Challenges of misconceptions that interfere with a Muslim response to children abuse | Child’s rights
Recent arrest and consequently indictment The distinguished Texas Imam, the teacher of the Qur’an and the Institute of the Almaghrib Wasam Sharieff Institute about multiple accusations for the sexual exploitation of children set fire to the Fire Storm in the Muslim American Community and launched an important debate related to religious learning, ethics and responsibility in the community.
Many, including the leading scientists and representatives of reputable institutions, responded to the tormented accusations and damn evidence that the FBI has rightly admitted that abuse and exploitation affects our community as well as any other, and emphasizing the importance of improving the protection of children in all contexts and settings .
However, so many of us have or directly refused to believe that such crimes could commit a distinguished Qur’an teacher employed in a distinguished national Muslim institution or tried to put out the conversation about the wrong effort to “protect the community and the image of Islam”.
Unfortunately, many critical communal conversations after the Sharieff indictment are wrongly directed or excluded on the basis of misinterpretations and misconduct of Islamic teachings and ethics. As such, it is necessary to deeper to look at some of the most common arguments used to suffocate the debate about the abuse of a child in the Muslim community:
‘Sins should be hidden’
Hearing the allegations of Sharieff, many in the community rushed to remind those who talk about shocking news that “sins should be hidden.” This is the refrain that we continue to return to every time a religious leader is charged with misconduct, abuse or even violence, often suffocate critical discussions and responsibility.
Yes, it is true that “concealing sin” is an important religious principle. However, lawyers claim that only the “private” sins of the generality of believers and religious leaders should be hidden – such as eating pepperoni pizza.
Like most religious principles, hiding sins in Islam is balanced according to other principles, as shows the Mairaj Syed in your research paper about the concealment of sin of religious leaders. Damage removal, prohibiting the wrong, prosecution of the crime and the public responsibility of the leaders definitely have an advantage over the concealment of sin.
This means that the sins committed by leaders resulting in harm to others or undermine the moral integrity of the needy of the community steward – such as sexual abuse of children – they must be exposed and direct steps to take damage and prevent it from repetition. This could include criminal or civil prosecutorhood, shooting, removal of shaping, giving public statements to the community and all other steps to ensure that the damage stops, and the perpetrator is prevented from repeating the crime.
‘Avoid discussing this because it represents gossip’
Whenever an accusation of abuse against a respected teacher or community leader is warned, the Qur’an verses warn on defamation and management of the rumors-in the time of the one discovered during the slander of our mother Aisha (Q. 24: 15-16)-They invite them to suffocate municipal debate , Circulation of warning against the individual and even discussion oriented to the solution among the leaders. We saw that this was repeated regarding the investigation of the alleged abuse of Sharieff.
Sometimes this approach is motivated by understandable concern that a public discussion of scandals within our religious community will be armed with Islamophobes. Still, there are several problems with this approach.
First of all, secrecy, concealment of abuse and lack of transparency are causes that facilitate the continuation of the violation of other perpetrators. Secondly, when a debate that is undergoing facts, traumas and experts, rumors and misinformation were inevitably expanded to fulfill that vacuum instead. Third, warnings against the abuser are needed to eliminate direct damage, educate the community, hold the abuser on the account and ensure that it is not repeated.
‘Innocent until I prove to be guilty’
Default insecurity, of course, is an important principle of Islamic law. Every individual should really assume innocent until the fault is proven. But that does not mean that the accused individual should enjoy the unpunished and continue their influential role in the community, while exploring claims against them.
In fact, despite such serious accusations, our Islamic system of supervision and responsibility teaches us to suspend an individual from duty while the appeal is being investigated.
“When it comes to individuals who hold public positions of power and authority, the Islamic tradition is quite clear in the steps to be taken when there is an accusation of abuse of government [rather than personal wrongdoing]”Ingrid Mattson explained in her work 2024. “Responsibility in Islamic tradition“The principle that in such a case is supported not:” innocent until the fault is proven, “she wrote, but” suspended until they are explored. “” This is widespread, maybe a universal administrative practice … We have many reports about [the caliph] Umar works with his governors, judges and military leaders, “Mattson explains.
Thus, although “innocent of us until it is proven to be guilty” directs us not to punish the individual while the procedure is completed, “suspension to the investigation” is a temporary obligation when the complaints are submitted to abuse of power. Consider this approach as the abolition of the damage: although the investigations were introduced and the investigation is ongoing, the possibility of the accused to apply to others requires their temporary removal from duty to return and clean in the future innocent innocent.
Ever since the revelations of Sharieff’s alleged behavior, many have obviously been trying to believe that such abuse could happen in our community, let alone committed by the esteemed Qur’an teacher. It is a common and understandable response when a respected leader or teacher is with impeccable scientific credentials who has been accused of such crimes.
In our theology, however, only prophets are unmistakable or divine protected from sin, not awliya (saints) and righteous, and certainly not their followers. Countless spiritual authorities have warned that those who are believed to be righteous saints can fall into great sins, or worse, become corrupt. The moment we start thinking that this cannot happen in our community is the moment to become more prone to or abuse, presidents in situations of abuse or become abusers ourselves (let God protect us). This is an important reminder to scientific and spiritual communities that believe that they are protected from abuse in them happen because they are more of a Wali or the Holy Sheikh/IDHN (permission to teach or lead others).
Spiritual theology aside, we have already seen that more cases of abuse occurs in communities with all these properties and abuse performed by individuals who had solid scientific credentials. So, we cannot afford to continue to attach ourselves to the illusion that abuse cannot happen in our community or group. No individual, community or religious current is protected from falling into spiritual abuse, and believing that this is the case, sets accurate conditions for abuse.
‘Free Mixing and Liberal/Feminist Ideas are wrong’
A large part of the Muslim discussion about the stations directed at Sharieff tried to blame the problem for “free mixing”, “liberalism” or “feminism” in the community. In this assessment, the proposed solutions are “proper” coverage of women, gender segregation in Muslim areas and women who teach only women and men who teach only men.
Regardless of your position on the above issues, experts on children abuse tell us that they are completely irrelevant to protect children. Expressing concern such as these because preventive measures against sexual abuse of children are making real problems, wrongly directing our community and often moved into the blame of the victims. This mindset serves to get attention from the responsibility of the culprit, creating a culture that justifies or minimizes harmful behavior by suggesting that the victim could or should have acted differently to avoid damage.
The facts are that: sexual abuse of children happens even in the most conservative and segregated societies; The boys are also abused in these communities (estimated one of 20 or 25 boys 18 years ago); and 90 percent of abuse is committed by a well -known and child’s belief.
Keeping these facts in mind, we need to refrain from providing a solution to sexual abuse of children that experts in the field say are ineffective in prevention, suggesting that sexual abuse of minors cannot happen in the community if we simply adhere to Islamic gender norms of interaction, or implying that the victims could behave differently to prevent the abuse they had suffered.
We all have a role in preventing abuse
It is high time to stop ignoring the problem, excluding the discussion and conveying guilty, and instead start developing empirically informed, Islamically framed and protection strategies and abuse aimed at victims to protect vulnerable.
Religious scientists and institutions play an important role in preventing the sexual exploitation of children in our communities and ensuring that alleged abusers are performed in justice. Scholarshipists must take this as their duty to raise consciousness and educate the community about religious teachings and legal principles relevant to spiritual abuse and sexual violence.
In the meantime, institutions must transcend the general demeation of the perpetrator of the abuse and start developing certain policies to prevent abuse. They must develop in cooperation with experts in subjects to ensure that they are informed by the best practices based in research and practice, while remaining in accordance with Islamic principles.
Indeed, solving sexual exploitation of children requires expertise beyond the scope of our religious scholars and institutional leaders. Preventing such damage calls for the knowledge and guidance of experts trained for sexual violence, whose empirically founded best practice must inform our protection measures.
Sexual health education is the key to this prevention. Clearly, education that is appropriate for age, education focused on professional, can learn children and families about borders, physical autonomy and recognize inappropriate behavior. This education can and should be framed, with the support of religious scholars, in the Islamic context that emphasizes the holiness and dignity of every person. Such education based on sexual health and prevention of abuse and following Islamic guidelines will not only empower individuals with knowledge, but also encouraged the culture of protection and mutual respect throughout the community. But liability is not only found with leaders, experts and institutions.
Each adult has a protective duty for the children with whom they contact: on their immediate and extended family, community or workplace. So each of us must learn and do basic things to protect. We should also learn what questions should be delayed by religious authorities, which is better resolved by advisers and therapists and what should be reported immediately and directly to the authorities.
Finally, we should not place any religious leader on the pedestal. Of course, we should respect the characteristics of religion and a good opinion of his brackets, but we must not be released by moral responsibility before God. Each of us must do everything in our power to ensure that abusers – regardless of their credentials – reject from the community leadership positions. We all have to work to change the discourse in the community, so the shame only falls on the perpetrator and never on the victim, especially when the victim is a helpless child.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s and do not reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeere.
