Aisha’s Marriage in Focus

October 28, 2016October 28, 2016 by Corbin ♥ 9 Comments

Written by Theresa Corbin

I’ve written about it in the context of other issues a couple of times now, but I thought Aisha’s (Allah be pleased with her) age at marriage deserved a post all on its own. Because lots of people have this same question: Why did the Prophet (PBUH) marry Aisha when she was so young?

We don’t know Aisha’s age when she married the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The thing is they didn’t keep birth records back in those days. They also didn’t celebrate birthdays or really even keep track of age. We do have reports that Aisha was anywhere from 9-18 at the time of her marriage.

What is important for us to understand about Aisha’s marriage to the Prophet is that we cannot apply our standards in 2016 to people 1,400 plus years ago and vice versa. When people do put lives 1,400 years ago into 21^st century context, it is as if they admit to not understanding historical context or ever having taken a history class in their lives. And that’s just sad.

Life in the 7^th c.

We do not live in the same world at all. In the 7th century people were not guaranteed to see the ripe old age of 30. People matured early and were ready for marriage a heck of a lot earlier. Looking back even a few hundred years ago, the legal age of marriage was as young as anything from 10-14 years old.

Richard A. Posner, chief judge of the U.S. court of appeals writes, “The law governing the age of consent has changed dramatically in the United States during this century. Most states codified a statutory age of consent during the nineteenth century, and the usual age was ten years.” [1]

Marriage in the 7^th c.

The practice of marrying early was not an aberration to the people during the time of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and Aisha (May Allah be pleased with her). Christians, Jews, and pagans all married very young. So if we are going to criticize Prophet Muhammad’s marriage to Aisha, why don’t we have a problem with King John of England marrying 12-year-old Isabella of Angoulême?

Which islamwich Are You?

September 30, 2016October 13, 2016 by Corbin ♥ 16 Comments

Written by Theresa Corbin

To commemorate nearly 4 years in the blogging game, I have compiled (…er… reposted) a list of types of islamwiches. Try them all, see which one best suits you, and let us know which islamwich you are by taking the poll at the end.

1 – The Turkey-Ham on Rye

The Turkey-Ham is a turkey roasted like a ham, meant to taste like a ham, but is totally turkey. This kind of islamwich likes to seem as though he or she is playing it fast and loose.

Pros: You tend to know your stuff concerning religious matters. At first glance others might think you are doing something questionable, but you have a million legit proofs to prove them wrong. You don’t follow anyone blindly, and want/expect others to do the same.

Cons: You have a hard time admitting you are wrong. You tend to be rebellious and head strong.

Looks like ham. Tastes like ham. Must be turkey

Why we love the Turkey-Ham on rye:

This islamwich knows his or her stuff, and we could learn a thing or three from him/her.

What Trump Could Mean for America

September 16, 2016September 16, 2016 by Corbin ♥ 5 Comments

Written by Theresa Corbin

On islamwich’s about page, we promise to never talk about politics … then we talk about politics.

Are we admitting to lying? No. What we mean by not talking about politics is that don’t talk about Middle Eastern politics because that is not Islam. Many Westerners cannot seem to unpack Islam from ME politics, le sigh. But we do reserve the right to discuss politics if politics specifically talks about us and/or our religion.

And that is exactly what Trump has been doing for some time now- talking about American Muslim and Muslims worldwide. And beyond that, Trump has said some hateful things about our non-Muslim brothers and sisters in humanity. We take serious issue with that. So game on, Trump. Game. On.

When we try to assess the risk we face with a Trump presidency, all we can go on is what he says he will do. But mostly he is very, very vague about how he will do what he promises.

One of his favorite things to do is promise Americans that things will be “great “… because he is “great” … and people say he is “great” … and we should believe him because he is “great” and we will see just how “great” it will be–circular logic much?

What Trump Could Mean for Pakistan

September 15, 2016September 16, 2016 by Corbin ♥ 5 Comments

Written by Saadia Haq of the Human Lens

In today’s world, most common people are getting more and more obsessed about one thing, i.e the United States of America. Pakistan’s no different with our long term difficult marriage or you could call it a “thorny alliance” with the super power that has a big say in the affairs of my State.

At this point in time, most people I speak with are fixated with the turning tides in the American elections, much cause for dissent and concern.

Obviously, we note Republican’s presidential runner up Donald Trump’s sensational campaign to be a crude circus that flirts with xenophobia, Islamophobia and the need to make Americans once again protected.

According to Trump, America is under grave threats from many enemies. Hang on, every time, we heard such notions from the White House (the inappropriateness of this name, really) USA conducted illegal and disastrous invasions of several sovereign Muslim countries.

So we Pakistanis are more wary of this Trump fellow describing how his post win scenario where he shall seek India’s help in addressing the “problem” of what he describes as a “semi-unstable” nuclear armed Pakistan.

Read more on Saadia’s website here.

Find part two here, where Theresa talks Trump an what could his presidency could mean for America. Spoiler Alert: It ain’t pretty.

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Eid al Adha 2016

September 12, 2016September 9, 2016 by Corbin ♥ 2 Comments

mubarak-1

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.)

7 Things Mosques Can Learn from Churches in America

August 26, 2016August 26, 2016 by UmDayo ♥ 7 Comments

Written by Kaighla Um Dayo

I’ll just say this out loud: I miss church.

When I say “church”, I mean the evangelical, Protestant Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night gatherings at the church building with people to worship God.

(side note: Former Catholics, we understand church probably was far less fun and lively, and Theresa doesn’t miss Mass ONE BIT.)

Many converts who come to Islam from a Protestant, and specifically evangelical background, are terribly disappointed upon entering the fold of Islam and finding attendance at the masjid (mosque) … well, it just doesn’t compare.

Although some of the reasons the experience can’t be duplicated are practical ones (e.g. not mixing with the opposite sex, music being a point of debate, etc.), we would like to put forth the idea that Muslims in charge of the running of masajid (mosques) could really learn a lot if they ever attended a church.

DISCLAIMER: WE ARE NOT TELLING YOU TO WORSHIP JESUS. Calm down. Also, we understand that not all churches are inclusive, welcoming, etc. and not all masajid are guilty of the opposite.