Hello again!

This week:

The Unbelief Brief: we reflect on the 56th Session of the UN’s Human Rights Council, Afghanistan, and the Balkans

EXMNA Insights: Dubai’s princess declares a man’s triple talaq

The Unbelief Brief

The 56th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council took place recently, and Humanists UK used the opportunity to draw attention to the case of Mubarak Bala. Mubarak, who was the president of the Nigerian Humanist Association before his arrest and imprisonment at the hands of Kano State authorities in 2020, was sentenced in 2022 to 24 years in prison for his peaceful advocacy of secularism and atheism. Though this was recently reduced to a 5-year sentence on appeal, meaning Mubarak has one year left to serve, we wholeheartedly agree with Humanists UK that he should never have been arrested to begin with. EXMNA  applauds their bringing such an important case to the continued attention of the international community. We continue to call for Mubarak Bala’s immediate and unconditional release. 

In the hellscape that is the Taliban’s Afghanistan, honest joy is perhaps the greatest transgression of all. Lost in the flurry of the Taliban’s offenses against humanity, music was banned in the country when they returned to power in 2021. This led a small number of musicians to flee the country, who now, from their new homes in Portugal, attempt to preserve Afghan music as it has been strangled to death in its own native home. The Guardian has a recent piece interviewing some of these musicians; read it here.

Finally, Deutsche Welle (DW) asks: is Islamism acquiring traction in the Balkans? Though the version of Islam practiced in this part of Europe is generally relatively secular and moderate, more extremist forms gained a foothold in the region as mujahideen fighters entered the region during the Bosnian War in the 1990s. More recently, Saudi money has also propped up extremism in the area. But DW reports that the Israel-Hamas war, perceived by many of the region’s Muslims as a war on Islam, is fueling “bitterness, anti-Western sentiment and antisemitism,” according to political scientist Vedran Dzihic. Some thus fear that the longer the war continues, the more it could act as a “new motor of radicalization” in the region—potentially threatening the aforementioned tradition of secularism and moderation.

EXMNA Insights

As Dubai’s princess Sheikha Mahra appears to have declared a divorce from her husband via Instagram, it is worth reflecting on how the laws surrounding divorce in Islamic countries would respond to her if she were anything other than royalty.

Divorce laws in nearly every Islamic and Muslim-majority country reflect the misogyny of Islamic jurisprudence. Although Islamic law, or Sharia, grants both men and women the right to divorce, its application overwhelmingly favors men.

While triple talaq divorces - whereby men unilaterally divorce their wives by simply uttering the word "talaq" (divorce) three times - are beginning to fall out of favor, women are still at a severe disadvantage when it comes to initiating divorce in Islam. In order for a woman to begin divorce proceedings against her husband, she must go through a more complex and burdensome process called a “khula”. This involves filing paperwork to petition an Islamic tribunal and providing proof for stringent conditions for approval. Acceptable grounds for divorce vary across Islamic schools of thought, with some schools refusing to acknowledge spousal abuse as a justification for divorce.

Additionally, financial aspects of divorce also tend to disadvantage women. Islamic law mandates that a divorced wife receive a "mahr" (dower) as part of the marriage contract and a woman is also entitled to maintenance during the post-divorce waiting period called “iddah”. However, enforcement and adequacy of these provisions vary widely. In reality, many women struggle to secure these rights, especially in countries where legal systems are underdeveloped or biased. Societal and cultural pressures exacerbate these legal inequalities since women seeking divorce often face social stigma, familial opposition, and economic dependency, deterring many from pursuing legal recourse. These societal norms reinforce the unequal power dynamics inherent in the legal frameworks of an Islamic divorce.

In her Instagram post, princess Sheikha Mahra appears to have taken on the traditional role of the man in declaring talaq three times. The Sheikh and Dubai’s ruling family have so far remained silent, but one political commentator opined that her demand “violates lots of royal family code of conduct, let alone social norms.” One cannot help but wonder how a woman without the princess’s privilege would be treated in such a case, considering women are second-class citizens to one degree or another in every single country where Islam is the state religion. Of course, it is likely Sheikha Mahra is receiving the wrath of her family behind closed doors, as well.

But why shouldn’t the princess have the same right to “triple talaq” as a man, after all? The answer, as ever, is “my 1,400-year-old scriptures say she can’t.” In order to give Muslim women equal rights in divorce proceedings, divorce law reforms are desperately needed. Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt have instituted reforms that “reinterpret” Islamic principles to better align with secular and contemporary human rights standards that promote justice and equity for women. This, at least, is a start—and hopefully women like Dubai’s princess can continue to chip away at a deeply sexist system of norms and laws.

Persecution Tracker Updates

A fairly run-of-the-mill case in Pakistan with few details: a man is charged with blasphemy for allegedly insulting the companions of the Prophet Muhammad. Read more here.

Until next week,

The Team at Ex-Muslims of North America

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