Safe Communities

In light of the Kavanaugh confirmation, there have been many patriarchal narratives that have surfaced from within the Muslim community that either treat sexual violence as existing only in non-Muslim spaces or which diminish the experiences of Muslim survivors of sexual violence.  To address the #MeToo movement in a Muslim context, this statement addresses the imperative for our community to address this violence from within and to correct much of the problematic theological basis that underpins the patriarchal responses to survivors.

More specifically, the response of many Muslim authority figures to the sexual abuse that Muslim women (cis and trans), girls and non-binary folks face has been appalling and deeply concerning. When Muslim women (cis and trans), girls and non-binary folks speak up about the sexual abuse they have suffered from Muslim men, they are faced with denial or counseled to remain silent and be patient. They are told that their call for justice will further contribute to Islamophobic sentiments and harm the community. These problematic methods of silencing survivors from attaining justice is a form of oppression that upholds a culture of impunity that allows abuse to flourish.

But Islam is unequivocal in its call to stand with those who are oppressed (mustad‘afin) as well as against oppression. We thus call on our communities to stand with Muslim women (cis and trans), girls and non-binary folks who have faced sexual abuse. As Muslims, we must stand for justice, not only when we are targeted as a community but also when the perpetrators are members of our communities. The Qur’an reminds us of this moral duty of ours by urging us to stand for justice, even if against our own loved ones (Q. 4:135). The Prophet (saw) also stated clearly: “Help your brother, whether he is an oppressor or oppressed.” When asked what it meant to help the oppressor, the Prophet (saw) said: “to stop his oppressive behavior” (Bukhari, hadith no. 633 in the Book of Oppressions). Islam’s support for those who have been oppressed is so clear that we are told by the Prophet (saw) that there is no barrier between Allah and the prayer of the oppressed (Musnad Ahmad).

Islam recognizes the rights of one who has been raped and the injustice done to them.  In fact, the Quran was particularly sensitive to the sexual vulnerability faced by women in society (Quran 24:11-20 and 24:33). A woman who has been slandered is directly protected in the Qur’an (24:4), her testimony overpowering that of her slanderer(s).  While Islamic law held very stringent requirements in proving zina cases, it did make possible the prosecution of sexual assault as a discretionary punishment. In taking Islam as our ethical standard, we insist that as a community, we must focus on supporting survivors of sexual abuse.  If we become overly concerned with the technicalities of evidentiary standards, we risk encouraging a culture of impunity by not holding perpetrators accountable. This leads to rape culture, a culture of oppression and injustice (fasaad) that the Quran speaks out against vehemently (Quran 5:8, 5:64, 2:205, 25:19, 39:47, 42:42). This also goes against the example of the Prophet (saw), who believed women who came to him seeking justice for sexual violence (Sunan Abi Dawud 4379). Indeed, Allah counsels us in the Quran that our faith (imaan) and our piety necessitate taking a stand against injustice (Quran 5:8), even if that means standing against those who are close to us, our friends and family (Quran 4:135).  

Moreover, while Islam certainly counsels us to desist from publicizing the sins of an individual, this does not apply to situations where these sinful acts are part of a systematic and pervasive form of injustice and violence against vulnerable populations.  The Quran is clear that when someone has been wronged, Allah supports them in speaking out about the injustice (zulm) they suffer (Quran 4:148).  In such a situation, our response as believers is not to silence the voice of the oppressed (mazlum) but to stand up for them, amplify their voices, and demand justice on their behalf (Quran 5:8).

While Qur’anic verses are categorical in their support of survivors seeking justice for sexual violence, it is important to underscore the political, social, and cultural context that makes addressing this type of violence exponentially more important in the Muslim community.

Muslim women (cis and trans), girls and non-binary folks are often forced to navigate multiple systems of oppression, including at the intersection of patriarchy and Islamophobia. There is no shortage in the ways that Muslim women (cis and trans), girls and non-binary folks experience gendered forms of violence including sexual assault, domestic violence, family abuse, neglect, and physical assaults at the intimate, interpersonal, family,  community, and state level through policies and dehumanizing systems.

Moreover, certain groups of Muslim survivors are marginalized in multiple ways and hence face sexual violence at far higher rates. For example, Black Muslims form over 25% of our community and Black women face some of the highest rates of sexual assault among all groups of women in the country. LGBTQ people face higher rates of sexual assault than straight, cisgender people. LGBTQ Muslims in our community are deeply margnalized and stigmatized as it is and they need to be believed, heard and respected and counseled, especially for matters of sexual violence. Sexual violence in our community is rooted in not just patriarchy, but racism and colonialism.

As Muslim women, we recognize that these cases can be picked up by the mainstream media and the right-wing Islamophobia machine to depict Muslim men as sexual predators and justify surveillance, entrapment, and the punitive targeting of Muslim communities as a whole. While such narratives must be categorically rejected and resisted, this fight cannot be used to overlook the importance of also addressing the existence of such forms of violence in our communities.

Survivors also suffer from such Islamophobic tropes and the state’s surveillance and criminalization. These narratives further the idea that violence against women is inherent to Islam, that Muslim women (cis and trans), girls and non-binary folks don’t resist gendered forms of violence, and that gender-based violence within Muslim communities is the norm. Some of the consequences that survivors face from such harmful tropes include more intrusive forms of questioning by law enforcement agencies, immigration enforcement agencies, refugee services agencies, and they face greater hurdles in accessing support. As a consequence, these barriers prevent survivors from fully accessing internal community resources, and second survivors must navigate Islamophobic systems that view them in a dehumanizing way. Meanwhile, abusers use these tropes to silence victims by threatening them with statements such as if they were to come forward, they would be bringing negative and Islamophobic attention to the community.

The community leadership further amplifies the abusers’ call by silencing victims. This practice must end. Survivors cannot bear the burden of living through their own experiences of Islamophobia & abuse, and also be responsible for the broader structure of Islamophobia and how it impacts the Muslim community as a whole. This is unjust and allows Islamophobes and abusers to dictate how we as a community provide safety and justice internally to our communities. Further, we reject the idea that  we must choose between seeking justice for Muslim  survivors of sexual abuse or protecting our communities. These binaries are dangerous, and further an environment of impunity that makes our collective communities far less safer.

If justice for Muslims is about justice for all Muslims, then this must include victims of the state, but also those who been subjected to gender based violence.  Our faith not only calls for it, but demands it.

Signed:

FITNA (Feminist Islamic Troublemakers of North America)
HEART Women and Girls
Darakshan Raja
Maha Hilal
Muslim Youth Leadership Council
Aïcha Belabbes

by Nadiah Mohajir

HEART Women & Girls initially was founded to focus on improving access to sexual health information and education in Muslim communities. As we held workshops across the country, we quickly realized something: once facilitators set a safe space and gained the trust of participants, the sheer number of stories of sexual violence that were shared were overwhelming. As a result, we quickly made the deliberate decision to include sexual assault awareness education in every one of its sexual health workshops. We believed that it would be a disservice to participants to not also cover topics such as boundaries, consent, and healthy relationships in our sexual health education programming. While discussing sexual violence is different than discussing women’s health, these two topics intersect in the experience of being a Muslim woman, understanding one’s body, and exercising bodily autonomy.

Last year, the importance of this work was more evident than ever. A young woman came forward with allegations of sexual assault against a prominent Chicago imam, Abdullah Saleem. HEART board and staff, along with a team of volunteers, publicly supported her, and within days, received dozens upon dozens of phone calls and emails from survivors of the same perpetrator. We began connecting these young women to the resources they needed: legal services, contacts in the criminal justice system, therapists, and awareness materials.

Of the numerous survivor stories related to this case that HEART initially collected, five survivors chose to move forward with civil legal proceedings, as reported in the New York Times in February 2015. The Illinois States Attorney filed criminal charges shortly afterwards. Both cases have been proceeding – and on August 25, 2016, Abdullah Saleem entered a plea bargain for both charges in the criminal case. This means that the criminal case was resolved out of court through a process of negotiation.  As a result, the victims do not have to face the exhausting ordeal of going to trial and testifying in front of the defense, which typically utilizes tactics that humiliate and tear down the witness.

The importance of this milestone is one that should be recognized. Abdullah Saleem has plead guilty and was sentenced to two years probation and must register as a sex offender. The survivors – both those participating in the criminal and civil cases, but also those who are watching silently from the sidelines, are able to witness some semblance of justice being served in this world. Those that worked to advocate and support them, in a community that is reluctant to address this issue head on, have found some reprieve on this uphill battle. Those that were worried more about the community’s or perpetrator’s reputation than enveloping the survivors in an embrace of mercy and safety, can no longer deny the power of justice being done despite their continuous pushback every step of the way.

This case and its public reaction highlighted the need for HEART’s work more than ever and illustrates some important takeaways:

The incredible courage of survivors

The bravery, courage, and resilience of the brave young woman who first came forward, and the many women and men who followed, sought legal assistance, including those that just called to say, “me too,” is unparalleled and should be at the forefront of every sexual assault discussion. These are men and women in our communities who knew full well that many would not believe them and knew the hostility they would face. Some of these men and women were disclosing to their families for the very first time, and beginning a very personal and private journey to healing and justice. These men and women lived with these experiences for months,  years, decades, and came together in their own ways to very loudly and strongly say “No more,” so that no one else has to endure what they experienced. These men and women, who have not revealed their name or face publicly, but do have a story for all to hear regardless of their community’s unbelievable silence. This is what you call incredible courage and resilience.

Lack of awareness

Many Muslims don’t have the knowledge or the language to identify sexual violence. They often incorrectly attribute sexual violence to being limited to rape, and end up minimizing or ignoring all other abuses. Instead of identifying the actions of abuse, they are often excused as behaviors that “men/boys/elders do.” We also have found that many survivors don’t have an understanding of what is happening to them or even a basic understanding of their bodies and sexuality.

Lack of first responders or resources

There are not enough resources or first responders and professionals trained to address the needs of Muslim survivors in a religiously and culturally competent way. Among the stories we collected, we learned that often times, some of the first people Muslim survivors disclosed to were their local imams, teachers, and school administrators. Yet, due to limited training and knowledge, these individuals often missed the mark in offering a victim-centric response and connecting the survivors to the help they needed. Additionally, we also learned that the secular resources were also not meeting the Muslim communities’ needs. The organizations lacked the culturally competency to be able to provide an appropriate service to those who sought help. Muslim survivors also admitted to not even knowing that resources existed for them in the first place, and didn’t have the tools to appropriately navigate that system.

High rates of underreporting

We know that sexual assault is one of the most underreported crimes in this country, with nearly 68% of sexual assaults never being reported to law enforcement. From our work with Muslim survivors, we know that the likelihood of not reporting is even higher among Muslims, due to the shame, stigma, and lack of awareness associated with sexual assault. While the data specific to Muslims, or even faith communities is limited, anecdotally, we have seen that more than 85-90% of survivors in the Muslim community do not report to law enforcement. To gain a better understanding of some of the barriers facing survivors and reporting, please watch this short video we developed.

This is just the beginning

This particular criminal case is over after nearly two years while the civil case continues.  This was the work of many survivors, advocates, professionals, and experts coming together from the anti-sexual assault movement, law enforcement, legal services, media, and social services. Each one of these parties played a crucial role in shining a light on the stories of these brave survivors and demanding accountability and justice. A number of elder community members even made it a point to be present on each of the court dates to show their support for the survivors. The need for this kind of collaborative approach cannot be underscored. Yet, so much more work needs to be done. There is a dearth of research on the needs of Muslim survivors. There is a dearth of culturally-sensitive resources, services, and information available to Muslim communities on sexual assault. And there is a great need for all of us to work collectively to build safer spaces for our survivors and to hold their abusers accountable, so that those who are violated are heard and believed and no longer have to suffer in silence.

We, at HEART, are motivated more than ever, to continue building on this work. We hope to produce more resources, lead research studies focusing on the needs of the Muslim communities, and implement awareness workshops and trainings for community and religious leaders. The responsibility is on all of us to build safer communities for the most vulnerable. I hope that you can join us as we continue this crucial work.