My First Article About Islam

September 9, 2016September 16, 2016 by Corbin ♥ 4 Comments

Written by Theresa Corbin

A couple weeks ago, I was going through some old papers, trying to get rid of obsolete stuff like my health insurance coverage brochure from 2007. I was thinking how ridiculous the mountain of dead trees that we all keep in our homes is when I came across the first article I ever wrote about Islam.

The article was a letter to the editor in response to a man who had written about how hijab is evil or some such ignorance. I had been Muslim for all of 13 months and I had heard enough. I wasn’t gonna let it go anymore. I had to speak up. So I did. But I didn’t think it would actually get published. It did.

Check it out my first ever article about Islam here.

That was December 25, 2002 (I had no control over the date of publication.)

Interview with A SheFighter: Podcast ep. 4

July 28, 2016May 19, 2017 by UmDayo ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

In this episode of the islamwich Podcast, Kaighla interviews Sarah Barakah, one of the head trainers at SheFighter, a women’s-only gym in Amman, Jordan.

It’s no surprise that Muslim women are more in danger in this country than at any other time. Since San Bernardino and Paris, violent attacks against Muslims has more than tripled, and most of those victims are women.

Also, let’s not blind ourselves to the reality that Muslim women suffer violent abuse at the hands of their husbands, fathers, brothers, uncles, and other relatives within and outside of this country, regardless of the fact that abuse is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN in Islam. Call any Muslim women’s shelter in America and the first thing they will tell you is that if you are not suffering from domestic abuse, they literally have no room for you.

The Truth About Child Marriages: Part 2

June 10, 2016June 21, 2016 by Corbin ♥ 8 Comments

Written by Theresa Corbin in collaboration with Saadia Haq of The Human Lens

As we read in Part 1 (here), penned by our feminist friend, proud Pakistani, and human rights worker, Saadia Haq, we have a serious crisis in the Muslim world. Just one?! No, not by a long shot. But this particular crisis girls are facing is quite serious. Marriage. No child should even have to think about, much less fear the “M” word.

We are seeing a number of underaged Muslim girls being forced by their parents into marriages, all while being told that the injustices done to them are perfectly acceptable in Islam.

There is nothing new about claiming power illegitimately in the name of the Divine. It is the basis of my series, Take Back Islam. It happens in all faiths and at all levels, from familial to governmental.

Slapping the label of religion on something doesn’t necessarily make is so. This is the case with child and forced marriages.

Underaged

Some use the following Qur’anic verse as a justification for underaged marriages:

“And if you are in doubt about those of your women who have despaired of menstruation, (you should know that) their waiting period is three months, and the same applies to those who have not menstruated as yet. As for pregnant women, their period ends when they have delivered their burden.” (Qur’an 65:4)

A better translation of this verse would be:

“Such of your women as have passed the age of monthly courses, for them the prescribed period, if you have any doubts, is three months, and for those who have no courses (it is the same): for those who carry (life within their wombs), their period is until they deliver their burdens: and for those who fear God, He will make their path easy.” (Qur’an 65:4)

The Truth About Child Marriages: Myth v. Reality- Excavating Shariah, Part I

June 9, 2016June 21, 2016 by Corbin ♥ 3 Comments

Part I, Written by Saadia Haq of The Human Lens in collaboration with Theresa Corbin

The topic of prevailing child marriages among Muslim communities makes the bravest of the brave writers think twice, as this thorny subject is sure to bring negative backlash to the persons ‘considered traitors for airing the dirty linen’ in public.

But let’s not be fools as to bury our heads under the sand as certain groups use all sorts of excuses for global pedophilia. The prevalence of child marriages is evident in Africa Sub Saharan, Middle East and Asia. And when girls aged 7, 9 or 14 are married off, that’s just plain sick. Still in much of the Muslim world and or where Muslims live, the practice of child marriages continues because its part of the native ‘tradition and culture’.

… Continue reading about victims of this inhuman and unIslamic practice in part 1 here on Saadia’s website.

Part 2 here

A Part of Me Refused to Die: A Review

May 13, 2016May 16, 2016 by Corbin ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Last week we posted a podcast (listen here) about our experiences in abusive relationships and why sabr, or patience, does not mean that anyone has to put up with abuse as it is a type of oppression.

This week, we are taking a glimpse into a marriage that is abusive in A Part of Me Refused to Die, and discover that some abuse victims are caught between the oppression of culture the liberation of Islam.

Review by Janet Kozak

The autobiographical, A Part of Me Refused to Die, is a harrowing story of redemption in which the heroine ultimately decides to stay in an abusive marriage.

Penned by author Nisha Sulthana and published by the small but growing independent Islamic publisher, Niyah Press, it’s a real-life tale of love, devotion, and patience – all in the face of unrelenting physical and emotional abuse. However, more than a collection of moments, it’s a story of increased connection to Allah and a deepening of religious experience.

When we throw ourselves into Nisha’s tale, and into her shoes, we learn that her decision to stay is due in part to cultural restrictions and taboos surrounding divorce. Her decisions are a by-product of un-relenting South Indian 1960s and 70s social pressure to put on a happy face and push her sons to succeed in studies and other projects – even though Nisha and her three boys were suffering every day behind closed doors.

Patience in an Abusive Marriage?: Podcast ep. 2

May 6, 2016May 19, 2017 by UmDayo ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Podcasted by Kaighla Um Dayo and Theresa Corbin

Too many Muslims are suffering (and forcing their kids to suffer) in an abusive marriage, often under the belief and delusion that somehow Allah loves those who patiently endure abuse at the hands of their spouse. Or, they believe that what they are suffering isn’t *exactly* abuse. Or, worse, they have been told by religious leaders and family members to “stay for the sake of the kids and have patience”.

Here, we refute all these myths.

Just a Peek, Please?

April 22, 2016April 21, 2016 by Corbin ♥ 1 Comment

Written by Janet Kozak

In January 2015, Artist Ameena Khan put a call out to some Muslim women. She asked for art contributions to her newest series of paintings entitled “Just a Peek, Please?” Those who replied to her inquiry were asked to give a personal statement they wanted to share with a stranger.

Khan did not give any guidance other than asking them to be honest. What the women sent back were stories, memories, poems, and confessions.

Khan also asked those who wore hijab to donate a scarf that she could use in the work. It was bold choice that makes the art all the more powerful. Knowing that the included scarves belonged to (and were worn by) real women, helps us connect more to both the art and story. The series of 26 mixed media paintings on 12″x12″ canvases was started and completed in 2015 – though Khan began brainstorming the concept about two years prior.

One of the 26 paintings and poems in the series, Stages of Live, depicts the poignant narrative life story of a woman who is proud to both wear hijab in life and be buried in it as well.

Stages of Life, 2015. Image copyright Ameena Khan

“When I donned the hijab in 1980, covering was like a carefully placed bandage over a deep wound. Since then I have covered at work, at school, while nursing my babies, through chemotherapy and radiation, and past hostile stares. In the end, when I return to Allah (SWT) my sisters in Islam will cover me in finality and with love. I live, and die, under this cover of honor.”