Op-ed: "Why Muslim women in the Middle East are doing Better than their Peers in UK?"

Iqbal Tamimi, Director for Arab Women Media Watch Centre in UK, Middle East Online, Why Muslim women in the Middle East are doing Better than their Peers in UK?, 17 Oct 2011

"Alriyadh, the national Saudi newspaper published an interesting story on December, 18, 2008, about an unusual marriage condition requested by a Saudi woman at the court of the city of Qatif, where she demanded that her future husband should provide her with 3 personal computers as part of her Dowry, and that he should guarantee her a lifetime access to internet. The groom refused her request, claiming that “internet has bad influence on women and facilitates 'virtual' mixing between men and women”. This incident indicates how important the internet has become in the life of Muslim women especially those who are isolated for social or health reasons. But this incident also shows that internet flirting is a major concern for Saudi men who are living in a segregated society, even though they make the highest percentage of subscribers on dating websites in the Arab region."

Cleric calls for ban on net talaq

Times of India, Cleric calls for ban on net talaq, 17 Mar 2011 ""The uttering of triple talaq at one go among Muslims should be made invalid. Now, several people have made a mockery of this process by using new technologies to get a divorce," said member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board Maulana Asghar Ali Imam Mahdi Salafi. "By uttering the word talaq thrice at a time, married men are exploiting women," added Salafi, who is also the general secretary of Markazi Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadees Hind."

Talaq on net 'joke'

IBN Live News, Talaq joke during internet chat may cost youth his marriage, 27 Oct 2010 "A Talaq joke to his wife on the internet may cost an e-savvy youth his marriage. The youth, a resident of Qatar, had spelt talaq three times while chatting with his wife but little did he realise that his humourous intention in cyberspace will nullify his marriage in reality. Islamic seminary Dar-ul-Uloom Deoband has ruled that saying talaq thrice even casually without any serious overtone is valid as per the Shariyat (Islamic Law) and the marriage stands nullified. The nationality or the identity of the youth was not revealed. The ruling was given by Deoband' fatwa section Dar-ul-Ifta in reply to a query posted by a youth from Qatar. The youth in his query (question number 26075) had stated that while chatting with his wife over net he jokingly spelled talaq thrice. Claiming to have less knowledge about Islam, the youth said that he didn't know how Talaq is taken."

Man accidentally divorces wife during Skype chat

searchengineoptimisation.eu, Man accidentally divorces wife during Skype chat, 1 Nov 2011 "A Muslim man is paying a high price for a joke he made while chatting to his wife on a messenger conversation on Skype.

"The man in question jokingly typed “talaq”, which translates as “I divorce thee”, three times in a row during a conversation with his wife on the internet messenger. Worried about his joke, the husband decided to seek the advice of the Islamic authorities in case his actions invalidated his marriage." [posted retrospectively]

John Esposito blog post

John Esposito, washingtonpost.com, On Faith Panelists Blog: 'Will Muslims impose Shariah?', 20 Aug 2010 "One of the frequent battle cries raised by those who warn that Muslims want to overwhelm the West is that that Muslims want to impose Shariah in America and Europe. Just as critics of Islam in the West question whether Islam is compatible with democracy and Muslims can be loyal citizens, many Muslims, in light of the rise and increase of Islamophobia and threats to their civil liberties, ask if democracy can accommodate Islam."

Refers to the internet.

"O'Muslims"

John Downes, Sunday Tribune, Irish 'Sharia law' website gets 270,000 hits a month, 7 Mar 2010

"An Irish Islamic website which argues for the introduction of Sharia law here and extols the benefits of Islamic rules for women claims to have had nearly 270,000 hits last month alone.

"Targeted at what it called Irish "O'Muslims", the Muslim Public Affairs Council website, www.mpac.ie, also warns readers about the dangers of imitating the Kuffar (non-believers in Islam)."

Dress code issues

Bassam Za'za', Gulf News, Man claims fiancee hid beard under niqab, 10 Feb 2010 "An Arab ambassador said he decided to call off his wedding immediately after he discovered that his wife-to-be, who wears a niqab, was bearded and cross-eyed.

"The ambassador claimed that the bride's mother deceived his mother, when she went to see his Gulf national wife-to-be, by showing her pictures of the bride's sister"

Marriage

Oxford Times, Imam bridges a wedding divide, 6 Jun 09 "Most had spent months looking for an imam, and many found Dr Hargey after contacting American Muslim leaders via the Internet. ...

" ... Dr Taj Hargey, chairman of the Muslim Education Centre of Oxford, said he had performed about 36 marriages in the past two years between Muslim women and non-Muslim men."

tlq

Arab News, Shariah court approves SMS divorce, 9 Apr 09 "A Shariah court here has approved the divorce of a young Saudi woman in her 20s whose husband sent her an SMS text from Iraq saying he had divorced her.

"The husband, who is in Iraq to participate in what he described as “jihad,” also telephoned two of his friends who witnessed his marriage and told them that he had divorced his wife."

Research: 'Amrikan Shari'a'

This looks like a useful article, with its integration of online concepts and issues into a discussion on family law in the USA:

Saminaz Zaman, Amrikan Shari'a: The Reconstruction of Islamic Family Law in the United States, South Asia Research, Vol. 28, No. 2, 185-202 (2008)

"This article examines the growth and development of the hybridized practice of Muslim laws in the shadow of the American legal system, a form of unofficial law that may be called amrikan shari'a. Following the immigration trajectory of many American Muslims, transnational information links forged by wide-scale immigration are explored, particularly the innovative use of new online resources available to Muslim immigrants in America and the proliferation of online fiqh discussion groups, which has fostered the very American character of the do-it-yourself mufti. A further section considers several mahr cases that have reached American courtrooms and compares one such case with a similar English case, which was decided rather differently. The article concludes with an assessment of how the Bush government's ‘War on Terror’ and domestic US developments, such as legalizing gay marriage in Massachusetts and the increasing presence of second-generation Muslim Americans, combine to affect the future of amrikan shari'a within a secular legal system."

SMS Divorce

divorcediva.co.uk, New law to stop Muslim men divorcing by text, 29 Jul 08 "It seems the new trend for Muslim men is telling their wives by text they want a divorce, its reported in the gulf daily news. Bahrain Women’s Union are concerned that there needs to be a family law implemented as its wrong that Muslim men can legally divorce their wives with a text which is such an inhumane way to treat their wives."

Refers to Gulf Daily News, SMS divorces spur call for family law , 29 Jul 08 "Bahrain could soon follow a growing regional trend of Muslim men divorcing their wives by text message, if a family law is not implemented soon, women's rights groups warned yesterday.

"They say that it is wrong that men could legally divorce their wives in such a spontaneous and inhumane way."

Also refers to Malaysia.