From the Trenches: Salma Abugideiri, Marriage Counselor

Assalam alaikum,

The following is an interview I conducted with Salma Abugideiri, a marriage counselor from Virginia who works primarily with Muslim families. We discussed trends in Muslim marital problems, causes, solutions, and how Islam or Islamic texts are inappropriately used in the context of marriage. It was very, very interesting for me to hear in detail about some of the trends in our community and I hope you are able to benefit as well.

Sister Salma is one of the many brothers and sisters who the Muslim Fathers team met at the Islamic Social Services Association conference in Dulles, VA of this year. Quite frankly, our impressions of that event deserves a blog entry of its own, but in short, it was very inspiring and encouraging. May Allah reward sister Salma and the others for their continuing efforts to help Muslim families.

NOTE: this is not Frost vs. Nixon and I am not Larry King or Katie Couric. My interview skills need considerable work, but as the Prophet, alayhis salam said (in an authentic hadeeth), "سددوا و قاربوا", which can roughly be translated as "do as best as you can". I also had some technical issues in recording and editing the interview, if anyone has experience in the field and has some useful suggestions, please contact me.



The book suggestions:

Marital Bliss by Mohammad Reda & Ekram Beshir
Qawamah by Mohammad Rida Beshir
Muslim Marriage Guide by Ruqayah Waris Maqsood
Gender Equity in Islam by Jamal Badawi
Qur'an and Woman by Amina Wadud
Rights and Responsibilities of Marriage by Hamza Yusuf
What Islam Says About Domestic Violence by Zainab Alwani & Salma Abugideiri (addresses Islamic paradigm for healthy, violence free relationships)

Fighting for your Marriage by Howard Markman and Scott Stanley
John Gottman's books, including Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work; The Relationship Cure
The Divorce Remedy by Michelle Weiner-Davis
Relationship Rescue by Dr. Phil
Getting the Love you Want by Harville Hendrix