In modern times we have to come to grips with uncomfortable, even horrible truths. Amongst those current day realities that we cannot afford to ignore is the presence, and some might even say prevalence, of child molestation within the Muslim community. Story after story after story has come to me of people, that when they began to look in to the dark corners of their family and extended family, have found evidence of this horrible deed. These stories have come from all walks of life, from all cultures and races and economic classes. It is an American phenomenon and a "back home" phenomenon. If somehow you are skeptical about the prevalence of this problem, I can only say that I wish you were right, but too many people, religious and otherwise, have shared their stories with me that I no longer have the luxury of pretending this problem doesn't exist.
While I know of no statistics regarding this issue in the Muslim community, researchers say that "considerable evidence exists to show that at least 20% of American woman and 5% to 10% of American men have experienced some form of sexual abuse as a child" (D. Finkelhor, PhD, UNH). I do not believe that the frequency of occurrence in Muslim communities lags far behind. Dr. Ilyas Ba-Yunus, a sociology professor at State University of New York, states the overall divorce rate among Muslims in North America is 31% whereas the overall divorce rate in the US is 49%. We are not immune to trends that affect mainstream US culture. Two articles recently published on the web make it clear that this disease occurs in "Muslim" countries as well:
http://zerqaabid.blogspot.com/2010/03/true-story-of-child-molestation-in.html
http://muslimmatters.org/2009/02/16/sex-the-ummah-child-molestation-in-the-muslim-world-myth-or-reality-part-i/
We at MuslimFathers are attempting to develop an initiative to tackle this issue and engage local community leaders in helping Muslim familes to protect themselves. Stay tuned for further updates and please contact us if you have suggestions or want to get involved.
While I know of no statistics regarding this issue in the Muslim community, researchers say that "considerable evidence exists to show that at least 20% of American woman and 5% to 10% of American men have experienced some form of sexual abuse as a child" (D. Finkelhor, PhD, UNH). I do not believe that the frequency of occurrence in Muslim communities lags far behind. Dr. Ilyas Ba-Yunus, a sociology professor at State University of New York, states the overall divorce rate among Muslims in North America is 31% whereas the overall divorce rate in the US is 49%. We are not immune to trends that affect mainstream US culture. Two articles recently published on the web make it clear that this disease occurs in "Muslim" countries as well:
http://zerqaabid.blogspot.com/2010/03/true-story-of-child-molestation-in.html
http://muslimmatters.org/2009/02/16/sex-the-ummah-child-molestation-in-the-muslim-world-myth-or-reality-part-i/
We at MuslimFathers are attempting to develop an initiative to tackle this issue and engage local community leaders in helping Muslim familes to protect themselves. Stay tuned for further updates and please contact us if you have suggestions or want to get involved.
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