Add one more crack to the already fractured Iraqi society -- a resurgence of temporary marriage. The Washington Post reports that the practice has "regained popularity since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq brought the majority Shiites to power." I had heard about this practice among Shiites before and am aware that it is a sticking point between the Sunni and Shi'a. But that's not where I want to go with this post. I'd rather focus on the utter irresponsibility of the adults engaging in this practice at a time and in a place where their attention should be on providing a more permanent and stable environment for the children that are already suffering!
With the Arab proprensity to exaggerate and the American need to hide the truth, I doubt the figures from both sides regarding the civilian casualties in Iraq. That they are staggeringly high, I have no doubt. That countless numbers of children are left without at least one parent, I am certain. That these children are suffering under the weight of both occupation and poverty is a given. Why then would a sheikh, a supposedly pious man, enter into 15 temporary marriages so that he could have 15 virgins rather than marry 1,2,3, or 4 widows with children? Think about it from a financial perspective. If he paid a mahr, which he had to have done 15 times over, he could have easily supported at least 2 wives in relative comfort for a few years! Now that his "permanent" wife is pregnant and unable to have sex with him, he goes and enters into yet another "temporary" marriage. Why not take a second wife -- again, a widow with children who need support? Or better yet, why not fast, pray, take a few cold showers, and use the money that he would have given to a "temporary" wife to a widow so that she could feed, clothe, and provide shelter to her children?
If marriage completes half of our religion, is it wise to classify it as "temporary" and toss it away so easily?
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Monday, January 01, 2007
New Beginnings
Eid Mubarak and Happy New Year, everyone!
As the week, the month, and finally the year gently passed into the realm of memory, giving birth to the hope of better things to come, I breathed a sigh of relief and said alhamdulillah for new beginnings. How blessed we are to have yet another chance to edit, if you will, the next chapter in our life's book!
The past several days have been a haze of cross-country phone calls as my family and I sit vigil for my mother's youngest brother who has been in a drug induced coma and on a respirator at a hospital on the other side of the country from where I live. My uncle, a Viet Nam vet who was held captive by the Viet Cong, suffers from a breathing disorder caused by a combination of factors including exposure to Agent Orange. This once rough and tumble airman now struggles with every breath he takes. As a result his breaths are too shallow to allow the carbon dioxide to escape, so it built up in his body and began to poison him. Alhamdullilah, my uncle received a new beginning yesterday morning when the carbon dioxide levels in his blood had been reduced to a level low enough that he could be weaned off the respirator, awakened from the coma, and returned to the land of the coherent.
Despite going fully prepared to do battle with my very kind neuro-othamologist last week about my decision to forego a second surgery, it turns out that the eye is correcting itself to the old position, alhamdullilah! It's not quite where it needs to be yet, but the kind doctor suggested that we wait until the 7 week follow-up to see how it looks before deciding if a second correction is needed. Alhamdullilah, 2006 ended with only two surgeries!
I'm ready for a new beginning, insh'Allah. Put a period at the end of this sentence. Finish the paragraph. Close the chapter. Turn the page.
As the week, the month, and finally the year gently passed into the realm of memory, giving birth to the hope of better things to come, I breathed a sigh of relief and said alhamdulillah for new beginnings. How blessed we are to have yet another chance to edit, if you will, the next chapter in our life's book!
The past several days have been a haze of cross-country phone calls as my family and I sit vigil for my mother's youngest brother who has been in a drug induced coma and on a respirator at a hospital on the other side of the country from where I live. My uncle, a Viet Nam vet who was held captive by the Viet Cong, suffers from a breathing disorder caused by a combination of factors including exposure to Agent Orange. This once rough and tumble airman now struggles with every breath he takes. As a result his breaths are too shallow to allow the carbon dioxide to escape, so it built up in his body and began to poison him. Alhamdullilah, my uncle received a new beginning yesterday morning when the carbon dioxide levels in his blood had been reduced to a level low enough that he could be weaned off the respirator, awakened from the coma, and returned to the land of the coherent.
Despite going fully prepared to do battle with my very kind neuro-othamologist last week about my decision to forego a second surgery, it turns out that the eye is correcting itself to the old position, alhamdullilah! It's not quite where it needs to be yet, but the kind doctor suggested that we wait until the 7 week follow-up to see how it looks before deciding if a second correction is needed. Alhamdullilah, 2006 ended with only two surgeries!
I'm ready for a new beginning, insh'Allah. Put a period at the end of this sentence. Finish the paragraph. Close the chapter. Turn the page.
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