November 25, 2024

The Perils of Me Too as a Muslim

This has been a difficult year for Muslims. I’m referring not only to the external forces that buffet us daily—anti-Muslim hate crimes, inflammatory tweets or President Trump’s travel ban—but also to the internal ruptures that have forced us to reexamine our own communities. As the #MeToo movement reveals the names of alleged sexual predators in politics, media, and business, and the #ChurchToo hashtag trends on Twitter, Muslims are also grappling with fresh allegations against revered men.

Muslim women are speaking up about Islamic scholars and clergymen who have allegedly preyed on their piety, and their stories are forcing a reckoning about the fallibility of these outsized personalities.

What distinguishes the moment of reckoning among Muslims is that it takes place in the context of forces that aren’t present for the media, Hollywood, or even other religious groups. Anti-Muslim sentiment has made Muslims balk at publicly airing their dirty laundry; nobody wants to fan the already raging flames of Islamophobia. What’s more, discussions about sexual misconduct and the misuse of power remain taboo in many Islamic circles. Finally, sizable personality worship continues to persist within modern Islam.

 
But as this year comes to a close, it offers Muslims an opportunity to embrace a necessary and liberating realization. Our faith should not be contingent on individual preachers and scholars; instead, it should be established independently of them. To the extent that relying on individual leaders reflects an immutable human need, we should ensure that our leaders reflect our diversity and are held accountable. This requires including more women leaders in our religious spaces.

For more read the full of article at The Atlantic

Facebook Comments

MineralHygienics.com