A Gift For Muslim Bride

This book describes and analyses the notion of Mahr, the Muslim custom whereby the groom has to give a gift to the bride in consideration of the marriage. It explores how Western courts, specifically in Canada, the United States, France, and Germany, have approached and interpreted Mahr. Although the outcomes of the cases provide an illustrative framework for the book, the focus is broader than simply the adjudicative endeavours. The work explores the concept of liberalism, which purportedly champions individuals and individual choice concurrently with freedom and equality. Tensions between and among these concepts, however, inevitably arise. The acknowledgment and exploration of these intertwined tensions forms an important underpinning for the book. Through the analysis of case law from these four countries, this study suggests that transplanting Mahr from Islamic law into a Western courtroom cannot be undone: it immediately becomes rooted in the countries' legal, historical, political, and social backgrounds and flourishes (or fails) in diverse and unexpected ways. Rather than being the concept described by classical Islamic jurists, Mahr is interpreted according to wildly varied legal constructs and concepts such as multiculturalism, fairness, public policy, and gender equality. Moreover, Islamic law travels with a multiplicity of voices, and it is this complex hybridity (a fragmented and disjointed Mahr) which will be mediated through Western law. Returning to the overarching concept of liberalism, the book proposes that distributive consequences rather than recognition occupy central place in the evaluation of the legal options available to Muslim women upon divorce.

Originally published: London: Quilliam Press, 1995.

Few westerners will ever be able to understand Muslim or Afghan society unless they are part of a Muslim family. Twenty years old and in love, Phyllis Chesler, a Jewish-American girl from Brooklyn, embarked on an adventure that has lasted for more than a half-century. In 1961, when she arrived in Kabul with her Afghan bridegroom, authorities took away her American passport. Chesler was now the property of her husband's family and had no rights of citizenship. Back in Afghanistan, her husband, a wealthy, westernized foreign college student with dreams of reforming his country, reverted to traditional and tribal customs. Chesler found herself unexpectedly trapped in a posh polygamous family, with no chance of escape. She fought against her seclusion and lack of freedom, her Afghan family's attempts to convert her from Judaism to Islam, and her husband's wish to permanently tie her to the country through childbirth. Drawing upon her personal diaries, Chesler recounts her ordeal, the nature of gender apartheid—and her longing to explore this beautiful, ancient, and exotic country and culture. Chesler nearly died there but she managed to get out, returned to her studies in America, and became an author and an ardent activist for women's rights throughout the world. An American Bride in Kabul is the story of how a naïve American girl learned to see the world through eastern as well as western eyes and came to appreciate Enlightenment values. This dramatic tale re-creates a time gone by, a place that is no more, and shares the way in which Chesler turned adversity into a passion for world-wide social, educational, and political reform.

Amani is going to be a flower girl, leading the bride and groom, stepping exactly, one, two, three! She's counting the days, and there's so much to do: cooking with Tayta, visiting the dressmaker, dancing at the party with all the bride's friends. But when the wedding day comes, and all the guests are waiting, will Amani be the perfect flower girl?

This book covers various aspects of marriage according to the authentic Sunnah. Marriage plays a most central role in the human life, and has been largely discussed by the scholars of Islam through the ages, resulting in numerous writings and treatises. This unique title covers a number of different aspects in marriage, including human sexuality, Islamic etiquettes of intimacy, prohibited acts of intimacy, ghusl, the 'awrah, zina', birth control, indecent acts, and more.

Cathy Glass, international bestselling author, tells the shocking story of Zeena, a young Asian girl desperate to escape from her family.

Marriage is a natural developmental stage for most adults but the process of getting married and achieving a successful, long-lasting marriage can be fraught with challenges for Muslims in North America. The authors present a unique approach that reflects 40 years of combined experience in counseling couples. Mohamed Hag Magid is a prominent imam at one of the largest mosques in the US, and Salma Elkadi Abugideiri is a licensed mental health professional. The two provide an Islamic framework for the entire marriage process and present marriage as a partnership while underscoring the ingredients for successfully finding a spouse, as well as for establishing and maintaining a healthy marriage.This book is invaluable for anyone seeking marriage, as well as for parents who are involved in their children's marriage process. Those getting re-married after a divorce or death of a spouse will also find this book extremely useful. The authors raise thought-provoking questions to help readers increase self-awareness, clarify what is desired in a spouse and in a marriage, and help them get to know a potential spouse. Topics addressed in detail include finding a spouse, the role of family and in-laws, the marriage contract and wedding, intimacy, spirituality and finances. Special issues addressed include mental health, domestic violence and threats to a marriage. This marriage guide is surprisingly comprehensive and practical. It provides a tool kit with concrete skills that can be used throughout a marriage to ensure a healthy relationship that is grounded in the Islamic values of love and mercy-qualities that are necessary to achieve the ultimate purpose of marriage: mutual tranquility. This book promises to be a valuable resource that couples will turn to for many years both as a refresher and as a reference.