Home | About Us | Contact | Topics | Books & Films | Links/Resources | FAQ | Support | Feedback  | Search

 

Egyptian Woman Scarred by Hate

The following letter was in response to an article in Los Angeles Times, published on May 3, 1997, on the rampant violence against women in Egypt.

    Dear Editor:

    As a Muslim women of Egyptian origin, I was terribly offended after reading the article. It is disturbing that the article even remotely suggests that Egypt's epidemic of violence against women is attributed to the practice of Islam.

    Unfortunately, in all parts of the world, a common form of violence against women is that committed by husbands on their wives. Despite the outrageous claims made by some religious figures that there are "situations when violence is legitimate," genuine Islam requires just the opposite. Islam insists that husbands treat their wives with respect and it prohibits any form of physical or emotional abuse.

    The Muslim Women's League acknowledges the suffering of the Egyptian women who were scarred both physically and emotionally by the cruelty of those deranged men. Furthermore, we would like to strongly emphasize that violence toward women has no basis in Islam. Rather, it is a societal problem that must be eliminated through education and the empowerment of women.

    Rania Abdellatif,
    Muslim Women's League, Los Angeles, May 1997

Muslim Women's League
3010 Wilshire Blvd. Suite #519
Los Angeles, CA 90010
(323) 258-6722

© 1999-2013 Muslim Women's League.
All Rights Reserved.