Highbrow Magazine - Islam https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/islam en Analyzing the Threat of ISIS https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4265-analyzing-threat-isis <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Fri, 09/05/2014 - 14:25</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1isis.jpg?itok=QTvvEkJd"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1isis.jpg?itok=QTvvEkJd" width="480" height="300" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From <a href="http://www.lobelog.com/lets-keep-isis-in-perspective/">Lobelog</a> and reprinted with permission by our content partner New America Media: </strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Ed's note:</strong> <strong><em>This commentary originally appeared on Inter Press Service via Lobelog, and is reprinted in New America Media with permission. New America Media is our content partner.</em> </strong></p> <p> </p> <p>American political and media commentary on ISIS (which calls itself the Islamic State) since the beheading of James Foley has been flush with exaggeration and skewed focus. Identifying Foley’s murderer is desirable but far less important than tackling ISIS proper and its leadership. Unfortunately, many ISIS cadres have done far worse off camera. The voice narrating the video of Foley’s execution was British, and he was probably chosen by ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi simply to produce maximum shock effect in the West.</p> <p> </p> <p>Most importantly, ISIS faces numerous challenges in holding onto what it has now, particularly in Iraq, where further expansion will likely be marginal. There are also ISIS vulnerabilities to be exploited by a new Iraqi government with much broader appeal. ISIS clearly poses a threat to the US (and other countries), but that threat needs to be soberly assessed.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Dialing Down the Hysteria</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>The beheading of Foley, a dreadful and tragic event, sparked a surge of gloom, doom, and hype among senior US officials and within the media at large. Of late, estimates of total ISIS fighters and foreign recruits have soared, but are based on what could only be iffy information. This is precisely what ISIS’s leaders intended.</p> <p> </p> <p>ISIS perceives, as do other ruthless entities, that the US (and its allies) are traumatized far more by the death of one citizen than vastly broader atrocities in the Middle East. Hurt by US airstrikes (and fearing more) ISIS hoped to frighten Americans enough to make Washington back off. In that sense, the execution boomeranged: US and Western leaders are more alarmed, but determined to ramp up, not relax, measures against the radical Sunni group.</p> <p> </p> <p>ISIS is dangerous, but its nature and the threat it represents must be defined accurately. A bizarre characterization of ISIS was made by Joint Chiefs Chairman General Martin Dempsey last week when he said ISIS has an “apocalyptic, end of days strategic vision.” This concept relates more closely to the Biblical New Testament Book of Revelation, reflecting mostly Christian, not Islamic, thinking. In fact, ISIS’s strategic vision, in historical terms, is rather pedestrian, albeit infused with barbarism: a quest to establish its version of a state, reinforce its power, defend or expand its present conquests, and lash out at its enemies.</p> <p> </p> <p>Territorially, ISIS is weaker than suggested by the lurid maps showcased regularly by the media. Over 90% of the land under ISIS control is the driest, most underpopulated, and poorest in the greater Fertile Crescent region. In that respect, some of its holdings in Iraq are its most valuable assets, including large intact cities along rivers.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Vulnerabilities</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>The militant al-Nusra Front (less abusive than ISIS, and clashing with it in Syria) is well aware of ISIS’s vulnerability to foreign military action. It is no coincidence that al-Nusra released American hostage Peter Theo Curtis only days after Foley’s murder. Al-Nusra evidently is afraid of a harsh US response against ISIS, and hopes to keep out of the line of fire.</p> <p> </p> <p>Despite the extent of its success, ISIS does not have a very large army of dedicated fighters. Its fanaticism and its use of shock, awe, and terror have been force multipliers. However, spread thin along the edges of its sprawling realm, it recognizes increased American aerial attacks in support of better-equipped Kurdish and revitalized Iraqi Army units could threaten areas far beyond just the Mosul Dam.</p> <p> </p> <p>The heavy weapons ISIS secured while seizing Mosul and has since used to its advantage are largely irreplaceable, and continuing US air attacks would erode that edge quite a lot. At some point, ISIS could be reduced to fighting much as it did before—as light infantry.</p> <p> </p> <p>Furthermore, having generated a more intense foreign and Iraqi domestic reaction, if faced with stiffer opposition simultaneously in both Syria and Iraq, ISIS would have to juggle its limited forces among various threatened sectors (always dicey). ISIS has also been fighting behind its own lines against surrounded Iraqi garrisons in one city, a major dam, Iraq’s largest refinery, several towns, and some areas dominated by hostile Sunni Arab tribes.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2isis.jpg" style="height:431px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Many non-extremist ISIS Iraqi allies are potentially unreliable. However, ISIS does not have enough core combatants to fully occupy its vast holdings, so it depends heavily upon these allies.</p> <p> </p> <p>As with its al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) predecessor, the restrictions and abuses committed by ISIS will eventually alienate many localities, secular Sunni Arab factions, and tribes. To keep tribes, Ba’athists, and former insurgents who do not share its fanatical vision loyal, ISIS might have to spread around some of its money.</p> <p> </p> <p>Yet, in the face of airstrikes and warnings of worse from the Jordanians, Saudis and others close to former Sunni Arab Iraqi military officers and certain tribes, these fellow travelers could get very nervous about their future with ISIS. And with their prior nemesis in Baghdad, Nouri al-Maliki, gone, cutting a deal with a new government while decent terms can still be achieved could begin to look very inviting.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>A New and Improved Iraqi Government?</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>To encourage the desertion of ISIS’s allies, prime minister-designate Haider al-Abadi must put together a new government tailored to—despite Baghdad’s political snake pit—reduce the Sunni Arab grievances upon which ISIS thrives. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, a source of emulation for nearly all Iraqi Shi’a, knows this.</p> <p> </p> <p>He appealed at prayers on Aug. 22 for a government made up of leaders who care about Iraq’s “future and its citizens,” regardless of their ethnic and religious affiliations, in a “realistic” fashion. Sistani’s pressure on Iraq’s dominant Shi’a majority politicians already made the difference in ousting Maliki. Hopefully, Sistani will keep the heat on until such a government is formed.</p> <p> </p> <p>If many of ISIS’s allies are not wooed away, even a considerably revitalized Iraqi Army and Peshmerga supported by airstrikes might make only slow, costly progress against ISIS forces. In cities like Mosul, Fallujah, Ramadi, and others, ISIS could be near impossible to oust short of inflicting severe damage on these large urban areas. This is what happened across Syria in fighting between the regime and various rebels.</p> <p> </p> <p>In 2004, from my perch in the US Intelligence Community, I warned of the destruction that would result from an American assault on insurgent-dominated Fallujah. Sure enough, despite the employment of crack US forces on the ground and far more careful use of firepower than by the Assad regime in Syria, the US operation heavily damaged the majority of the city. Some of the residual bitterness over that carnage still fuels militancy there—ISIS’s first unchallengeable conquest in Iraq.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2iraq%20%28wiki%29.jpg" style="height:414px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Overseas Threat</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Ironically, the danger of ISIS attacks radiating outward from its Syrian-Iraqi base would become more significant if ISIS suffered major reverses in the field. If the self-declared “Caliphate” was in retreat and its area of control shrinking, recruits flush with rage and possessing foreign passports would be more likely to leave intent on revenge.</p> <p> </p> <p>There is, however, a more proximate threat. With numerous individuals inspired by ISIS’s twisted attitudes probably still at home, terrorist attacks could occur even if Western passport holders fighting with ISIS never return. Some of these domestic “sleepers” could attack soft targets at any time in response to calls from ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi—or as individuals.</p> <p> </p> <p>So is ISIS a direct threat to the US? Yes. However, the same can be said of a number of al-Qaeda-affiliated groups. Instead of obsessing over that definition or chasing down one killer, all concerned must focus on how that overarching threat could manifest itself both domestically and regionally.</p> <p><strong>Author Bio: </strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong><em>Wayne White is a former Deputy Director of the State Department's Middle East/South Asia Intelligence Office (INR/NESA). Earlier in the Foreign Service and later in the INR he served in Niger, Israel, Egypt, the Sinai and Iraq as an intelligence briefer to senior officials of many Middle East countries and as the State Department's representative to NATO Middle East Working Groups in Brussels. Now a Scholar with the Middle East Institute, Mr. White has written numerous articles, been cited in scores of publications, and made numerous TV and radio appearances</em></strong><em>.</em></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><strong>From <a href="http://www.lobelog.com/lets-keep-isis-in-perspective/">Lobelog</a> and reprinted with permission by our content partner New America Media</strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/isis" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">isis</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/islamic-state" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">islamic state</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/iraq" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Iraq</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/war-iraq" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">war in iraq</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/islam" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Islam</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/fumdamentalists" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">fumdamentalists</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/terrorism" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">terrorism</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/james-foley" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">james foley</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/beheadings" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">beheadings</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/obama" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Obama</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Wayne White</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New America Media</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Fri, 05 Sep 2014 18:25:06 +0000 tara 5149 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4265-analyzing-threat-isis#comments A Sunni-Shi’a War in the Middle East? Not Likely https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4083-sunni-shi-war-middle-east-not-likely <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Fri, 06/20/2014 - 08:59</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1muslimmap.jpg?itok=R2oOpC9D"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1muslimmap.jpg?itok=R2oOpC9D" width="480" height="268" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/06/will-there-be-a-sunni-shia-war-in-the-middle-east-not-likely.php">New America Media</a></strong>:</p> <p> </p> <p>The success of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in capturing large territories in Syria and Northern Iraq, and now threatening Baghdad, has raised once again the specter of a Sunni-Shi’a war in the Middle East. Such a scenario is possible, but unlikely. That’s because Sunni and Shi’a believers throughout the world are divided into many factions living under different social conditions and with different religious, social and political agendas. These differences greatly reduce the possibility of the emergence of a coalition of either group into a single bloc opposing the other.</p> <p> </p> <p>ISIS belongs to a small faction of Sunni Islam committed to extremist fundamentalist religious convictions that they seek to impose on other Muslims. In this they have common cause with the Salafi movement (salaf means “ancestors,” referring to the original founders of Islam).</p> <p> </p> <p>The Taliban of Pakistan and Afghanistan and Al-Qaeda also spring from the Salafi movement. The Salfis view Shi’ism as heresy. They believe that Shi’a believers are “polytheists” because of their reverence for Ali, cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammad and his descendants. Salafi preachers have authorized the killing of Shi’a Muslims as a religious duty. Salafi adherents are found throughout the Arabian Peninsula and also in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.</p> <p> </p> <p>ISIS has roots dating back to 2000 and has evolved to the point that it is functioning as a quasi-government at present with an organized leadership and judicial, financial and military systems. They are actively hegemonic, hoping to establish an Islamic Caliphate, hearkening to medieval times, governed exclusively by their own narrow interpretation of Shari’a Law.</p> <p> </p> <p>Meanwhile, Shi’ism also exists in many forms. The form known as “Twelver Shism” has been the State religion in Iran since the 18th Century, and is practiced in other nations where believers are a plurality or a majority. Although Americans have been led to believe that Shi’a Muslims are also fundamentalists, in fact Shi’ism is far more flexible in its belief system than fundamentalist Sunnis. Besides the “Twelvers” there are Zayyidis in Yemen, Alawis in Syria (the religion of the Assad regime) and Isma’ilis living in many locations throughout the world.</p> <p> </p> <p>Twelver Shi’ism is organized into differing philosophical camps headed by Grand Ayatollahs. Shi’a believers attach themselves to one of these religious leaders from whom they seek guidance on religious matters. There are currently 66 living Grand Ayatollahs living mostly in Iran and Iraq, but also in Afghanistan, Bahrain and Kuwait, each with his own individual view of proper conduct and religious philosophy. A coalition of thought for this diverse body of clerics is highly unlikely.</p> <p> </p> <p>The Islamic Republic of Iran was founded by the followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeni with the controversial doctrine that the most knowledgeable Grand Ayatollah should be the ultimate authority in government and social life. However, many other Grand Ayatollahs disagreed with Ayatollah Khomeini’s view of governance. A number were arrested and stripped of their religious credentials because of their opposition. One of the chief oppositionists to the Khomeinist view of government is Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani of Najaf, the most revered Grand Ayatollah of Iraq.</p> <p> </p> <p>Shi’ites have been under siege everywhere else in the world outside of Iran. Shi’ites in Lebanon were attacked by Israel seeking to cripple Sunni Muslim Palestinians living in refugee camps there. The Alawite regime in Syria holds power, but has been continually attacked by the Sunni majority in that country. The Zayyidis in Yemen and Saudi Arabia have been attacked by the Sunni governments in both nations. The Bahraini majority Shi’ites have been under siege by the ruling Sunni Al-Khalifa family. Hazara “Twelver” Shi’ites have been persecuted and murdered in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Shi’a in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia have been prevented from carrying out religious observances and have been economically disadvantaged. The religious rights of Shi’ites have been curtailed in various parts of Southeast Asia.</p> <p> </p> <p>Now, although Shi’a Muslims are a plurality, perhaps a majority in Iraq, they are under attack by ISIS.</p> <p> </p> <p>Iran, meanwhile, has striven to help Shi’a communities when they have been under attack. Iran was instrumental in the formation of Hezbollah in Lebanon when the Shi’a community was first attacked by Israeli forces in 1980. However, Iran no longer has any effective influence on Hezbollah’s actions. Iran also continues to provide aid to the Assad regime in Syria. It has sheltered Hazara refugees from Afghanistan and Pakistan. Iran has been wary of providing direct aid to other Shi’a communities, such as those in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, despite the fact that ruling powers in those countries have accused them of doing so.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/ayatollahshit.jpg" style="height:468px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>The current crisis in Iraq, though, is not likely to lead to more widespread conflict. ISIS is frightening even for the conservative government of Saudi Arabia and the more liberal government of Jordan. ISIS is well funded, largely because it has commandeered oil fields in Iraq and it robbed the Iraqi Central Bank in Mosul. It continues to receive funding from Salafi “businessmen” in the Gulf States. But support for ISIS will eventually run out, since for many other Arab nations, the ISIS Salafi agenda is far too extreme.</p> <p> </p> <p>And if Iran does enter into confrontation with ISIS, it is not likely to engineer the disparate Shi’a communities in the Middle East into anything resembling a bloc. On practical grounds such an effort would fail, and savvy Iranians know this. Iraqi Shi’a don’t like or agree with Iran’s Islamic Republic governmental structure. Hezbollah in Lebanon has set its own course at home, and is not likely to be under Iranian control. Iran seeks better relations with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, even as the leaders of those nations denigrate Tehran. Even within Iran there will be many factions that will not support any kind of cultivation of a Grand Shi’a Alliance for military or political gain.</p> <p> </p> <p>The United States is now considering making common cause with Iran, something that critics see as a dangerous move that would support “Iranian hegemony.” But this criticism is largely speculation, based on lack of information about Iran and the rest of the Shi’a world.</p> <p> </p> <p>If it is possible for the government of Iraq to repel and contain ISIS with Iran’s help, the United States should definitely support such an action. There need be no real fear at this time that either the Shi’a or Sunni forces will evolve into a kind of World War III in the Middle East.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2assad.jpg" style="height:625px; width:377px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>If Iran itself is attacked, however, all bets are off. Iran fought an eight-year war with Saddam Hussein when it was attacked in 1980. No matter what nationality, if Sunni Muslims make common cause with any group that attacks Iran, they will be met with enormous ferocity.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p><em>William O. Beeman is professor and chair of the department of anthropology, University of Minnesota. He has conducted research in the Middle East for more than 40 years.</em></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>From our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/06/will-there-be-a-sunni-shia-war-in-the-middle-east-not-likely.php">New America Media</a></strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/sunni" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">sunni</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/shia" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">shia</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/shiite" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">shiite</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/ayatollahs" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">ayatollahs</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/iraq" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Iraq</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/iran" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Iran</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/saudi-arabia" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">saudi arabia</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/isis" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">isis</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/iraq-war" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Iraq war</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/united-states-foreign-policy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">united states foreign policy</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/war-iraq" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">war in iraq</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/middle-east" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Middle East</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/islam" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Islam</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/muslims" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Muslims</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">William O. Beeman</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New America Media; Wikipedia Commons</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Fri, 20 Jun 2014 12:59:44 +0000 tara 4878 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4083-sunni-shi-war-middle-east-not-likely#comments Living Within the Confines of an Unhappy, Islamic Marriage https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/2831-living-within-confines-unhappy-islamic-marriage <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Tue, 09/24/2013 - 09:54</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumlatinamuslims%20%28Ed%20Yourdan%20Flickr%29_0.jpg?itok=U7CjG2Aw"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumlatinamuslims%20%28Ed%20Yourdan%20Flickr%29_0.jpg?itok=U7CjG2Aw" width="480" height="360" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>  </p> <p> From our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2013/09/imam-shopping----muslim-womens-long-road-to-islamic-divorce.php">New America Media</a> and the <a href="http://www.arabamericannews.com/news/index.php?mod=article&amp;cat=Community&amp;article=7475">Arab American News</a>:</p> <p>  </p> <p> DETROIT — Recalling the day her Islamic divorce was finalized, Olivia said, "I was more than ecstatic, because it was almost like having a noose around your neck, and just relieved that somebody doesn’t have that power over you, and you’re out of such a hostile situation."</p> <p>  </p> <p> Olivia, who chose not to use her real name, separated from her husband after six years of marriage and divorced him in civil court, but when he refused to grant her a religious divorce, she traveled across the country for four years meeting with imams in different cities asking for a divorce.</p> <p>  </p> <p> "I went to 10 imams," said the Dearborn woman, showing off a permanent scar on her left palm from a glass cut that was caused by an altercation with her ex-husband.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Olivia shared stories with imams about the abuse, including the time she was whacked in the head repeatedly with a key. "I had a concussion. He knocked me upside my head. You know those thick keys, like a Toyota key, the thick ones, he just bashed it into my head about 10 times," she said.</p> <p>  </p> <p> She eventually got a religious divorce, but not from an imam. Olivia’s husband finally agreed to divorce her, after he saw that she was serious about another man and was going to get married to him civilly, even if she didn’t get her religious divorce.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Olivia is now happily remarried and has been separated from her ex-husband for 13 years.</p> <p>  </p> <p> A civil marriage is the concept of marriage as a government institution and involves a marriage license; hence a civil divorce can only be initiated by U.S. courts, which don’t take religious marriages into account, because of the separation of church and state.</p> <p>  </p> <p> In the Muslim community, a religious marriage is recognized with an Islamic marriage contract; therefore the divorce process must be carried out by a religious institution and through one of its clergy members.</p> <p>  </p> <p> To many women, Islamic divorce can be more important than a civil divorce. It allows them to feel divorced in the eyes of God, and is seen as a religious obligation.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Even non-religious women need their Islamic divorce to update their marital status in their homeland’s courts, which might follow the religious verdict. A woman needs to be religiously divorced, if she wants to get remarried and register her new marriage in her country of origin.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Not all women have difficulty getting an Islamic divorce, and religious divorce is also an issue outside of the Muslim community.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Olivia’s story is not unique. Muslim women whose husbands refuse to divorce them religiously have one alternative: They must find an imam to grant them a religious divorce. The process, which can take years and involve traveling to meet with imams across the country, is what author Julie McFarlane calls "imam shopping."</p> <p>  </p> <p> McFarlane is a professor of law at the University of Ontario and says she receives emails from across the country from Muslim women who experience difficulty getting an Islamic divorce. "I tell them to go imam shopping," McFarlane said.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Shopping around for a divorce</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> When a woman wants a religious divorce, she can’t get one unless her husband agrees to divorce her.</p> <p>  </p> <p> There’s a double standard, because when a man wants a religious divorce he doesn’t need the consent of his wife or an imam. If a husband won’t divorce his wife, imams have the authority to grant the woman a divorce anyway, but only if there’s good reason.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Under Islamic Law imams can grant divorces for reasons such as alcohol addiction, gambling, drug abuse, impotence, homosexuality, among other factors.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Imam Ali S. Ali, Director of Muslim Family Services in Detroit, says there are two main reasons men won’t divorce their wives. The first is they want to punish the woman and get revenge. The second is the man’s pride. "She rejected him, and he feels ashamed. He feels rejected," Ali said.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>The power of "Isma" </strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> It is important to note that women wouldn’t experience any difficulty getting an Islamic divorce, if they exercised the powers granted to them under Islamic law. One such power is the woman’s right to uncontested divorce, known as the "Isma."</p> <p>  </p> <p> Before a Muslim woman is married, she can place a provision in her Islamic marriage contract, asking for the "Isma."</p> <p>  </p> <p> Under it, she can initiate getting a divorce at any time, without the consent of her husband or the approval of an imam.</p> <p>  </p> <p> "It’s not the religion. It’s the culture," said Melinda, another woman who didn’t want to use her real name. "Muslim men are not allowed to lay a hand on a woman. They are supposed to treat her like a queen. It’s a very good religion, and the Holy Quran gives women a lot of rights. It says to treat women good and with respect, but they don’t do that."</p> <p>  </p> <p> Melinda, who’s from Dearborn Heights, used the "Isma" when she remarried her ex-husband, because the first time they divorced, it was difficult to get an Islamic divorce, and she didn’t want to go through the process again. Women have to specifically ask for the "Isma."</p> <p>  </p> <p> "It’s not easy. The imams don’t give you a divorce right away, and you have to go and explain and, even if you have many reasons, they still want to give the guy, the man, the upper hand. If you go and say that my husband is hitting me. He mistreated me; they would say you have to be patient. They would say that’s not an excuse," she said.</p> <p>  </p> <p> According to Melinda, her husband was controlling, in addition to being physically and verbally abusive. She wasn’t allowed to wear pants or eyeliner.</p> <p>  </p> <p> He promised he would change, but never did, and when she went to divorce him the second time around, she had no problems and didn’t need approval from an imam or her husband, because she had the "Isma".</p> <p>  </p> <p> "I told him many times I wanted a divorce, but the way some men treat women who are from other countries, they think that you are weak, that you can’t make decisions or go and find a life by yourself," Melinda, who’s from Lebanon said.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Melinda says if it weren’t for the "Isma" the second time around, she would still be married to him, because he would have never divorced her. "I wrote in the contract of the marriage that I can divorce him anytime I want," she said. But not all women are able to get the "Isma." It needs the approval of the husband, who must sign the contract accordingly.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Mona Fadallah, a divorce attorney, who practices family law in Canton, Michigan, says "Isma" is typically frowned upon and not accepted among very conservative families.</p> <p>  </p> <p> "This will not work in the situation where the families are more in control of the marriage. The more traditional families will not go for it," Fadallah said. "I feel like if you exercised it, there would be no Islamic divorce issues."</p> <p>  </p> <p> Melinda says in the culture "Isma" is viewed as shameful, and puts the man down.</p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2muslimwomen%20%28D%20Stanley%20Flickr%29.jpg" style="width: 650px; height: 488px;" /></p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>The fix-it man </strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> Muslim religious leaders take domestic violence seriously, but, as in other communities, religious leaders sometimes wait to see if the couple can work things out, because marriage is sacred.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Imam Husham Al-Husainy of the Karbala Center in Dearborn says when couples come to him and other imams for a divorce, they try to reconcile them and purposely delay the process in hopes that their differences can be resolved.</p> <p>  </p> <p> "I’m actually known as the fix-it man. I’m very specialized in fixing the marriages. The reason is so many times people have come here wanting to get a divorce. I try to fix it, and it actually works in so many cases," he said.</p> <p>  </p> <p> "I never say no, because she might actually deserve a divorce. The file of the marriages is that big, and the file of the divorces is that little," he added, gesturing with his hands.</p> <p>  </p> <p> "If she is beat up, or she gets hurt, of course she has the right to get out. If he’s hurting her physically, yes, she has the right to ask for a divorce."</p> <p>  </p> <p> Imam Ali says there is a process imams must follow when deciding whether to grant a woman her divorce, and all imams have different views on the issue.</p> <p>  </p> <p> "Without talking to the husband, they can’t do it," Imam Ali said.</p> <p>  </p> <p> He says in a situation where the husband doesn’t allow the Islamic divorce, they will get three imams, and they’ll listen to the woman’s complaints and talk to the man as well.</p> <p>  </p> <p> In some cases women have come to Imam Ali asking for a divorce, because they married their husbands abroad and they couldn’t come here, or their husbands have been deported. There are other instances where the husband is in jail and the wife wants a divorce, or when he divorces her in civil court, but refuses to divorce her religiously.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Sometimes, when a woman wants a divorce, they can’t find the husband. There’s no number, and it’s hard to get a hold of the imams who preformed the marriage or family members. In that case, Imam Ali says he’ll at least give it a good six months, before the woman is granted a divorce, to say that they at least tried.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Al-Husainy says local area imams meet almost weekly to exchange visions about pending divorce cases. "Some women go to different imams. I won’t divorce her, so she’ll go to the next one," he said.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Often times, when a woman has been to several imams from her own religious sect, she will go to imams from a different religious sect, to see if they’ll divorce her. Women in the Sunni community will go to imams in the Shia community and vice versa. But that doesn’t mean they will have any better luck.</p> <p>  </p> <p> One woman came from New York to Muslim Family Services, asking Imam Ali to grant her an Islamic divorce, because she couldn’t get one for about three or four years. He wasn’t able to grant her a divorce, because she wasn’t from the same religious sect.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Imam Ali says he had eight cases in March involving women experiencing trouble getting an Islamic divorce and three in May -- a clear indication that the problem is prevalent.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Some Imams may side with a woman, but still not grant her a divorce, because they don’t want to be responsible for breaking up a family.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Al-Huseiny says the United States is too liberal and threatens the family values that are in place in other Arab countries. "In the Middle East, the style of the family value is different than it is here," he said.</p> <p>  </p> <p> He says one of the most common reasons women want to get divorced is when they see all the freedom America has to offer. "Imams here think women in America are asking for more freedom, and that makes them want a divorce," Melinda said.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Melinda and Rita, another local Muslim woman from metro-Detroit who’s not using her real name and had difficulty getting an Islamic divorce, say the imams here could be more strict than those in other countries, because the community is so closeknit. "It’s a large community here, and people know each other. No one wants to get blamed," said Rita.</p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/imam%20%28Shazron%20Flickr%29.jpg" style="width: 429px; height: 640px;" /></p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>The question of money </strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> Some of the women interviewed say many imams will not grant a divorce to a woman if she’s getting money from the husband while they’re separated. This could be a problem if the man easily lies and says he is giving the woman money.</p> <p>  </p> <p> While Olivia was trying to convince religious leaders to grant her a divorce, she told them she had not received a penny from her former husband in years.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Melinda, Rita and Olivia say when men are powerful figures in the community, or are very wealthy, they can have influence over an imam’s decision of whether or not to grant a divorce.</p> <p>  </p> <p> "These days if the man is powerful and the sheik knows him, they won’t give you a divorce. They get scared. They would say, ‘Go to somebody else,’" Melinda said.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Olivia says her ex-husband would pretend he was somebody important when he really wasn’t.</p> <p>  </p> <p> "He had a lot of powerful people behind him, so a lot of people here were afraid to go against him and then face the consequences…," Olivia said. "You have the imams, who are in fear of doing something wrong, to grant you the divorce and then have to face the repercussions of that as well. It is almost like a dirty game. I can’t explain it, and it went on for so long that, in the end, I was so drained and so over this whole thing that I couldn’t even probably marry again."</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Men can move on with their lives, but women can’t </strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> Generally, Muslim men have nothing to lose by not getting a religious divorce, because under Islamic law, they can have up to four wives, so if a man is still religiously married to one woman, he can have three more Islamic marriages. Women can only marry one man under Islamic law, so when their husbands won’t divorce them, they can’t get married again religiously and move on with their lives.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Women fear to even date when they’re still married religiously, because their reputations could be tainted.</p> <p>  </p> <p> "You can’t be married. You can’t be with any other man, unless he divorces you," said Rita.</p> <p>  </p> <p> In the United States, you can only be married to one person civilly, so men who want to marry another woman have to make sure they’ve obtained a civil divorce from their former wife.</p> <p>  </p> <p> "They go get the American divorce and leave this lady, who can’t do anything. They marry another woman," Melinda said.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Rita says this is something her husband considered doing to her, but she told him she would not divorce him civilly, unless he divorced her religiously. He initially refused to give her the religious divorce, although he wanted the civil divorce.</p> <p>  </p> <p> "If he doesn’t want to divorce me religiously, I don’t want the other divorce. You either take both, or I don’t want it," Rita said.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Melinda says if a Muslim woman went to some imams and told them she wanted a divorce because her husband married another woman, there’s a possibility they could say that isn’t a good reason to divorce, because a man has the right to have four wives.</p> <p>  </p> <p> "I’m a religious person, and I practice Islam, but my brain cannot handle seeing my man with another woman. No woman can accept it," she said.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Rita’s advice to women is to always make sure to get married civilly, in addition to Islamically, so that if they do decide to get divorced, they can pressure their husbands to grant them a religious divorce--by not consenting to divorce him civilly.</p> <p>  </p> <p> "Don’t just get married religiously. He could bring somebody back here and just get married again," Rita said.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Running around in circles </strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> In 2010, Nadia Hamade turned to religious leaders, seeking an Islamic divorce, after separating from her ex-husband who refused to grant her one.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Hamade experienced domestic violence in her marriage. Now, as an attorney with her own private practice in Livonia, Attorney Source, PLC, she is active in helping other women who are victims of domestic violence.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Although she has no physical contact with her ex-husband for more than three years, and no verbal contact for more than two years, Hamade continues to struggle to get an Islamic divorce.</p> <p>  </p> <p> At one point, Hamade was told over the phone by an imam that she was finally granted an Islamic divorce and could make arrangements to pick up the paperwork from the mosque. A few months went by before she had the opportunity to go to the mosque. By then, it was too late. The mosque told her it had no records of the divorce being granted, and the imam said he had no recollection of divorcing her.</p> <p>  </p> <p> For more than a year now, Hamade has tried working with the imam, but hasn’t had any luck. Her ex-husband is now denying ever agreeing to divorce her.</p> <p>  </p> <p> "I’ll call and talk to somebody and they’ll say, ‘I’ll get back to you,"’ she said.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Getting an imam to divorce her initially was challenging enough, and now she has to go through the whole process again. Over the past few months, Hamade has made multiple visits to the mosque to push for the divorce.</p> <p>  </p> <p> "I totally believe that this is a violation of women’s rights...I believe that women have a right, when they have had enough, to request and to be granted, a divorce. A woman's request deserves special respect when there has been abuse and/or abandonment. Otherwise," she said, "it is unjust imprisonment."</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>The adultery threat </strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> Some women will even threaten to commit adultery if an imam doesn’t grant them a divorce, because it means they have already broken the terms of the Islamic marriage contact.</p> <p>  </p> <p> "It’s too late to fix it, because she’s already committing adultery…You see marriage is a contract, holy bond, and this woman has broken the contract, the holy bond," said Al-Husainy.</p> <p>  </p> <p> He is one of many imams who have been threatened by women who say they will commit adultery if they are not granted an Islamic divorce.</p> <p>  </p> <p> But he won’t grant women divorces that threaten to commit adultery. "In this case, I say too bad. You’re a sinner and let God go deal with you. Don’t threaten me. We can’t divorce a woman who’s threatening us," he said.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>After the divorce </strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> Women still find it very difficult to move on with their lives, when a man won’t grant them a religious divorce, because if they date or marry another man, without obtaining their Islamic divorce, their reputations will be smeared.</p> <p>  </p> <p> "If you date someone and you’re still married, they would say you deserve to go to hell and you’re a bad person," said Melinda. A lot of women don’t have the courage to ask for a divorce, because it goes against their tradition.</p> <p>  </p> <p> "People think that if you get a divorce, you did something wrong, but if you’re not happy with the life and the man you’re living with, then you don’t have to live this life. It’s a bad experience in the beginning, because you know how people start talking, but after it is good, and you don’t have that pressure that you used to have before," Rita said.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Melinda always kept the problems in her marriage to herself because when she talked to her family about them, they would tell her that divorce was not an option and to stop considering it.</p> <p>  </p> <p> "They try to scare you and say people are going to talk about you. They put you under pressure. In the end I just said I’m not going to listen to anybody. I’m not happy. No one lives the way I live," she said.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <em>This story was made possible by New America Media's Women Immigrants Fellowship.</em></p> <p>  </p> <p> <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2013/09/imam-shopping----muslim-womens-long-road-to-islamic-divorce.php">New America Media</a></p> <p>  </p> <p> <em><strong>Ed Yourdan (Flickr); D. Stanley (Flickr); Shazron (Flickr).</strong></em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/islam" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Islam</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/muslims" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Muslims</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/muslim-women" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">muslim women</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/islamic-divorce" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">islamic divorce</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/muslim-divorce" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">muslim divorce</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/divorce" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">divorce</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/abuse" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">abuse</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/imams" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">imams</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/religion" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">religion</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/marriage" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">marriage</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/bad-marriage" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">bad marriage</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Natasha Dado</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Ed Yourdan (Flickr)</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Tue, 24 Sep 2013 13:54:28 +0000 tara 3559 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/2831-living-within-confines-unhappy-islamic-marriage#comments Sex and the Syrian Revolution https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/2700-sex-and-syrian-revolution <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Tue, 08/13/2013 - 09:43</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumlatinamuslims%20%28Ed%20Yourdan%20Flickr%29.jpg?itok=sHuKPwTJ"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumlatinamuslims%20%28Ed%20Yourdan%20Flickr%29.jpg?itok=sHuKPwTJ" width="480" height="360" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> From <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/07/17/sex-and-the-syrian-revolution/">Counterpunch</a> and our content partner, <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2013/08/sex-and-the-syrian-revolution.php">New America Media</a>:</p> <p>  </p> <p> DAMASCUS -- It took her a long time to take the decision to talk and when she did, she would only meet in a public place. </p> <p>  </p> <p> She was an ordinary Damascene, dressed in a long coat and a scarf that completely covered her hair. Light skinned and brown-eyed, there was nothing outstanding about her – nothing outstanding until she told her story.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Lina is not her real name, but this is the name she wants to be called in this tale. Thirty-eight-years old, divorced and a mother of three, she lived at her parent’s house and worked for a meager salary, so when a sheikh broached the subject of marriage and introduced her to a man near her age, she snapped at the opportunity in the desperate hope that her life would change for the better. In true Damascene style the engagement period lasted for one month, during which she was only allowed to meet her fiancée in her parent’s house.</p> <p>  </p> <p> She married and they moved to Jaramana a large mixed suburb of Damascus. However, Lina’s husband came from Ain Tarma, an eastern suburb of Damascus now in the hands of the Islamic fundamentalists. One day he asked her to accompany him there. It proved to be a visit that changed many things in her life and altered many of what she had thought were rocklike beliefs.</p> <p>  </p> <p> When Lina entered Ain Tarma, it was like walking into a ghost city with no water, no electricity and the complete destruction of private and public property. It was inhabited by men who looked different to most Syrians. They wore knee-length robes and hennaed hair. They carried machetes, knives and handcuffs. She saw cars with no license plate numbers and a hospital ambulance that had obviously been stolen. Even worse, she felt as if she were dressed in a bikini, as all the other women there were completely covered from head to toe and wore long gloves.</p> <p>  </p> <p> It was in Ain Tarma that Lina had a heart-to-heart conversation with her husband and it was that conversation which made her reconsider the very essence of her core beliefs – her vey faith. For Lina, Islam had always been there for her – to fall back on in times of need – to follow and be guided by in times of anguish and despair. It served as her protective clothing and the heart of her hearts.</p> <p>  </p> <p> But she heard a different Islam from her husband, one that was alien, dark and perverted. The sheikh, who lived in Ain Tarma had urged everyone to Jihad, her husband told her, but Jihad apparently took on many faces. One could take arms and fight or one could help finance the fight and if neither were possible, then one could still do Jihad –”Jihad Al Nikah,” which translates roughly into English as sexual Jihad. One could and indeed should (for it was a God-ordained duty) marry the young widows of all the men who had lost their lives in the fight. In “Jihad Al Nikah” a man must marry up to four women. He could then divorce them in a short time, only to marry others. The divorced women , would also in turn, marry different men and so on and so on…</p> <p>  </p> <p> Lina listened aghast to her husband’s explanation of Jihad and then she asked him a question which had irked her from the beginning, “What about Al Adeh?’’ she asked. Al Adeh is a period of approximately four months, where a divorced or widowed women isn’t allowed to marry in case she is pregnant with child. “Oh,” replied her husband flippantly. “The sheikh will find a fatwa for this.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> It was very clear  that in this case of Jihad Al Nikah, the husband didn’t have to provide any financial assistance to his wives, the armed groups did that. They all received large amounts of sugar, rice and cooking oil – complements of Turkey.</p> <p>  </p> <p> So what is the point of Jihad Al Nikah and why has it come to light suddenly and particularly in Syria? In the case of Ain Tarma, Lina was able to offer an answer. The people who lived in Ain Tarma belonged to the armed groups or were their families and supporters nearly everyone else had fled. It was very important to keep the population of Ain Tarma stable, for it not to decrease. Turning Ain Tarma into a “hot spot ‘’ where free sex was not only legalized but was given a holy cloth to wear was one way of insuring that its people did not leave it.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Lina’s conviction about this was further confirmed when after one month of her marriage her husband decided to fulfill his obligation in Jihad Al Nikah and take on a young women, freshly widowed . She heard them talk on the phone, one day prior to their marriage and the bride to be had only one condition for her groom: he must prove his stamina and endurance, not in the battlefield , but in the bedroom.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/4Syria.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 335px;" /></p> <p>  </p> <p> It seemed to Lina that the “revolution” was based more on sexual needs and desires rather than the need and desire to bring true reforms. Slowly , Lina’s life became intolerable . Her husband’s strange new “Islamic” values tore her apart. He forbade her to smoke because smoking, according to him, was “haram” or sinful; yet he also told her how one day he was about to kidnap a man simply because the soldier was in the army and what saved the soldier was pure good luck. The armed groups of Ain Tarma who were to okay the kidnapping were simply too busy to pick up the phone when Lina’s husband called them. How, Lina asked her husband is it haram to smoke, but not haram to kidnap and kill a soldier? His answer came strong and clear: everyone in the Syrian Army, the president and Hezbollah were sinners and were in secret liaison with the Israelis.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The seeds of this idea had long been planted in the minds of some Syrians. Those who frequented particular mosques and felt an affinity to a particular way of thinking – that of radical Islam. This way of thinking was one that fears the rise of any sect in Islam, except that of the majority, Sunni Islam. Therefore, Hezbollah’s ability to hold their own in the summer of 2006 against Israel was viewed not as an Arab or Lebanese victory but rather as Shi’a victory. This led to fears about the rise of the Shia’ in the Levant. Slowly and insidiously there started in Syria and only in particular mosques and areas a wave of sectarianism and in particular against Shi’as. The idea was to spread distrust and fear amongst the Sunni majority of the Shia’, who were depicted as sinners and in liaison with Israel, their victory of 2006 considered a sham and their rhetoric of resistance considered a ploy to gain popularity.</p> <p>  </p> <p> However, in must be made clear that this happened only on a small level and that the vast majority of Syrians, Sunni or otherwise, viewed Hezbollah’s victory as one of the most honorable phases in the history of the Arab Israeli struggle.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Many of those who adopted the theory that Shia’s were in liaison with Israel did so with a clear political agenda in mind: It was to empower the gulf countries and particularly Saudi Arabia at the expense of the more secular countries in the area. With the present crisis in Syria and other Arab countries it seems that those people succeeded to a certain point.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Lina’s experience with her second husband, left her a broken women spiritually for it destroyed her faith in some of her countrymen and the way they perceived Islam. It is true that up till now only a minority of Syrians think the way that Lina’s husband thinks but she had the misfortune to marry one of them.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Lina divorced her husband after two months of marriage.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/07/17/sex-and-the-syrian-revolution/">Counterpunch</a></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/syria" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Syria</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/civil-war-syria" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">civil war in syria</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/sex" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">sex</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/women-syria" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">women in syria</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/islam" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Islam</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/shia" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">shia</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/islamic-law" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">islamic law</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/marriage" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">marriage</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/divorce" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">divorce</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/syrian-revolution" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">syrian revolution</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Reem Haddad</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Ed Yourdan (Flickr)</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Tue, 13 Aug 2013 13:43:29 +0000 tara 3343 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/2700-sex-and-syrian-revolution#comments How Catholic Latinas Became the Ambassadors of Islam https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1971-how-catholic-latinas-became-ambassadors-islam <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Tue, 01/22/2013 - 08:16</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumlatinamuslims.jpg?itok=wQ7uaomo"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumlatinamuslims.jpg?itok=wQ7uaomo" width="480" height="268" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>  </p> <p> From <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2013/01/latina-immigrants-the-new-ambassadors-of-islam.php">New America Media/The Muslim Link</a>:</p> <p>  </p> <p>  </p> <p> SOMERSET, N.J. -- Tucked away in a quiet rural neighborhood in Somerset, New Jersey is an old brownstone that houses the New Jersey Chapter of the Islamic Center of North America’s (ICNA) WhyIslam Project. Within its confines, in a second floor office decorated with rose-colored walls, sits the administrative assistant and only female employee of the department, Nahela Morales. 
</p> <p>  </p> <p> In a long black garment and gray headscarf, Morales sits in front of a computer entering notes and taking phone calls from the program’s hotline, 1-877-WhyIslam, a resource for individuals hoping to learn more about the religion. A Mexican immigrant and recent convert, Morales is the national Spanish-language outreach coordinator for the program, part of ICNA’s mission to disseminate information about Islam nationwide.</p> <p>  </p> <p> But Morales’ efforts go beyond U.S. borders: the 37-year-old recently led a trip to bring Islamic literature, food and clothing to her native Mexico.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Morales, who was born in Mexico City but later moved to California and then New York, is part of a growing population of immigrant Muslim converts from Latin America – many of them women -- now helping to bring the religion back to their home countries.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Immigrant Latinas Find a Place in Islam</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> “Many immigrants are here by themselves,” says Morales, noting that Latina immigrant women are drawn to Islam because of the sense of “belonging” they find within the Muslim community. “When they come into the mosque and see smiling faces, they feel welcome.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> According to WhyIslam’s 2012 annual report, 19 percent of the some 3,000 converts it assisted in 2011 were Latinos, and more than half of those (55 percent) were women. The 2011 U.S. Mosque Survey, which interviewed leaders at 524 mosques across the country, found the number of new female converts to Islam had increased 8 percent since 2000, and that Latinos accounted for 12 percent of all new converts in the United States in 2011.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Experts attribute the phenomenon to recent migration trends.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Muslim and Latino immigrants are increasingly living side by side in urban neighborhoods across the country, from California, Texas and Florida to New York and Illinois, states that according to data from the Migration Policy Institute constitute 72.5 percent of the total foreign-born population from Latin America in the United States. At the same time, these five states are also home to the highest number of mosques, The American Mosque 2011 Report shows, reflecting a growing Muslim presence as well.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Wilfredo Ruiz, a native of Puerto Rico who converted to Islam in 2003, is an attorney and political analyst specializing on the Islamic world. In addition to working with various non-profit organizations, including the American Muslim Association of North America (AMANA), he also serves as the imam at his local mosque in South Florida.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “More women than men convert, both in AMANA offices and in the mosques in Southern Florida,” Ruiz says. Latina immigrants, he explains, often feel exploited both in Latin America and the United States. The higher status afforded women in Islam and their modest dress, he believes, offers a sensible alternative.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “I have heard from Latina women that they seek protection, and they find [that] protection and respect in Islam,” he adds.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Juan Galvan, executive director of the Latino-American Dawah Association and author of Latino Muslims: Our Journeys to Islam, believes that Islam may also hold another, distinctly religious appeal to Latino immigrants because it reveals to them what he calls a more profound understanding of monotheism.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “Most Latino Muslim converts have had personal experiences with Muslims that first drew them closer to Islam,” he explains. “These Muslims may be their friends, acquaintances, classmates, coworkers, bosses, marriage partners, or others. By interacting with Muslims, a non-Muslim learns about Islamic monotheism for the first time.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> Because Islam emphasizes God’s, or Allah’s, oneness, Galvan says, it presents Latinos with a unique alternative to traditional Christian theologies that accept the existence of holy deities – Jesus, the Holy Spirit, saints and miracle workers -- which are connected to, yet distinct, from God.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “While Protestantism may have fewer intermediaries than Catholicism, Latinos come to Islam because they believe in a concept of God that acknowledges Him as the Most Powerful and therefore, needs no son,” says Galvan, who is himself a Mexican-American convert to Islam.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Prayers Answered</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> Morales found her own place in Islam after a turbulent past.</p> <p>  </p> <p> In 1979, Morales’ mother risked crossing the border into the United States illegally and alone, leaving her infant daughter behind in Mexico under her grandmother’s care. When Morales was 5 years old, she was finally reunited with her mother, who by that time had settled in Los Angeles. Mother and daughter gained amnesty under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. However, even as a U.S. citizen, Morales recalls feeling out of place.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “It was a very difficult adjustment since I did not speak English,” says Morales. “I remember entering the school system and not being able to communicate with my teachers or peers. I wanted to go back home [to Mexico].”</p> <p>  </p> <p> Adding to her difficulties, Morales was the victim of years of neglect and abuse at home, and as a pre-teen she was removed from her mother’s custody and placed in foster care and group homes, until ultimately she was able to settle on her own and finish college.</p> <p>  </p> <p> She moved to New York in 2001. Shortly after her relocation, the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks occurred at the World Trade Center. When news reports blamed Muslim extremists, Morales began to research Islam.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “I was watching the news and they were always showing [Muslim] people shouting ‘Allahu-akbar,’ God is great, so I thought, if your God is so great, why is he allowing you to kill people? If Muslims say Islam [is about] peace, then this doesn’t make sense.” She decided to find the answers herself and purchased a copy of the Quran, Islam’s holy book. Morales also began befriending Muslim women on MySpace.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “They were so nice, and I became more curious. One of the Muslim women I met happened to be Puerto Rican, and she got in touch with someone in California that could send me an information package about Islam with books, a Quran, a prayer rug, and a hijab [headscarf].”</p> <p>  </p> <p> Morales continued to make contact with Muslims through the Internet and searched online for the closest mosque to her new home in North Bergen, New Jersey. She began visiting the mosque and eventually converted in 2003, and continues to be an active member of the North Hudson Islamic Educational Center, or NHIEC.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Situated in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood, 30 percent of NHIEC’s congregants are Latinos. The Latino influence is so great that the mosque offers simultaneous Spanish translation of its Friday sermons and Islamic studies classes, and even hosts an annual “Hispanic Muslim Day.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> During one of her visits to the NHIEC mosque in 2009, a WhyIslam worker overheard Morales speaking Spanish and asked if she would be interested in a bilingual position with the company.</p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumlatinamuslims%20%28Ed%20Yourdan%20Flickr%29.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 450px;" /></p> <p>  </p> <p> “I asked [God] to please send me a job where I would be able to worship and wear my veil. I knew right then my prayer was being answered,” recalls Morales.</p> <p>  </p> <p> She has now been working with NHIEC for more than three years, and recently led a campaign to deliver Islamic literature and audio, clothing, and toiletries to a needy Muslim community in Mexico City.</p> <p>  </p> <p> During that trip Morales met with her own family members in Mexico, who are mostly Catholic. She says that initially they were not accepting of her decision to practice Islam or of her modest style of dress. They accused her of turning her back on her culture. But on her most recent trip to her hometown of Cuernavaca, she took the opportunity to talk to them more about her religion.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “It is obvious that Islam is still very strange in Mexico,” admits Morales, who says that since her last visit her own family has become more receptive. “But it is also very clear that people want to learn about it.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Latina</strong><strong> Muslims, At Home and Abroad</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> Isabela Duarte has been in the United States since the age of seven. A Muslim convert living in Chicago, the 30-year-old left Mexico with her family in 1990, crossing the border illegally and moving to the Windy City, where she attended school while her parents worked. After high school, she says, she had no other choice but to follow in her parents’ footsteps.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “I figured that there was no possibility of furthering my education because I’d lack assistance due to my status,” she explains. She eventually landed an administrative position in a social services agency, but thanks to the recession she soon lost her job.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “That’s when my real struggles began. I searched for jobs everywhere. Immigration laws became tougher … most places of employment denied me any type of opportunity regardless of the experience I had.” She ultimately settled for babysitting jobs that paid under the table.</p> <p>  </p> <p> In the winter of 2008, while her parents faced foreclosure, unemployment, and a divorce, Duarte had an emotional breakdown. Seeking help, she came upon a YouTube video of Quran recitations. Her best friend, who was Puerto Rican, had already become a Muslim, and Duarte soon followed in her footsteps.</p> <p>  </p> <p> But while she has found solace and community, participating regularly in events held by the Latino Muslims of Chicago, an Islamic group that serves the needs of Latinos, she says her immigration status continues to be a struggle.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “This is my home,” she says. “Chicago has been my home and I don’t recall any other.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> Part of a growing Hispanic population in the United States, Duarte is also among a Muslim community that, according to the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion and Public Life, is expected to increase dramatically over the next 20 years, thanks largely to immigration from South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.</p> <p>  </p> <p> In North and South America, the estimated Muslim population in 2010 was 5,256,000. This number is expected to more than double by the year 2030.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Thirty-four-year-old Liliana Anaya, a Muslim convert from Colombia and a graduate of American University in Washington, D.C., is familiar with the trend. The mosque in her hometown, Barranquilla, Colombia, reports an average of four conversions a month.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Anaya, who converted to Islam in June 2002, is a graduate of Rollins University in Orlando, Florida, where she majored in political science and international relations. She later attended American University to complete a Master’s Degree in international peace and conflict resolution.</p> <p>  </p> <p> After graduating, she got a job at a non-profit organization offering mediation for criminal, district, and county court systems in northern Virginia. During this time, she met her husband, a Muslim convert from Argentina, and together they applied for U.S. citizenship.</p> <p>  </p> <p> While Anaya was expecting their first child, she decided to travel back to her country to give birth. After their arrival, she and her husband discovered the Othman bin Affan Mosque in Barranquilla, a small Muslim community that lacked adequate resources. Because Anaya’s husband had earned a degree in Islamic Propagation from Umm Al Qura University in Saudi Arabia, they became involved in the mosque, organizing and teaching classes.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “I felt that Muslims in the states are already part of the fabric of the society,” Anaya explains. “But here [in Colombia], we are in the baby steps. If I want something, I have to create it. If I want Islamic classes for my children, I have to create them.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> Anaya and her husband are now in the process of establishing an Islamic school for the Muslims of Barranquilla. Both say that given their commitment to the work, return to the United States is unlikely.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “The Muslim community here needs us,” says Anaya, “so we can’t move.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> <em>This story was made possible by a grant from Atlantic Philanthropies, and was produced as part of New America Media’s Women Immigrants Fellowship Program.</em></p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong><em>Image: Nahela Morales touring Mexico City with a group of Muslim women from the congregation of Al Hikmah Center mosque in Mexico City.</em></strong></p> <p> <strong><em>Other photo: Ed Yourder, Flickr (Creative Commons).</em></strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2013/01/latina-immigrants-the-new-ambassadors-of-islam.php">New America Media</a></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/catholics" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">catholics</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/catholicism" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">catholicism</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/latinas" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Latinas</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/latino-immigrants" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">latino immigrants</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/islam" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Islam</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/muslims" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Muslims</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/muslim-converts" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">muslim converts</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/religion" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">religion</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Wendy Diaz</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New America Media</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Tue, 22 Jan 2013 13:16:38 +0000 tara 2238 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1971-how-catholic-latinas-became-ambassadors-islam#comments Paris, New York, Tokyo…Dubai? https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1270-paris-new-york-tokyo-dubai <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/travel" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Travel</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Thu, 07/05/2012 - 20:06</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1dubai%20%28creativecommonsFotopedia%29.jpg?itok=BM6I-9pK"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1dubai%20%28creativecommonsFotopedia%29.jpg?itok=BM6I-9pK" width="480" height="311" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>Dubai is a city of contrasts, sitting along the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Desert in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).  It is a dichotomy in every sense of the word: there’s the old-world charm, Arabian architecture and Islamic culture countered by modern glitzy skyscrapers and Western influence.   Both lifestyles have  become intertwined here. </p> <p> </p> <p> In recent years, and much media ballyhoo, Dubai has emerged onto the world stage as a top destination for travel, attracting people from all over the world.  Dubai has embraced this reputation, establishing itself as a hotspot for shopping, partying, beaches, sports, fine dining and luxury.  This is Dubai’s focus;  it screams, we are the London, Tokyo, and New York of the Middle East.  It even has similarities to Las Vegas –-sans the sin — and has become a playground for the super rich.  Dubai is constantly expanding and  boasts bizarre  structures and buildings --  like a ski mountain inside a mall.    The Mall of the Emirates is where you can find this marvel.</p> <p> </p> <p>Perhaps, this is part of the attraction of Dubai, this attitude that there is nothing we can’t and won’t build, and if someone else did it, we’ll do it better.   Enter the Burj Khalifa, the new symbol of this progressive city.  This is the tallest building in the world.  The building would pierce through the clouds if there were any in Dubai --the desert sun radiates here with a constant fervor. You might remember Tom Cruise climbing the outside of this building in “Mission Impossible 4,” and an exhibit pays homage to the Hollywood film at the entrance. </p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2dubai_0.JPG" style="height:450px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>The design of the building is magnificent, and it sits in the square opposite the five-star hotel, The Address.  Between these two landmarks, on Burj Lake along the promenade, is the world’s biggest  water fountain show.  At night, hundreds of people gather around the lake and watch the water show choreographed to classical and modern songs.  </p> <p> </p> <p>Upon first visiting Dubai and driving along Sheikh Zayed Road,  visitors will notice the skyscrapers stretching out of the desert sand and at closer look, the architecture will astonish onlookers.  There’s the Etisalat Tower with a huge golf ball on top, the Bank of Dubai called the “pregnant lady,” another with a giant lantern, one with a real palm tree showcased in the middle of the building, and another that twists like a spiral.  But these are just a few of the building spectacles.</p> <p> </p> <p>Alcohol is not available in every restaurant,  so it’s best to stick to resorts and hotel bars in this regard.  The city still embodies its Muslim values. Public affection, public drunkenness and offering alcohol to a Muslim are illegal.  However, Dubai has the largest immigrant population in the world; the city relishes the opportunity to be a place that accepts who you are.   It is also one of the safest cities in the world.</p> <p> </p> <p>To first understand the soul of Dubai, you have to understand Islam.  So begin your journey to the Jumeirah Mosque, the only Mosque open to non-Muslims in the UAE.  Here you can enjoy a guided tour of the mosque, watch a prayer ceremony and learn more about the religion.</p> <p> </p> <p> Then cruise across the street to the incredible Jumeirah Beaches, open to the public.  The soft white sand  is a nice break from the city streets and a dip in the Persian Gulf will be refreshing from the heat.  While cooling off, turn around and  take in the incredible view of the city skyline with the Burj Khalifa towering into the stratosphere and down the beach, the world-famous seven-star hotel, Burj Al Arab, shaped like the sail of a ship as it juts out on its own man-made island.</p> <p> </p> <p>The Burj Al Arab is worth the visit, a symbol of excellence, with a fleet of white Rolls Royces that line the entrance and a staff of on-call butlers.  But you can only get in if you have a reservation at one of the restaurants, so if you’re looking to splurge, make one at the Al Muntaha restaurant on the top floor.  From the top, Atlantis, another hotel landmark, is visible and houses an aquarium and waterpark where you can even swim with dolphins.  If you have deep pockets, you can stay in an underwater room where the walls double as aquariums.   From here you’ll see that the hotel sits out on a group of man-made islands called The Palms,  designed to  resemble a palm tree. </p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/4dubai%20%28MisphanCreativeCommons%29.jpg" style="height:401px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Before heading to the Atlantis Hotel, a stop at the Mandinat Jumeirah complex is in order, which is walking distance from the Burj Al Arab.  It has a large selection of restaurants, bars, hotels and shopping (one of Dubai’s foremost activities).  The Souk Mandinat is a market offering everything, including souvenirs.</p> <p> </p> <p> Tourists can find every name brand store lining the malls.  But once again that great old-world charm will come through as Dubai has many Souks (markets) that showcase local goods, souvenirs and more affordable goods.  And in old Dubai, you can find the two most famous Souks, the Spice Souk and the Gold Souk.    Here, gold vending machines can be found throughout the city with the prices updated every 60 seconds. The Gold Souk is at the mouth of Dubai Creek where a boat cruise will take you around old Dubai and Deira.</p> <p> </p> <p>Two malls have made their claim on Dubai and the world, the Mall of the Emirates and Dubai Mall.  Both are enormous, with the latter being the largest mall in the world.  These malls showcase hundreds of international brands.  The Mall of the Emirates houses Ski Dubai where you can escape the scorching temperatures and ski, sled or have a snowball fight.  But, one relatively unknown gem of this mall is the tea ceremony at the five-star Kempinski Hotel, delicious and elegant.</p> <p> </p> <p>Then there is the Dubai Mall, adjacent to the Burj Khalifa. Here you’ll also find an ice-skating rink and the Dubai Aquarium, which in 2010 held the record for the world’s largest aquarium viewing panel, home to 30,000 fish.  </p> <p>No visit to Dubai would be complete without a visit to the desert.  So after a day of exploring the city, it will be time to enjoy Dubai’s other treasure, the Arabian Desert. Here you can trek on the back of a camel.  Sand-board down the dunes like a snowboarder.  Ride a dune buggy, quad or in an SUV with an expert desert driver and go dune bashing, a rite of passage on a journey through the Arabian Desert. </p> <p> </p> <p>Abu Dhabi (Dubai’s sister city) is only an hour away and offers extra sites to visit, including Ferrari World --  a theme park dedicated to the ultimate sports car.  Everything Ferrari is here, including dozens of vintage Ferraris and the world’s fastest roller coaster shaped like…you guessed it, a Ferrari.</p> <p> </p> <p>Many of the world’s finest restaurants are located here as well, including the renowned Nobu; there are also dozens of chain restaurants throughout the city.  But it’s best to  sample some of the delicious Arabian fare, like shawarma, hummus, falafel, and fresh seafood. </p> <p> </p> <p>To complete the Dubai experience, visitors can relax with a true Arabian tradition, smoking shisha through a hookah, a tobacco and molasses blend that comes in flavors like mint, lemon, and grape.  The sweet smoke will ease you into the Arabian night.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p><em>Stephen Delissio is a contributing writer at</em> Highbrow Magazine.</p> <p> </p> <p><em><strong>Photos: Stephen Delissio; Joi Ito (<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/joi/2086020608">Flickr</a>, Creative Commons); Misphan, <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mispahn/6111981730">Flickr</a>, Creative Commons)</strong></em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/dubai" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Dubai</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/london" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">London</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/paris" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Paris</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tokyo" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Tokyo</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/united-arab-emirates" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">United Arab Emirates</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/uae" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">UAE</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/burj-khalifa" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Burj Khalifa</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/shopping-dubai" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">shopping in Dubai</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/man-made-islands" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">man made islands</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tom-cruise" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Tom Cruise</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/mission-impossible" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Mission Impossible</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/buri-lake" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Buri Lake</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/islam" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Islam</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/jumeirah-mosque" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Jumeirah Mosque</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/shawarma" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">shawarma</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/falafel" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">falafel</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Stephen Delissio</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Creative Commons, Fotopedia</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Fri, 06 Jul 2012 00:06:36 +0000 tara 1210 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1270-paris-new-york-tokyo-dubai#comments