousal abuse in Islam published by the University of Wisconsin’s initiative Inside Islam: Dialogues and Debates argues that a term in verse 4:34 that is often understood to permit wife beating should be interpreted to refer to “sexual lewdness,” and that before any punitive action can be taken against allegations of adultery and the like, the indiscretion must be proven in court. The post cites islawmix scholar Khaled Abou El Fadl’s book Conference of the Books: The Search for Beauty in Islam.