As a follow-up to my recent post on the ten-year-old girl in Yemen who just got a divorce, I wanted to explain WHY young girls are marrying older men in the Arab-Muslim World, and in other traditional societies.

When I first moved the Middle East, I could not understand why this phenomenon was happening. I had read books about the British girls who were taken to Yemen "on vacation" by their Yemeni father, forced to marry country boys, and live in Middle-Ages type of conditions for many years. After living in the Middle East for many years, I have finally come to understand (but not necessarily to like) the thinking behind this issue.

After many years of living here, I have seen that there are some logical reasons behind this sort of marriage. I can finally see how it ever came about. Furthermore, the Arab World is NOT the ONLY place where such marriages take place, as I will discuss later in this post.

Let's look at Western society first. I once read in a women's book from America a discussion about why some men who are 35 or 40 marry 20-year-olds. These men feel that they are finally ready to settle down and start a family. Are most 40-year-old women ready to do the same thing? Not usually. But some 20-year-olds ARE. Furthermore, these sort of men aren't necessarily looking for an "equal" partnership. They want to make the decisions, be in control, and often want the stay-at-home wife who will "take care" of their needs. Some twenty-year-olds are looking for a relationship with a well-off man, where they can stay home, not work, and have kids. Two people of different ages, but of like-mind, CAN make such a marriage work, if it is what they both want.

Donald Trump marries third, younger wife in 2005

Now let's look at Middle Eastern societies. Men in these societies often have VERY protracted adolescences--to between 30 and 45 years of age (yes, it really IS true). Not every man is living this way, but the majority are behaving like Western teenagers until well after they are married. Most men do not even think about getting married before age 30, when normally they receive family pressure to do so.

How are most men in their 20's behaving like adolescents? It is the norm for most Middle-Eastern men to live at home until they are married. (For privacy, they get together with friends and together rent an apartment where they can "have fun.") So, they never have to learn things like doing their own wash, cooking for themselves, cleaning up after themselves, or getting along with roommates. In addition, most young men are running around until the wee hours of the morning with male friends (occupied with women, music, parties, and more often than not, alcohol).

When these men get married around the age of 30 (usually after parental pressure to do so), their wife takes over the duties that their mother previously did, such as picking up after them, cleaning for them, having a meal ready whenever they choose to drop in at home. This behavior, including staying out until all hours of the night with male companions, and without ever calling home to inform the wife, continues with most men well into middle age (45). Of course these behaviors do not describe everyone, but they do describe the majority of men. and yes, if Middle Eastern women love their husband, they are bothered by these behaviors, too. Of course they do not have the same freedoms to go out, although they do get together with friends in their own homes. Only upper class women, with either trusting or indifferent husbands, have the freedom and transportation to go out regularly, without question, to friends' homes in the evening.

First, unless the man is from a wealthy family where he can enter into his father's business, jobs are extremely hard to come by. Typical unemployment in most Arab countries constantly hovers around twenty-some percent (figures higher than the depths of the 1930's Depression in America).

Unless a man is a doctor, dentist, pharmacist, or factory-owner, nearly ALL jobs working for someone else (even if one has a university degree) are for minimal salaries, while the cost of lodging, clothing, and transport remains much higher proportionately than in the West. It takes years to secure a good job, start saving, and obtain the wherewithal to be accepted as a husband when one makes a marriage proposal.

Not everyone is running around acting like an adolescent (but 80 percent are). Serious men are working on university degrees and/or advancing their career. But even many professional men continue to hang around with male friends, excluding their wives, for most of their married lives.

Meanwhile, girls/women are kept at home until marriage. The Double Standard is in full force. In Middle Eastern society, a girl or woman of ANY AGE (even 90) MUST be a virgin at marriage. They must be PURE. If she is not, she can be divorced immediately the morning after the marriage. (Any unmarried woman who is not a virgin is considered to be "dirt.") It would be very difficult for a woman divorced in such a fashion ever to get married to anyone else, and her family would be extremely dishonored. They might even throw her out. In my Middle Eastern country, she would be unlikely to be killed, but in some Middle Eastern countries, she would be killed by a family member in order to restore the family's "honor."

So why is this "honor" so important to the family? Because they would be completely shunned and ridiculed by others. For example, no one else would be willing to marry the daughters of that family. No family would accept for their daughters to marry the sons of that family. Maybe merchants in the town would refuse to let the family buy food or other supplies from them. No one at school would be allowed to speak to, or play with, children from that family.

So, Muslim families are eager to marry off their daughters at as young of an age as practicable, because of the fear that the daughter might "disgrace the family." In my country, the marriage age has been raised to 18 (although the poor, or countryside people, sometimes obtain false ages for their daughters stated on official documents). This is mostly an attempt either to find a husband to feed the daughter (if the family is too poor to support her), or an attempt to be sure she's married off by the time of her first period, so that she has no chance to "disgrace" the family.

Child-Bride-Afghanistan, photo by Stephen Brown, Front Page Magazine, July 9, 2007

Most girls are now going to school, and as long as a girl is in school, her family does not pressure her to get married. If she is fortunate enough to get a job, sometimes her family doesn't pressure her for a while. However, by her early to mid-20's, the family is keeping their eyes open for potential partners.

For example, I have a maid right now who is about 22. Her family has decided that since she is not married, and her first cousin is not married either, that both of them should get married. (She doesn't seem to be objecting.) She told my daughter that she doesn't love him, and he doesn't love her, but that is not considered important. It's clear that her family is worried that if she gets much older, she might have a chance to "disgrace" the family. Marrying her off will guard against this possibility.

So ever since ancient times, in most societies, the men around age 28-40 were most ready to get married, and the girls around ages 15-18 were most ready to get married. This is where the disparity originated. In some modern societies the same conditions are existing as were existing then. So, it continues.

In Western societies, the conditions have now changed. Because women now go to school and hold jobs equal to men, for the first time in history, women are now able to marry men their own age, counting on their two incomes together.

It was not so long ago in American society, that women upon marriage had to promise to "love, honor, and obey" in their wedding vows (I made sure that word was not in MY wedding vows). For many years, I wondered WHY that had EVER been in the vows. Now I understand.

Back in previous times, generally an American husband could not afford to get married until he was at least in his late 20's, or sometimes even longer. In those days, the girls who were considered ready to get married were about sixteen. It's only logical that when one spouse is 10-15 years older than the other, that they will expect to be making most of the decisions. It will not be an "equal" partnership. By promising to "obey," it legitimized the older spouse's claim on authority and decision-making.

Finally, I'd just like to give an example of another society in which it is most common for young teenage girls to marry older men. It is in Amazonian rain-forest society. Why? The teenage boys are after sex, and often try to trap girls in the forest. Girls who are not married to an older man (such as age 30) , and thus have a "protector" are likely to be raped. So the parents try to get the girl married usually between 12 and 14 (if my memory about what I read a couple years ago serves me correctly).

So, it is not just in Middle-Eastern, or Muslim societies where this practice originated. This practice was all over the world.

Eileen

Nujood Ali, 10-Year-Old Yemeni girl Who Successfully Got a Divorce, Photo by Delphine Minoui

This inspiring story, to women the world over (if people take time to read it) shows how even most of Yemeni society is now against child marriages. But old laws and customs take a long time to change.

I know everyone (especially in the West) is wondering HOW this marriage have ever happened! In this post, I will try to explain.

There is a a great MISPERCEPTION in the West that Middle Eastern men are pedophiles. This is not true for the great majority of Middle Eastern men, any more than it is in the West. Generally speaking, in the past, when some girls were married off at really young ages (like four or six), this did not mean they were living as a "wife." They were growing up in that household, and sometime after puberty took up wifely duties.

This marriage has far more to do with poverty and Old-World lifestyles than anything else. The girl's father has two wives, sixteen children (probably too poor to afford birth control; also children are looked upon as security to provide for parents in old age), and is unemployed. While the article doesn't say so, it's clear to me (and my Middle Eastern husband) that this was a case of marrying the child off so that she didn't starve to death (as well as her father's explanation that he wanted her to have a husband's "protection" in that rough society for women).

Another reason for traditionally marrying a girl off by fourteen, or even shortly after the age she has her first period, is that if a girl has sex outside of marriage, it sullies the reputation of the whole family (the reason for honor killings). To avoid ever having to be put in this position, the father marries off the daughter before she has a "chance" to sully the family's honor.

Yemeni law does not permit marriage before the age of fifteen. However, many poor parents circumvent this law by paying for falsified papers. Since the papers for marriages in some Arab countries can be filed by the father (in many Arab countries, a girl of ANY age cannot get married without her father's, or male guardian's consent), it could be done without the officials seeing that the girl is actually a child. This practice of falsifying papers for a girl to appear old enough to marry) does not just exist in Yemen, but in many countries throughout the Arab world.

Even in Yemen, the behavior of this girl's husband completely outrages most people. The husband, a 30-something motorcycle deliveryman, married Nujood, and promised to raise her with a normal childhood, and to espect her chastity until after puberty. But instead he beat her, and forced her to have sex from the very first night (when she was about eight years old).

Was Nujood's husband a pedophile? Probably not. He was dishonorable and selfish, probably very poor himself, got Nujood without having to pay a dowry, and probably didn't want to spend his money on a prostitute when he had a "wife" at home. (Yes, because women's chastity is so important, nearly all Middle Eastern men visit prostitutes before they are married around the age of 30-35. But weekly prostitutes would be quite expensive for a motorcycle deliveryman.)

One reason her family would not help her is that they had no food to feed her, nor any way to support her (obvious to my Middle Eastern husband, and me). An additional reason given in the LA Times was that her father claimed, "My cousins would have killed me if I dishonored the family by asking for a divorce."

Nujood's aunt discreetly gave Nujood the bus fare to go to court.

Unfortunately, under Yemeni law, the judge who arrested both the father and the husband found that there is no penalty in Yemen for a husband having sex with his wife (no matter what age the wife). So both the father and husband had to be released, but the judge WAS able to grant this young girl a divorce.

Nujood has gone back home to live with her parents. People internationally have contributed a lot of money, so now there is no problem about food. She is now starting back in third grade, and looking forward to her education. She intends to become a lawyer and help other women.

If you aren't already up on all the details, read the excellent article (with photos) in the Los Angeles Times today (link below).

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-childbride11-2008jun11,0,5271790.story?track=rss

In my next post, I intend to take up the topic of how it ever became normal for a 30-year-old+ man to marrry a girl of fifteen or even younger. Believe me, there really ARE some reasons (as i've learned from living 16+ years in the Middle East)......please tune in this weekend......

Eileen

Akuntansi Syariah: Pengantar (Bagian Satu)

Oleh: AJI DEDI MULAWARMAN

1. Pendahuluan: Pemahaman Filosofis Organisasi Bisnis

Ketika pembentukan dan aktivitas organisasi dan institusi bisnis dilakukan dalam perspektif Islam, tetapi menggunakan akuntansi konvensional yang memiliki basis filosofis yang berbeda dengan Islam, maka seperti digambarkan Hameed (2000b), hal itu akan menyebabkan inkonsistensi dan penyimpangan perilaku dari pengguna muslim, mengarah kembali pada tujuan utama dari ekonomi barat yang sekuler dan kapitalistik (lihat juga Harahap 2000, 194-206).

Dalam konteks organisasi, akuntansi diarahkan kepada perspektif syari'ah. Konstruksi dan mekanisme yang muncul dalam organisasi bisnis semestinya memiliki perspektif sama dengan akuntansi yang diterapkan. Ketika organisasi bisnis memiliki perspektif kapitalistik (melakukan maksimalisasi keuntungan/laba), otomatis akuntansi yang muncul pasti akan berisi nilai-nilai kapitalistik. Begitu pula sebaliknya, ketika organisasi bisnis memiliki perspektif syari'ah, tidak diarahkan pada kepentingan laba an sich. Sehingga, diperlukan media pertanggungjawaban keuangan yang berdasarkan pada nilai-nilai Islam (Islamic Values) dan tujuan syari'ah (Maqasid Syari'ah).

2. Nilai-nilai Islam (Islamic Values)

Esensi peradaban Islam adalah Islam itu sendiri, dan esensi Islam adalah Tauhid atau pengeesaan Tuhan, tindakan yang menegaskan Allah sebagai yang Esa,  Pencipta yang mutlak dan transenden. (Al-Faruqi, 16). Yang digambarkan oleh Iqbal (1966, 3) seperti burung yang tak berjejak dan tidak dituntun oleh pikiran (intelek), dan juga bukan hanya perasaan. Tauhid adalah konsep kunci dalam Islam (Siddiqi 1989). Tauhid yang memberikan identitas pada peradaban Islam yang mengikat semua unsur-unsurnya bersama-sama dan menjadikan unsur-unsur tersebut suatu kesatuan yang integral dan organis yang disebut peradaban (Al-Faruqi, 16). Hal tersebut semuanya adalah untuk proses transformasi Islami pada individu ataupun masyarakat (Siddiqi 1989). Pengikat dari ketentuan-ketentuan yang disyari'atkan dan etika manusia dalam melaksanakan aktivitas duniawi. Integralitas dan organisnya Tauhid yang menjadi dasar dari terbentuk dan dibentuknya peradaban manusia dalam Islam ini ditunjukkan dalam titah Tuhan dalam Al-Qur'an:

Bukanlah menghadapkan wajahmu ke timur dan barat itu suatu kebajikan, akan tetapi sesungguhnya kebajikan itu ialah beriman kepada Allah, hari kemudian, malaikat-malaikat, kitab-kitab, nabi-nabi dan memberikan harta yang dicintainya kepada kerabatnya, anak-anak yatim, orang-orang miskin, musafir (yang memerlukan pertolongan) dan orang-orang yang meminta-minta; dan memerdekakan hamba sahaya, mendirikan shalat dan menunaikan zakat; dan menepati janji bila ia berjanji, dan orang-orang yang sabar dalam kesempitan, penderitaan dan peperangan. Mereka itulah orang-orang yang benar (imannya); dan mereka itulah orang-orang yang bertakwa. (QS. 2:177)

Ayat di atas adalah bentuk keterikatan segala sesuatu yang menjadi kaidah normatif Ketuhanan sekaligus realitas yang harus dijalankan oleh setiap manusia yang disebut oleh Allah sebagai kebajikan dan ketakwaan. Hal ini yang dikatakan oleh Al-Faruqi (1995, 17) sebagai segala sesuatu perintah dalam Islam, baik perintah yang berkaitan dengan kewajiban maupun aspek moralitas dalam Islam, yang bisa dilepaskan dari Tauhid. Bahwa mengisi aliran ruang dan waktu atau mentransformasikan ciptaan, tegas Al Faruqi (1995, 35) diharapkan dari seorang muslim yang muttabi' (terikat). Setelah menerima Tuhan sebagai satu-satunya Yang Maha Tuan sebagai bentuk kepasrahan tanpa reserve dalam bentuk Keimanan pada Allah. Dilanjutkan dengan kepatuhan untuk menjalankan syari'atnya, sebagai bentuk penyerahan diri, dalam wujud nyatanya sebagai ‘abd Allah:

Dan tidak Aku ciptakan jin dan manusia kecuali untuk menyembahKu. (QS: 51:56).

 Dan hendaknya kamu menyembahKu. Inilah jalan yang lurus (QS. 36:61).

Hidup dan seluruh energinya untuk mengabdi kepada-Nya. Seperti yang selalu diingatkan oleh Allah dalam bacaan shalat lima waktu kita:

Katakanlah: Sesungguhnya, shalatku, ibadahku, hidup dan matiku hanyalah untuk Allah, Tuhan seru sekalian alam.

(QS. 6: 162)

Diingatkan pula oleh Allah, bukan hanya pada yang beriman saja, tetapi kepada seluruh umat manusia, bahwa ibadah adalah bentuk kepasrahan manusia untuk menempuh ketakwaan:

Hai seluruh manusia, beribadahlah kepada Tuhan kamu yang telah menciptakanmu dan orang-orang yang sebelum kamu, agar kamu bertakwa (QS. 2: 21)

Ibadah adalah suatu bentuk kepatuhan dan ketundukan yang berpuncak pada sesuatu yang diyakini menguasai jiwa raga seseorang dengan penguasaan yang arti dan hakikatnya tidak terjangkau (Shihab 2005, 119). Ada tiga hal yang menandai keberhasilan seseorang mencapai hakikat ibadah kepada Tuhan (Shihab 2005, 119). Pertama, manusia tidak menganggap apa yang berada dalam genggaman tangannya sebagai milik pribadinya, tetapi milik Allah tempat dia mengabdi. Kedua, segala aktivitasnya hanya berkisar pada apa yang diperintahkan oleh siapa yang kepada-Nya ia mengabdi serta menghindar dari apa yang dilarang-Nya. Ketiga, tidak memastikan sesuatu untuk dia laksanakan atau hindari kecuali dengan mengaitkannya dengan kehendak siapa yang kepada-Nya ia mengabdi.

Setelah mengakui kehendak Sang Penguasa Alam Semesta sebagai kehendak yang harus diaktualisasikan dalam ruang dan waktu. Dia mesti terjun dalam hiruk pikuknya dunia dan sejarah, menciptakan perubahan yang dikehendakinya, dengan amal yang sebaik-baiknya, sebagai wakil Allah di bumi (Khalifatullah fil ardh). 

Dialah yang menjadikan kamu khalifah-khalifah di muka bumi.

(QS. 35:39).

Nilai-nilai Islam yang berpedoman pada Vestigia Dei (jejak-jejak Ilahi) di atas itulah yang mengarah pada koeksistensi tujuan utama manusia. Hal itu untuk membedakan koeksistensi alam dan manusia. Ketika manusia memiliki sifat yang sama dengan alam, maka tidak bergunalah koeksistensi tujuan manusia, yang dengan itu maka manusia tidak berbeda dengan ciptaan Tuhan lainnya di alam semesta ini. Ketika manusia memiliki sifat yang berbeda dengan alam, maka menjadi bergunalah koeksistensi tujuan manusia. Dari hal itulah kemudian mengapa Tuhan memberikan kewenangan dan kedudukan yang lebih tinggi dari siapapun ciptaan-Nya.

Ditegaskan oleh Naqvi (2003, 38):

Bentuk ketundukan manusia pada Tuhannya, malahan akan membantu manusia merealisasikan potensi teomorfiknya, juga membebaskannya dari perbudakan manusia. Dengan mengintegrasikan aspek-aspek religius, sosial, ekonomi dan politik, kehidupan manusia ditransformasikan ke dalam suatu keutuhan, yang selaras, konsisten dalam dirinya dan menyatu dengan alam luas. Dengan demikian, manusia bisa mencapai harmoni sosial dengan meningkatkan rasa memiliki dan persaudaraan universal.

Koeksistensi tujuan manusia dengan demikian adalah dalam rangka pengabdian kepada Allah (Abdullah/abdi Allah) dan menjadi wakil Allah di bumi (Khalifatullah fil ardh/wakil Allah di bumi). Abdullah (Shihab 2000, 22-23; Jalaluddin 2001, 28-29, 52-60, 119; Rahardjo 1994, 36-43; Hasanah, 2002; Basyir 2001; Rahman 1996, 12; Al-Attas 1981, 205; Chapra 1995, 7) adalah realisasi tujuan Ketuhanan manusia untuk selalu menjalankan ibadah kepada Allah. Memiliki tujuan hidup yang asali dan akhir untuk mengabdikan dirinya kepada Tuhan dan terkait langsung, integratif dan organis dengan fungsinya sebagai Khalifatullah fil Ardh. Yaitu realisasi tujuan kealaman manusia untuk memelihara dan mengelola alam semesta milik Tuhan. Manusia diberi amanah untuk memberdayakan seisi alam raya dengan sebaik-baiknya demi kesejahteraan seluruh makhluk. Seperti yang dituliskan dalam Al Qur'an:

Orang-orang yang jika Kami teguhkan kedudukan mereka di muka bumi ini, niscaya mereka mendirikan shalat dan menunaikan zakat, menyuruh berbuat yang ma'ruf dan mencegah perbuatan yang munkar (QS. 22: 41)

Ayat tersebut, menyatakan bahwa mendirikan shalat merupakan refleksi hubungan (pengabdian) dengan Allah SWT. Menunaikan zakat merupakan refleksi keharmonisan hubungan dengan sesama manusia, sedangkan ma'ruf berkaitan dengan segala sesuatu yang dianggap baik oleh agama, akal, serta budaya dan munkar adalah sebaliknya. Dengan demikian, sebagai seorang khalifah Allah di muka bumi, manusia mempunyai kewajiban untuk menciptakan masyarakat yang hubungannya dengan Allah baik, kehidupan masyarakatnya harmonis. Serta agama, akal dan budayanya terpelihara (Shihab 1994, 166).

3. Tujuan Syari'ah (Maqasid Syari'ah)

Untuk melaksanakan koeksistensi tujuan manusia, maka Allah telah memberikan perangkat-perangkat aturan/hukum/syari'at Islam, yang bersumber pada Al Qur'an dan Sunnah. Sumber hukum/Syari'at yang menjelaskan perihal sistem keyakinan dan sistem nilai (Mas'udi 1995).

Allah SWT menegaskan bahwa Al Qur'an diturunkan sebagai petunjuk bagi orang-orang yang bertaqwa (beriman, melaksanakan shalat, menafkahkan sebagian rezeki), merekalah yang disebut oleh Allah sebagai orang-orang yang beruntung (QS. 2: 2-5). Bertaqwa dalam segala aktivitas kehidupannya termasuk dalam aktivitas ekonomi (muamalah) (Ibad 2003). Al Qur'an adalah kitab yang tidak mempunyai tujuan lain kecuali membimbing manusia kepada kebahagiaan. Ia mengajarkan kepercayaan sejati, akhlak yang mulia dan perbuatan-perbuatan yang benar, yang merupakan dasar-dasar kebahagiaan individu dan sosial umat manusia. Al Qur'an menyuguhkan ajaran-ajaran Islam dalam bentuk ringkasan, yang rinciannya berkaitan dengan hukum, merujuk pada Rasulullah saw. Ajaran Islam, baik dan Al Qur'an maupun dalam haditsnya, tidak pernah memberi petunjuk tentang bentuk-bentuk, terlebih menyangkut teknis usaha dan bisnis apa yang harus dilakukan manusia. Manusia diberikan kebebasan sepenuhnya untuk memilih bentuk-bentuk muamalah yang sesuai potensi dan kersempatan yang dimilikinya (Ibad 2003). Hal tersebut juga sebenarnya ditegaskan oleh Rasulullah saw. yang menyatakan: Kalian lebih mengetahui tentang dunia kalian.

Artinya, menurut Mas'udi (1995) merujuk pada pemikiran Imam Syafi'i, sesudah Al Qur'an dan Hadits Nabi tidak ada otoritas lain kecuali Ijtihad, dengan satu tujuan utama untuk menjamin terwujudnya kemashlahatan dan mereduksi kemudharatan.

Jadi, tujuan ditetapkannya Syari'at (Maqasid Syari'ah) (Mas'udi, 1995) tidak memiliki basis (tujuan) lain kecuali kemaslahatan manusia. Merealisasikan kemashlahatan dengan menjamin kebutuhan pokoknya (dharuriyah), sekunder (hajiyah) dan pelengkap (tahsiniyah) (Khallaf 2002, 319). Bukan berarti, lanjut Mas'udi (1995), segi formal dan tekstual dari ketentuan hukum harus diabaikan. Ketentuan legal-formal-tekstual harus menjadi acuan tingkah laku manusia dalam kehidupan bersama, kalau tidak ingin menjadi anarki. Tetapi, tegas Mas'udi (1995) pada saat yang sama, haruslah disadari sedalam-dalamnya bahwa patokan legal-formal dan tekstual hanyalah merupakan cara bagaimana citra kemaslahatan dan keadilan itu diaktualisasikan dalam kehidupan nyata. Artinya, lanjut Mas'udi (1995) kemaslahatan kemanusiaan yang universal yang dalam ungkapan yang lebih rasional, yaitu keadilan sosial.

Kemaslahatan lanjut Mas'udi (1995) perlu dibedakan antara kemaslahatan yang bersifat individual-subjektif dan sosial-objektif. Kemaslahatan yang bersifat individual-subjektif adalah kemaslahatan yang menyangkut kepentingan seseorang yang secara eksistensial bersifat independen dan terpisah dengan kepentingan orang lain. Sedangkan kemaslahatan yang bersifat sosial-objektif adalah kemaslahatan yang menyangkut kepentingan orang banyak. Dalam hal ini otoritas yang berhak dan sekaligus menjadi hakimnya tidak lain adalah orang banyak yang bersangkutan, melalui mekanisme syura untuk mencapai kesepakatan (ijma').

Menurut Syathibi dalam kitabnya yang berjudul al-Muwafaqat seperti dijelaskan oleh Zein (1999), usaha untuk menemukan maqasid al-shari'ah dapat dilakukan dengan merujuk langsung pada nash wahyu tanpa melihat makna/‘illat (redaksional), merujuk nash wahyu dengan melihat substansi ‘illat-nya (qiyas), lewat tujuan sekunder yang tidak boleh bertentangan dengan tujuan pokok, dan terakhir yaitu melalui sikap diamnya Rasulullah atas masalah yang terjadi.

Meskipun begitu, dijelaskan oleh Al-Najjar (1993) seperti dikutip oleh Arma (2004), yang perlu dicermati di sini adalah konteks syari'ah dan tujuan syari'ah adalah kesatuan yang tidak terpisahkan. Apa yang diperintahkan Allah dengan pasti tentulah akan mendatangkan kebaikan, dan apa yang dilarang jelas akan menimbulkan kerusakan. Aksioma yang mengatakan di mana ada mashlahah disitu pasti ada syari'ah kata Al-Qardhawi (1981) tidak selalu benar (Arma 2004). Menurut Al-Qardhawi aksioma yang seharusnya adalah berbunyi di mana ada hukum syara' di sana pasti ada mashlahah. Ini karena terkadang apa yang dianggap sebagai mashlahah sebenarnya bukan mashlahah, bisa jadi ia sudah menjadi mashlahah yang dikategorikan dibatalkan (mulghah), seperti khamar. Pada keadaan seperti kasus ini sudah tentu syara' tidak hadir. Akan tetapi ketika syari'ah ada, pasti mashlahah akan hadir di sana, karena tidak mungkin Allah mensyari'atkan sesuatu tanpa ada mashlahahnya, meskipun terkadang akal kita tidak dapat menangkap dan memahami masalah tersebut. Pada saat itulah keimanan dan keislaman kita diuji (Arma 2004).

Akuntansi Syariah: Pengantar (Bagian Satu)

Two Brothers at Their Own Circumcision Party in Turkey (looking similar to my Middle Eastern Country) - Photo by "A" at: http://bbcag.blogspot.com/2007/08/snip-snip-and-im-not-talking-hair.html

Our discussion about circumcision began while reading our story about Dr. De Soto, an animal dentist who is a mouse. In the story, the dentist sometimes gives gas to his patients. I had to explain about that, since dentists here don't have gas.

I also told the children that in America, the doctor or dentist generally TELLS you before he gives you a shot, or before they do something in your mouth, by saying, "Now you're going to feel some pressure here," or "This might hurt a little bit, are you ready?" Here in my part of the Middle East, they generally try to distract you with something, and then when you're not expecting anything, jab the needle in, or whatever. Suddenly, all the boys were raising their hands in response, wanting to tell me how the doctor did something to them, but without warning them in advance--it was their circumcisions.

All of the boys were eager to share their experiences. Here, circumcisions are generally done when the boys are anywhere between four and seven years of age. There is no hard and fast rule. It can be done any time before the boy reaches adolescence. But most children and adults seem to agree that it should be done when the boy is old enough to remember it. Generally boys are told that they will have a circumcision party, but no one tells the boys WHAT is going to happen to them at that party.

Image of a Circumcision of Brothers in Tunisia, which looks much like my Middle Eastern country - Photo by Vivian and Gary at: http://countryepicure.wordpress.com/2007/01/10/la-residence-and-more-tunis/

As my eight- and nine-year-old boys raised their hands, they kept saying, "When they cut my private place..." So I corrected them to say, "When I had my circumcision..."

One boy's comment:

"I wouldn't lie down when they told me to. So they took me in front of the TV and said, 'Look at this movie.' They suddenly cut it when I wasn't looking!"

Another boy:

"I was watching TV and didn't want to lie down, so I still remember like it was yesterday. They told me there were snakes on the floor, so I would pick up my legs and lie down (on the couch)."

A third boy:

"They told me, 'Look, there's a bird!' When I looked up in the sky, they cut it!"

A fourth boy:

"The doctor came, and he said he wanted to look at my private place, to see if it was 'good.' So I let him see it. After looking at it, he told me it was 'good.' Then the doctor got out something to cut it, and I said, 'Don't touch it! My mom said to keep it clean!' Then I knew what he was going to do. I tried to run away. Then the doctor got mad, and put a scarf around my eyes (like a blindfold). He made it hurt a lot.

All the boys in class contributed lots and lots of comments. The girls contributed comments about the circumcisions of their brothers, nephews, and cousins.

I decided to take this opportunity to clarify a point I have been asked about in the West, particularly from men. I told the boys that Muslims are not the only boys who are circumcised. I told them that Jewish babies are circumcised on the eighth day after being born, and that many Christian boys are circumcised as a baby before they leave the hospital.

My boys were in shock. Several of them raised their hands and asked, "If you do that to a little baby, won't he bleed to death?"

Another boy asked, "Isn't a baby's private place so small that if the doctor cuts something off, nothing will be left?"

I explained that doctors would be very careful and cut a much smaller part off of a baby. I also explained that many people feel that it's kinder to circumcise a boy as a baby, in that some people say it hurts less (which I don't believe) and that "at least the boy doesn't have to remember it!"

My teaching assistant, present during the discussion, who is a Muslim male from my Middle Eastern country said that some people are now starting to circumcise boys as babies, because supposedly it heals better and faster.

Anyway, I asked the boys how they felt about their own experiences. I asked did they feel mad, surprised, hurt, or OK about their experience, especially since none of them had been told beforehand what was going to happen?

All the boys except two said they didn't think it was too bad. Some of them said they hardly felt it at all. One boy said, "It doesn't hurt until you see blood." They all said that when they had to urinate, that it hurt terribly (they didn't say for how long, but I gather up to a couple weeks, or when it starts to heal).

Two boys said they thought it hurt a lot, and remembered it badly, but did not seem to be traumatized at present by the experience, being quite happy to join in the class discussion.

Two boys and one girl mentioned problems that they'd heard of with the circumcisions, where it had to be done two or three times. (I gather this was because of scar tissue healing incorrectly, but I didn't ask.) One boy then commented, "My cousin is really small (down there) because they had to cut him three times."

I responded that different people are different sizes in all parts of their bodies. I assured him that the doctor would only cut the outside skin, and this would not make a boy "shorter" even if it had been done three times.

A couple boys mentioned that they felt good about having it done, because they felt they were both becoming like the adults, and doing something for their religion.

Of course what they liked most about the experience was the presents they got. These included lots of Teddy Bears, toy cars and toy boats, plastic guns and bows and arrows, Action Man dolls, Play Station, a Koran to keep by the bedside, new shoes, new clothes, and money (up to $200, or over 150 Euros).

Eileen

A major survey shows most want to marry their soulmates and enjoy high street fashion, while keeping a delicate balance with their Islamic values.

She wants to marry her soulmate, shops in Primark, TK Maxx and Topshop, and dreams of starting her own business. Meet the typical Muslim woman in Britain today.

A thousand women throughout the country have responded to the biggest lifestyle study of Muslim women undertaken in the UK. It appears to show that Muslim women have established a delicate balance between a desire to live a contemporary lifestyle and tap into consumer trends while sticking to values underpinning the Islamic guide to life. .....

Na'ima B Robert, editor of Sisters Magazine states:

"... Believe it or not, there are many Muslim women like me, frustrated at the ignorance and bias that so often accompany our society's attempts to address any issue surrounding Islam and, in particular, Muslim women....

I love the fact that Islam is still central to our values. I love the fact that we still believe in finding our soulmate and that marriage and children are important, in the face of high divorce rates and a general move away from marriage. I love the fact that we are making our mark, either in employment, as students or full-time mothers, in spite of the dire statistics about low achievement among Muslims. I love the fact that we cook fresh meals and eat out, that we entertain at home and travel abroad, that we embrace hijab and shop on the high street. I love that we are so ordinary, and yet so extraordinary.

That is just one of the reasons why this survey is so refreshing. Somehow it manages to be both ordinary and extraordinary. Ordinary in the sense that the questions we asked were about daily life, about human details, details that, while making up the majority of our lives, rarely hit the headlines. It is also extraordinary in its size compared with previous surveys, the response we received and the value of those responses - to us as individuals, as businesses, as a community and as a society."

**********

Interesting........the only question is how accurate the results are. I was asked to participate in this survey. And i did. However, i'm neither UK-based nor from the UK. There were a number of sisters who took the survey from other parts of the world. However, the results surmise all responses to be of UK muslim women.

Despite this scorn, Islamists are eager to use elections to attain power, and have proven themselves to be agile vote-getters; even a terrorist organization (Hamas) has won an election. This record does not render the Islamists democratic but indicates their tactical flexibility and their determination to gain power. As Erdoğan has revealingly explained, "Democracy is like a streetcar. When you come to your stop, you get off." Read more...

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The Indonesian Case Study

In the global debate about the compatibility between Islam and democracy, Indonesia is often held up as an example of the possible. Ten years after General Suharto's downfall, the world's most populous Muslim country has institutionalized free elections and the peaceful transfer of power, nurtured a lively press, and rolled back a panoply of racist laws that once targeted the country's ethnic Chinese minority. But the ongoing persecution of the Ahmadiyya, a small Muslim sect founded in late 19th century India, underscores Indonesia's – and the Muslim world's – trouble guaranteeing a bedrock democratic value: freedom of conscience. Without it, the country's proud claim to be the world's third-largest democracy will remain lacking.

From The April 22nd Asian Edition of the Wall Street Journal has an op-ed , Intolerance in Indonesia, by Dadanand Dhume, a fellow at the Asia Society.

The Indonesian Case Study

THE latest results from the elections in the provinces of West Java and North Sumatra, Indonesia, would suggest that a sea change of sorts is taking place in Indonesia. Will it be the modernist vision of the Islamists of PKS and PAN (which is already conservative enough on social and moral issues), or will it be the exclusive and sectarian vision of Islam currently pushed by the likes of the Indonesian Mujahideen Council?

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Article Category: Democracy and Islam

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First, I want to make it clear that my issue is not with hijab.  I choose not to wear hijab.  I have researched the matter and my reasons for not wearing it are feminist, some may say political, but they are also religious.  I will only submit to Allah.  By the same token there are women out there that choose to wear hijab, their reasons are for submitting to the will of Allah and there are plenty of Muslim feminists out there that choose to wear hijab.  I not only respect, admire and love women who wear hijab for these reasons but I'll stand up for them. 

That being said, this post is not about whether or not hijab is a requirement, so please do not take it there, I will not take the bait into debate about this on this thread.  This post is about the sheer ignorance of this rap ilahija and quite honestly I look at it as a piece of propoganda.

Watch and read:

That scarf which you wear
You must pride yourself with it
Like that my dear sister
You only bring good with it
And that good circles all around you
You are a savior not just for yourself but for others
Don’t you preoccupy yourself with those that give you strange looks.
Who don’t wish to truthfully submit themselves to God
When some sisters pass they act as though some darkness has overcome them
Don’t you fret that you have covered your head in that way, you that have received the mercy of your god
Everyone that thinks that western culture is the answer is devastatingly fooling themselves
Western life is nothing other than disrespecting oneself
Only Islam gives savior, gives the right solution
What kind of system is that where a woman equals a little bit of money?
Where a woman happily deceives her husband? 
Would someone like to try that kind of life where a woman is nothing but a disposable object. 
In the west’s system prostitution reigns, there are less marriages and morals, everything revolves around money. 
Today is a dangerous time. 
Every girl who wants safety, let her put a scarf on, that is her best protection.
Truthfully, a woman holds a special place in Islam. 
Don’t let doubt take over you in regards to that. 
Don’t fall trap to empty stories that women in Islam sit within four walls, truthfully women in Islam have worth. 
Those that say that, I swear on Allah, they lie because those are the ones that suffocate themselves with prostitution, drugs, and criminal activity; they are those that destroy everything of worth. 
That’s their jealousy which has to grow every day. 
That’s why they attack Islam’s honor. 
Sister wake your soul and advise others to cover their head. 
Don’t you see how others around you suffer and they will until they truthfully return themselves to god.

Okay, honestly, I do take issue that this rapper is claiming that women who do not cover their hair are not truthfully submitting themselves to Allah.  I take offense that any person would claim to know how Allah sees our intentions.

However, my biggest issue with this rap is that it is an Islam, as a religion, versus The West, as a society.  You can not compare the two.  Yes, Islam does treat women as equals and respects women but in reality we can not say the same of Muslim society.  By the same token, democracy, as a system, by today's standards, respects and treats women as equals but we can not by default say the same of society.

Furthermore, statements that prostitution, drugs and criminal behaviour are elements exclusive of western society is a false statement (links above are search to related word and middle east).  But what's worse than those statements is the claim that the veil/scarf are a weapon to protect women from such elements.

The ills of society can not be cured through a veil.  This is the reality:

Backstage, the manager sits in his leather chair, doing business. A Saudi client is quoted $500 for one of the girls. Eventually he beats it down to $300. Next door, in a dimly lit room, the next shift of girls arrives, taking off the black all-covering abayas they wear outside and putting on lipstick and mascara.

************

There are more than a million Iraqi refugees in Syria, many are women whose husbands or fathers have been killed. Banned from working legally, they have few options outside the sex trade. No one knows how many end up as prostitutes, but Hana Ibrahim, founder of the Iraqi women's group Women's Will, puts the figure at 50,000.

I met Fatima in a block of flats operating informally as a brothel in Saida Zainab, a run-down area with a large Iraqi population. Millions of Shias go there every year, because of the shrine of the prophet Mohamed's granddaughter. "I came to Syria after my husband was killed, leaving me with two children," Fatima tells me. "My aunt asked me to join her here, and my brothers pressured me to go." She didn't realise the work her aunt did, and she would be forced to take up, until she arrived.

Fatima is in her mid-20s, but campaigners say the number of Iraqi children working as prostitutes is high. Bassam al-Kadi of Syrian Women Observatory says: "Some have been sexually abused in Iraq, but others are being prostituted by fathers and uncles who bring them here under the pretext of protecting them. They are virgins, and they are brought here like an investment and exploited in a very ugly way."

This, this, this and this are all problems that Muslim societies face.  Forced divorces, women not being able to drive, women not allowed to work, lashings or death sentences passed out for rape victims, honor killings - they are all ills and not of Islam but of Muslim societies.  These are the things that are happening to veiled women in societies where the veil is not "our freedom, our choice, our right" but where the veil is "the law".  Shouldn't we also as Muslim women have the right to freedom of choice?  The way I see it, and I sit here in the west, there is nothing more Islamic that exists on this planet than where I sit today.  I have the freedom to be a practicing Muslim and the freedom to choose and the right to wear that veil/scarf.  I have the ability to partake in my political system through voting, lobbying, and running for office if I so choose.  I am more protected as a woman through the justice system here than through any so-called "Islamic State". 

I simply couldn't let this one go.  It angers me to see such lyrics in Bosnian and I can't fathom this having some sort of influence on anyone.

Oh, and by the way .. shouldn't this guy be avoiding rapping?  Isn't that a western influence?  I mean, me gosh, isn't rap associated with so many un-Islamic things?  Isn't his rapping basically endorsing all rap?

For those of you that think this is something typical in Bosnia - it's not.  See my post titled The Halqas and a Whirling Dervish which covers a zikir event with Bosnia's Sulejman Bugari whose apparences require use of microphones (often from the minaret) as the audience spills beyond the interior walls and into the streets.

Excerpt:

On proper hijab (question posted by a husband on behalf of his absent wife)

Suleyman Bugari would make an excellent politician as he liked answering our questions with questions.  “How many people do you know that hang a tespih in their car but never use one?”  We all smiled and nodded.

“Never talk to a woman about covering herself.  Talk to her about the pillars of faith.  Let her find it for herself.  Let her do it because it came to her on its own.”

He went on to tell us about a sixth grader in Bosnia whose parents made her cover.  When asked why she covered by classmates that had been ridiculing her she replied “because my father makes me”.  It became a fiasco.  The story was all over the media and debates had ensued.

“It’s really not pretty when a woman can not explain why she covers her hair.  How do you feel when we see a woman who doesn’t know or unconvincingly says “it’s my identity” as opposed to a woman who with all of her heart knows and radiates her reasons through the words that flow from her heart?

In last month's Saudi-Aramco World magazine, I found a very interesting story prompt that had been used in the 1800's. It was to imagine if YOU found Aladdin's lamp. I thought that sounded pretty exciting, so I decided to try it with my third-graders. I let them get into small groups of two, three, or four, with their best friends. When the stories were finished, there were far too many mistakes (such as how to write quotations correctly, which they hadn't even learned yet) for the children to make the corrections themselves.

So I took all of their stories, and typed them up myself, correcting all errors, and printed them out. I had every child in each group draw a picture, and then I mounted the stories on colored construction paper of each group's choice, together with their illustrations too bad I don't have a digital camera yet, or I'd include some of their photos). We hung them up for two weeks in the front hall of our school. My kids were very proud of them. Here is one of the best stories:

We Found Aladdin's Lamp
By John, Adam, and Dan (names changed),  three eight-year-old boys, all native speakers

One winter, we found a lamp. It was dirty. We rubbed it and a genie popped out! We were amazed. We said, "Can you give us three wishes?"

Adam's first wish was to fly. John's first wish was for no school. Dan's first wish was to be rich.

So, the genie said, "Okay, I will grant your wishes."

All three boys shouted, "Thank you!"

Less than one second later, their wishes came true. Adam flew to London and had a vacation. John took a plane to London. Dan took a plane to London, to a place made out of gold. The three friends were separated. They forgot about the genie. They forgot about each other.

Two months later, Adam flew to the Sahara desert and found the genie. He asked the genie where he could find John and Dan.

The genie said, "In London." So, Adam flew back to London, and the three friends were reunited.

The two friends flew on Adam's back, and went to the Sahara desert to find the genie again.

The genie said, "You still have two wishes." John's second wish was to be a walk through walls. Adam's second wish was to be a super star. Dan's second wish was to be the fastest runner.

All of a sudden, Dan grabbed the lamp, stealing it, and went back to his palace. John and Adam were in shock! So John and Adam flew to Dan's palace, but when John went inside, Dan shouted, "SECURITY!" John went to jail, but was able to just walk out, since now he could walk through walls. Then he was able to find his friend Adam again.

Meanwhile, Dan asked the genie, "Can I have my third wish now?"

The genie said, "YES."

Dan said, "I want to have a room full of gold."

Right after that, John and Adam were able to steal the lamp back. Then Adam's third wish was to travel through time. John's third wish was to teleport. John used his third wish to break the security code into Dan's palace, and go to Ryan, accompanied by Adam. Luckily, Dan turned good again, and said to John, "Let's have a cup of tea." Dan brought the cups of tea. Then the three friends celebrated, and were reunited.

Typical breakfast here. Photo from: http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/00/1e/09/a7/the-simple-italian-breakfast.jpg

This is the first in a series of two posts. Today I will explore the background breakfast facts.

I realized that English/American/Australian/Western society has a fundamental culture clash with Middle Eastern society (at least in my particular host country). I am married to a man of the local culture, and we have been married for 16 years. A couple weeks ago, I was packing my lunch for school, and making my breakfast, when he made a strange comment to me. He said, "You shouldn't be eating breakfast! You should just be having a cup of coffee, like everybody else!"

Suddenly, a "light bulb" went on in my head--I suddenly understood the root of the problem our school has been having for years and years with the local culture. Ever since our school opened a few years back, we who are foreign teachers could never understand the societal resistance we encountered to having students eat breakfast before coming to school. Two-thirds of our upper-middle-class students show up at school without any breakfast! Teachers view it as the students are waiting up to two hours for "snack time" in order to substitute their snack for the breakfast they have "missed." We can't understand why the parents aren't feeding their children before school. Now I think I see what is happening.

This culture has different habitual times of eating than the English-language cultures. It appears that many people get up, and have only coffee (if they are getting up early). My husband claims that everyone feels that offices and schools should break at 10:00 (not for a snack, but for people to have breakfast at that time). Nearly all the host-country native workers at our school have told me, when I asked them why they couldn't eat their breakfast before coming to school, "If I eat early, I feel like vomiting." I thought they were just making this up. Later, when I questioned the children in my class about if they had breakfast, what they ate, and at what time, they also gave the same response, "If I eat early, I feel like vomiting." So I think this is a cultural idea which is transmitted to the children.

After taking a late breakfast, they feel the correct time to eat lunch is any time between 1 PM and 3 PM (depending on the individual and family). A lot of people have "coffee" and a snack around 6 PM, with dinner commonly at 10 - 11 PM! No wonder we can't get school children to go to bed at 8 or 9 PM! They haven't even had their dinner yet. When they are eating dinner very late, no wonder they aren't hungry to eat breakfast early.

Compare that with a typical (Western) American schedule. Get up at 6 AM, eat breakfast at 6:30 AM, and on the way to school/work by 7 AM. Lunch around 11:30-12:00-1:00 (for the really late people). Early people eat dinner at 5 PM, my family always ate at 6 PM, and late people have their dinner at 7 PM. Kids have bath and are in bed by 8 - 9 PM, at the latest, in order to get up at 6 AM. Northeastern America works on a slightly later schedule (probably advanced by an hour), and I hear Britain works on a later schedule, too. But it appears that the non-English speaking countries work on a FAR, FAR LATER SCHEDULE for everything.

The next post will explore ideas the foreign teachers have had/tried to "force" students and families to have breakfast before school, and the societal resistance and explanations we've encountered.

Eileen

Dear  Samaha,

I am writing in the mere hope that someone out there will be able to understand me.

I compared your entries to some of those on my blog and see what I need. I need to be able to look at religion from a different perspective. This will not happen as long as I live in this country – Egypt.

Many people think that Muslims in the ME should have no issues with religion since there are educational institutions that can educate people and guide them. Hundreds of students graduate every year from Al Azhar University after having studied all major branches of Islam. Yet, the situation here is a three-ring circus. Not to blame this mess on educational institutions merely, I have to tell you that I don't know how many other factors are out there.

All my life I had known that religious matters are taken for granted and that our deen is unquestionable. I kept having my issues with various matters and pushed them away. Once I got in contact with non-Arabs I thought to myself that I was not dealing with this matter properly and that the best thing to do was to read about whatever came to my mind, try to understand, and ,therefore, have a more solid faith.

I started reading about hijab. After ten months here are some questions on my mind:

- How is ijma' (consensus) defined? And who defines it?

-  Can I decide to take a single scholar's opinion even if it's against consensus? In that case, I can decide to take off hijab, get married to a Christian, and God only knows what else.

-  Can scholars base a ruling to kill someone on a hadith? Who said that if someone decides to leave Islam they should be killed? What effect can they have on deen if they decide to leave? Nothing. Can't the rest of their lives be a chance for them to learn and maybe come back to Islam?

-  In Islam if a man or a woman commits fornication and they both sincerely repent to God, insha'allah He forgives them. They don't have to tell their future spouse about their past. I can see this possible for the man. In the ME it's impossible for the woman. What solution does religion offer this woman when she wants to start a life and protect herself against sins?

- "Take it all or leave it all" , " You can' t pick and choose from Quran" , "Don't question things. This is a test from God to know if you believe or not." These are some of the things I heard from Sheikhs when I said I don't want my husband to get a second wife or discipline me as advised in Quran.

- Who do I trust?

I kept researching all these matters, asked many scholars both in and outside Egypt. Although I'm known to be a strong person, once I decided to face the fact that there were no answers, I cried for a week in a late response to the shock.

Why am I telling you all this? Because when I talked to my family about the possibility that veil may not be mandatory, they thought I was at a 'dangerous stage' and that I should 'stop reading!!' I am telling you all this because I am starting to lose the beauty of religion and I don't know why. I am not even sure what kind of lifestyle will suit me. I don't know what to do, where to go, who to ask.

I have a successful social and professional life(alhamdulellah) and have many plans that don't allow me to spend hours everyday checking if a hadith is authentic or not and why a scholar used it when it is weak.   My life turned into hell since my religion, my solid comfort resort, turned out to be full of unanswered questions.

I keep trying to find people like yourself in an attempt to find answers one day. I hope I could find them soon. I haven't slept in months.

Thank you for reading this ...

Washing offal out of intestines can be an awful job! It’s cold, wet work, especially when the day falls in the winter season of November through February.

I’ve heard several women admit to me over the years that they don’t really like this holiday. Those who have admitted it to me were more well-to-do women, admittedly, whose families probably eat meat every day. In past centuries, all the work was was probably worth it for the reward of eating meat. For many women these days, it means a lot of messy work and a lot of serving of visitors who arrive at the home–some expected, and some unexpected.

I have yet to meet any men who tell me they don’t enjoy this holdiay.

Most children are not expected to help with the work. The children brag to each other about how many sheep their family will sacrifice. It seems to be the Western equivalent of wearing used ski-lift tickets on your jacket to school (the more the better) in terms of increasing your status among other kids.

In my next and last post in this series, I will discuss My Feelings About the Day, and How They Have Changed Over the Years.

Eileen

Photo by Pam R., at: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=90909&hl=

The women get up early to bake plenty of fresh bread (even if many of them now buy the bread on other days). This involves making the big flat loaves and taking them to the neighborhood public oven to be cooked (most people only have gas stove-tops at home, not ovens).

Most of my foreign friends who are married to Middle Eastern men manage to skip the sacrifice part and show up later in the day. My Middle Eastern family would never hear of this. Over the years, I’ve gotten used to this part of it, and that has actually surprised me.

If you are late leaving your own house to go to your Middle Eastern in-laws for the actual killing, you see many of the poor, homeless, guardian-types, or seasonal-type workers already having been given heads, sitting around fires in open spaces in empty lots, cooking three heads or so over the fire. You can smell the roasting meat as you go by.

Now, we’ll pick up here from yesterday, where the butcher has now been paid and gone on to another house. The internal organs have been set aside, and the men are ready to begin cooking them. By now it is usually around 11:00 A.M., or even later. The heart, liver, and kidneys are first sliced into flat slabs no more than half or three-quarter inches thick (about one, or one and a half centimeters thick). They are put into a hand-held two-sided grilling rack and cooked over a charcoal fire in a small, clay barbecue pot which Middle Easterners use for grilling. I don’t have a photo, but someone named Jonathan does, where you can also see typical floor tiles from my part of the Middle Eastern under the pot:

http://picasaweb.google.com/jonathannagar/CrazyMealsAndSnacks/photo#5056651469457886322

Once the meat is cooked through, it’s taken out of the grill and cut in strips about one inch (two cm) wide, then into squares. Next, the peritoneum (sheet of fat which came out of the abdominal wall) is cut into short, rectangular strips of the same width, and a small piece wrapped around each piece of cooked meat. The pieces, with fat wrapped around, are threaded on to a skewer to be laid across the charcoal fire.

No vegetables are added onto the skewers. (In fact, in America, the first time my Middle Eastern husband saw me add vegetables on the skewers between the pieces of meat, he was really shocked! This is just “not done” in my part of the Middle East, and in fact, would be viewed as an “insult” to guests. But this is a subject for a whole other post, some other time.)

The smoke from the fat dripping into this fire creates the characteristic odor of the day. It smells SO much better than a barbecue where a marinating sauce is used. It’s a strong smell, and it both permeates the house, and sticks to your clothes. This smell is perhaps one of the best moments of the whole day, and goes on for a couple of hours, until all the cooking of brochettes (shish kebab) is finished.

As each skewer comes off the fire, it’s given to someone directly, eaten together with the freshly-baked bread, now back from the public oven. Little dishes of cumin and salt are lying about to flavor the meat before eating. The internal organs, cooked this way, are incredibly delicious. (I think a lot of people in America have never been exposed to proper cooking methods for these things, and decent cooking methods are often unknown–which is why people have a bad impression of them– because we seldom eat these things in America, except for some people eating liver.)

While the men are cooking brochettes, the women are busy washing out the stomach, and then cutting up the stomach and lungs, which are made into a soup which has to cook quite a while. The inside of the stomach has a “short shag rug” appearance and feel (I’m afraid I don’t eat that; in fact, I’ve never even tried it), while the lungs are very spongy. As they are cut up into bite-sized pieces to put into the soup, it feels a bit like handling and cutting a firm, pink sponge (I’ve never tried eating these, either). People must be careful not to eat too much meat, or they can get a stomach ache!

Once the soup is on the fire, cooking in the kitchen, some salads are typically prepared to be set out for those eating meat. These are often pieces of peeled, seeded, and chopped fresh tomato mixed with cut lettuce, and flavored with a bit of olive oil, cumin, and salt. The salads are served on several small shared saucers, placed around the low coffee-height table. There is so much other work to do today that they generally stick to simple salads. By this time, the women usually stop to eat, too.

Sometime after this, the mother of the family usually starts preparing the head, which will be eaten either for the evening meal (commonly served around 9:00 - 10:00 P.M.). If it is not served in the evening, it is sometimes served at noon the following day when is a common time for friends and extended family (or in-laws’ families) to show up.

The preparation of the head is very interesting. The mother of the family usually takes a hand-held plastic razor, like one would use for shaving face or legs, and carefully shaves hair off the sheep’s face. Then the head is steamed for several hours. It’s been years since I’ve seen this part myself, but I recall it being served on a big platter, where everyone pulls off the face meat (which is very delicate, and what all bologna-type products are made out of), eating it flavored with cumin and salt. I have tried the face meat, and it is surprisingly good and tender.

I think the skull is already cracked before it’s brought to the table, but I can’t honestly remember if the brains are taken out first and cooked separately, or if they are still inside the skull and eaten from there. I have never tried brains. I hear they are excellent, but I prefer to follow the advice of scientists and doctors not to eat the brains of any animal (because of prion diseases)–most people in the Middle East have never heard this advice and wouldn’t be interested in hearing it, either. In any case, the brains would be eaten with pieces of freshly-baked bread. Nor have I ever tried the sheep’s eye, although this is considered a delicacy.

My husband brought the neck home and cooked it for us last night. It was in one piece, bones in the center. He put it into a big pot with a steam basket, and just steamed it for three hours. He steamed some whole vegetables (carrots, zucchini, broccoli, onion, potato) and served them together with the meat, which was just on a platter. The steaming juice (which had cooked down to about two cups, including the drippings which had steamed out of the meat) was delicious mashed into potatoes on the plate. It actually reminded me a bit of New England Boiled Dinners, but was actually much more delicious. We had fresh, home-made bread with it.

The second day, a dish is prepared with the hooves and forelegs of the sheep. My Middle Eastern husband enjoys this dish, but it is also one I have never been able to try.

About 5:00 PM, married daughters who have been at their in-laws start arriving home at their own parents’ house, families in tow. Sometimes other guests arrive, and people don’t always know who might show up.

In the next entry, we’ll discuss how some women feel about this holiday.

Eileen

Oil Painting of the Butcher's Shop, by Annibale Carracci (1580), image from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Carracci-Butcher%27s_shop.jpg

Important: If you are a vegetarian, or squeamish about reading about butchering, you might want to skip this post. Tomorrow’s post should be easy reading, never fear.

A Description of What Happens:

Any family members not actually assisting the butcher stand around in a semi-circle, watching as the sheep is butchered.

At this time of year, it’s cold, and to do this wet, messy work, the butcher is wearing knee-high black rubber boots, and often a black rubber coat on top of butchering clothes. The butcher uses his own knives for the butchering. He usually has a couple of big knives with him, or at least one (ten to twelve inches long, or up to twenty-four centimeters; and about two inches wide, up to four centimeters wide), but never have I seen them in good condition like nice hunting knives would be. They usually look very old, battered, not too sharp, even looking like they are about ready to fall apart.

Once the sheep has been hung by the hind leg, the butcher immediately starts to skin it. He makes cuts on the back legs and begins peeling the skin off, inside out. As it comes down, he delicately cuts between the skin and meat so that the skin will peel back. As he arrives at the body, instead of cutting, he uses the heel of the knife handle, in his right hand, to pound at the connections between the meat and the skin, while peeling down the skin with his left hand. He peels one side a bit, then moves around to the other side, then back and forth, taking the skin off in one whole piece. As the skin peels down in the cold morning, steam rises from the warmth of the exposed meat. It takes a butcher about ten or fifteen minutes to completely skin an animal.

Once the skin is off, it is set aside. Skins are sometimes taken later to the tannery, and returned as a nice rug. One year, we bought a sheep ourselves, and when the rug was returned to us, it attracted so many clothes moths into our home that we got rid of it and never kept a sheep-hide rug again. Most wool (in America or Europe) used to knit sweaters is actually chemically treated to resist attracting clothes moths (someone in the knitting industry told me that.) In the past, the wool was used to stuff long Moroccan sofas. These days, the hides are sometimes given to people who come by in the street, who then sell them. No one should profit on this day from killing their own sheep, so anything not wanted is given away, not sold.

Once the sheep has been skinned, the butcher begins by cutting open the abdomen. The internal organs are removed. There is a very important internal organ (for cooking purposes) which I don’t know the name of (and which doesn’t seem to be studied in school). I once read about it, but don’t recall the name, so I will describe it, as people have it, too. It is just under the skin of the abdomen, and it is where most abdominal fat is deposited. It has a name, but I don’t know what the name is, in any language. When it lifts out, it looks like a sheet of fat, thicker and thinner in some places, roughly about eighteen inches square, or somewhat rectangular. This will be used in the cooking by being cut into small strips to be wrapped around each piece of meat in shish-kebobs made of heart and liver. So this organ is set aside. (I just heard from my doctor friend, who tells me this is called the peritoneum.)

The liver is removed, as are the intestines. A big plastic tub is kept nearby, and the intestines are carefully pulled out, not all at once, but as a long hose being unwound, with the one end being dropped into the plastic tub as they are pulled. The stomach, kidneys, and green gallbladder are removed. I believe the gallbladder is discarded. Next the heart is removed and set aside with the liver and kidneys.

Now the lungs are removed, not by cutting the chest, but by pulling them out through the abdominal cavity in one piece, with the windpipe still attached. Often, one of the brothers in the family will take and blow them up like a balloon, inflating them fully several times, in play. The children find this great fun to see. But my understanding is that the real reason behind this is to check that they are not diseased. The Middle Easterners seem to know what to look for. Healthy lungs are a uniform, rosy pink. Diseased lungs have discolored parts, or a speckled appearance, apparently.

If the lungs are not healthy, they are discarded. If they are healthy, they are set aside to use in making a soup. The stomach is washed out (with a hose) and set aside for the same soup.

At this point, the butcher is paid, and he leaves, to go on to the next house he can find as quickly as possible. For about two weeks after this day, all the butcher shops are closed, and no meat is for sale in supermarkets, nor are their meat departments even open. So if you are a meat-eating foreigner living in a Muslim country and are not killing a sheep, do stock up on some meat for the freezer before this festival.

The hanging carcass of the sheep is left hanging to dry. If it is a time of year when there are a lot of flies, the meat is covered with a canvas tarp wrapped around it to keep them off. Meanwhile, the cooking starts. Smoke from the cooking fires also keeps flies away, at least while the cooking is going on.

The first parts eaten are the heart, liver, and other internal organs (because these spoil much faster than the regular meat, and many homes still have no refrigeration, or a very limited amount of refrigeration, even in the cities). The next parts eaten are the head (which will be discussed tomorrow) and the soup made out of the lungs and stomach (again, these parts spoil quickly, so they are used first). The hoofs are cooked and served after that. Lastly, the regular meat is used a couple days later.

The meat does keep a few days (surprisingly to me), just wrapped in a cloth, hanging out in the open. The mother of the family will cut off one leg at a time to use. If there is a married son who has not purchased a sheep, she might cut off one leg for that family to take home. Sometimes the head might be given to someone poor who knocks on the door. Sometimes the family cooks it themselves, particularly if they are expecting a lot of extended family for dinner, or at noon the next day.

In the next post, we will read all about the cooking, the eating, and enjoying the day.

Eileen

This is the third entry in a week-long series.

Oil Painting (for sale) by Andrea del Sarto, at: http://www.angel-art-house.com/oil_painting_details.aspx?ID=10647

Remember that the Muslim Festival of the Sheep Sacrifice commemorates God's asking Abraham to sacrifice his son. At the last moment, a sheep was provided.

Important: If you are a vegetarian, or squeamish about reading about butchering, you might want to skip the rest of this post, as well as the post tomorrow on butchering. The posts after that should be easier to read.

In the old medina (old city), a sheep is brought from the room where it is being kept into the central courtyard, if the kitchen is nearby. If the kitchen is upstairs, then the sacrifice can be done in an upstairs hallway next to the kitchen. In other parts of town, the sacrifice can be done on a back patio near the kitchen. Sometimes it is done on a rooftop patio.

The male sheep is grabbed and held by its horns, as well as on top of it’s hind quarters. I have seen it done with the sheep standing, and other times with the sheep lying on it’s side, with its chin twisted up. But mostly its done with the sheep standing (most likely because a standing animal might lose the blood and die faster). A prayer is said, and the sheep’s throat is cut. The cut is very deep, completely through the windpipe, but the head is definitely never cut off. The animal struggles and heaves for breath through its severed windpipe, sometimes making a lot of noise, while approximately four strong men continue to hold it while it struggles. In a good kill, the animal will lose its blood quickly, and lose consciousness in about thirty seconds. In a very bad kill, I have seen animals struggle for three full minutes. In an average kill, the time of the struggle is about a full minute. The blood runs out over the tiled or cemented floor toward the drain.

When the animal’s throat is cut, there is sometimes happiness and merrymaking through women making noise while moving their tongues back and forth side to side, or sometimes by clapping and shouting. In past years, I was concerned about the reaction of young children to seeing a kill. Surprisingly, what I found was that young children usually take the cue from their elders. I found children not too upset because they see the elders celebrating (perhaps this is partly why they celebrate, so that children won’t be upset?), and they have probably been taught to feel happy as children, so they still feel happy. Perhaps another reason was that historically, they were celebrating as one of the few occasions during the year for eating meat. All children are told that a sheep sacrificed this day goes straight to Paradise (and apparently a lot of adults are of the same opinion).

As soon as the animal stops struggling, the butcher peels back the skin from one of the animal lower hind legs, right above the hoof. The butchers work quickly because they want to get to as many houses as possible (to earn a lot of money this day).

In the lower leg are two bones (as in the human leg). the butcher cuts between them with his knife, and a rope is threaded through the two bones. Then the sheep is suspended upside down about two feet (50 cm) off the floor, which aids in the rest of the blood draining out. After this, the head is cut off. Then the floor is hosed off with a garden hose. The head(s) are usually placed in a round (1 meter-diameter) plastic or metal washtub.

If there is a second animal to be sacrificed, it is forbidden for that animal to be present while all this is going on. That is why animals are kept in a room far away. Now the second animal can be brought in (if there is one) and the same procedure happens until every animal is sacrificed, hung, and the floor hosed off.

The next post will discuss how the body of the animal is butchered, with everyone watching and helping.

Eileen

Oil Painting by Leon Engelen, at: http://www.engelen.com/rooms/room1/sheep.htm

Yesterday’s entry was an introduction to the Muslim Festival of the Sacrifice (as seen and experienced by a non-Muslim living in the Middle East for many years). Today’s entry will continue the seven-part series.

Part II A. Preparations for the Sacrifice of a Sheep

In the days before the festival, families go (usually the men, but women and children can go if they want) to the sheep market to buy their sheep. There are hundreds of sheep milling around in one big pen (and yes, wear old shoes because this pen is pretty dirty). In past years, I walked around in this pen with my Middle Eastern father-in-law to choose the family sheep.

If a family lives in old medina (traditional old city with central courtyard style houses), the sheep are brought into the house and kept inside a room that might be built as a bedroom (even upstairs), but which is not currently being used as such. Fresh long grass is thrown onto the floor for them to eat, along with water provided for them. They are usually kept there for one-to-three days before the festival starts. (And of course the room has to be all cleaned up later on, as it becomes just like a barn inside the house. It’s lovely fun for the children, however to have a sheep in the house. They go to see it, and pet it.) Families not in the medina usually keep the sheep loosely tied on the back patio. So of course, you hear the sheep baaaaaaaaing during the day and in the night at houses all around you. This includes when you might be trying to sleep at night, but you are continually awakened by the baaaaaaaaaaing of the sheep in the next room.

The morning of the festival (or the day before, if it’s to another city), everyone travels or goes to their parents’ house, where married brothers assemble. Usually wives and their families go to the husband’s parents, and come later in the day to visit their own parents. Once everyone is assembled (which is hopefully 9:00 AM, but sometimes 10:00 AM), the sacrifice is ready to proceed. Every family has purchased a new knife for the occasion, because the sharpness of a new knife makes the kill much cleaner and faster for the animal. In some families, the father does the sacrifice, and the brothers hold the animal. But in most families these days, butchers are roaming the city, and each family finds a butcher (and his assistant or assistants) in the street, and asks him to come in and kill the animal while the family stands to watch (and yes, it’s considered important for the whole family to be there watching, even the children–I will talk about this later). Our Middle Eastern family always uses a butcher who comes with only one assistant, from the street, and the family brothers help to hold the sheep. The butchers are dressed in butchering clothes, including rubber boots to the knees. (The new clothes for the festival are worn in the street, or when visiting/receiving people, but obviously not for butchering and cooking the sheep.)

The next section will discuss the actual killing of the sheep, and how it is done.

Eileen

A Painting by Artist Ron Ablewhite, at: http://www.finestragallery.co.uk/cart.php?m=product_list&c=46

Friday, December 21, was the first day of the yearly two-day Festival of the Sheep Sacrifice, or Aid el Adha, as it is known throughout the Muslim World. Each Muslim country declares when they will celebrate this day (it varies by a day or so), and this particular year, Festival of the Sacrifice coincides with Christmas week. Each year, the date advances by nearly two weeks, as do all dates on the Muslim calendar (because it is a monthly calendar, not a solar calendar). (I actually studied in a class that the Muslim religion prohibits changing to a solar calendar, where the religious holdiays would fall at the same time each year, incase anyone is wondering why they change from year to year.)

I thought it might be of interest to readers to hear about this holiday in a week-long series of posts. I am going to be writing about what I have seen here (as a non-Muslim of over 15 years residence in the Middle East, and who is married to a Middle-Eastern Muslim), and my feelings about it.

Anyone who wants more information on this festival from the Muslim point of view can Google “Muslim Festivals” or “Eid el Adha” (there are several other spellings depending upon which country the spelling comes from). In past years I have taken photos, but in the interest of not shocking people, I am not going to include them here (and they are not on disk anyway, so don’t ask). I heard from a friend that there are some videos available on YouTube, and photos are available on the internet if people care to look for them.

This topic will be a series of postings (probably one each day) which will run about a week, covering the following subtopics:

Part I. Introduction to “Festival of the Sacrifice”

A Description of What Happens:

Part II-A. Preparation for the Sacrifice

Part II-B. The Sacrifice Itself (a description)

Part II-C. Butchering the Animal After the Sacrifice

III. Cooking, Eating, and Enjoying the Day

IV. More Work for All the Women

V. My Feelings About the Day, and How They Have Changed Over the Years

Part I. Introduction to the “Festival of the Sacrifice”

If you recall the story about Abraham being called upon by God to sacrifice his son, then being told at the last moment by God not to do so; Muslims believe God provided a sheep from the bushes just then, to sacrifice instead. In commemoration of that day, Muslim households the world over sacrifice a sheep (in the house) and begin cooking and eating it within an hour, that same day. Some of the meat is supposed to be given to the poor, who are too poor to have their own sheep.

Personally, I believe part of the reason for this festival is that in past centuries, most people were too poor to eat meat most of the time. One of the FEW opportunities the truly poor (or even most people) had to eat meat was during this week, if they were fortunate enough to be given it by someone who was able to buy a sheep for this day. More wealthy families often sacrifice several sheep. This isn’t a waste–one sheep usually goes for each married son’s family. The meat is all eaten over the succeeding weeks (and no meat is available in the markets for at least two weeks after the festival).

For Muslims, this is a very festive time of year, with families getting together, and people all getting new clothes to wear out that morning. Muslims have a similar feeling on this day with their families, as Christians do for Christmas.

For all Muslims, this day is considered a religious duty. After seeing how it is done in here, and knowing it could never happen this way in America, I asked some of my European/American Muslim friends what they do about this. A Muslim friend from Holland told me that you go to an Islamic butcher in advance, order a sheep, and on that day, go and pick up the meat from him, which is already wrapped like from a market. An American friend told me that there are specific places where this can be done in the countryside, which is arranged for in advance, and with permission, by Muslims in that area. Then everyone who wants to participate can go to this place on this particular day.

Tomorrow–we’ll hear a a partial description of what happens, starting with the preparations. I hope that everyone will find this interesting.

Eileen

If you are interested in Middle Eastern life and culture, or the Arab and Muslim Worlds, there is an extremely high-quality FREE bi-monthly (six times yearly) magazine in English that you can sign up for. (It is also available to read on-line.) Not only is it free, but there are NO ads.

The magazine also makes a wonderful gift to someone you know back home. (I've requested several subscriptions as gifts to friends and family members back home.) It's full of serious articles by knowledgeable people - all experts in their various fields. It's printed on high-quality paper and contains wonderful color photographs on each page.

The magazine's orientation is toward education, and an increase in cross-cultural understanding between East and West. The circulation is about 160,000 subscribers in 130 countries, mostly among educators. The magazine has earned many awards over the years for editorial and print quality.

I found out about this magazine from our school librarian, and have been getting my free subscription for over two years now. The magazine was started by Aramco in 1949 for company employees, but since the mid-1960's, has been aimed at readers outside the company.

Read on-line at: http://saudiaramcoworld.com, OR

To get your free subscription, send a signed and dated request to:

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Eileen

Sudanese Muslims take in the streets of the capital, Khartoum

Photo by AFP and BBC at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/4679064.stm

Today I told my class about the teacher arrested in Sudan for letting children name a class Teddy Bear Mohamed, and asked my students what they thought about it.  After discussing it for about ten minutes, my eight-year-olds said that while the name Mohamed should only be used for a human, but that if a teacher was new, and from a different country, she might not know that.  (In my opinion, the parents and administration could have just said it was inappropriate, and asked the teacher and class to change the bear’s name.) 

Then my students suggested it was because of the war in Iraq.  They said that because it was British and Americans in Iraq, maybe those people in Sudan (my impression being that much of Sudan is hard-line Muslim) were just looking for scapegoat, and this incident made a convenient excuse (not using those words, but that is what they meant).  This does seem like a logical explanation to me.

For anyone unfamiliar with this situation, apparently the new British teacher was teaching a unit on studyng animals.  The second-graders were studying bears, and the teacher brought in a Teddy Bear for the class.  The class asked if they could give it a name, so she said OK.  The students themselves chose the name, and apparently 22 students voted for the name Mohamed (because it was their favorite name) from among several choices they had proposed.  A parent complained to authorities, who said it was blasphemous, and the teacher was put in jail.  She may be lashed, or have to stay in jail a long time.   She has also been fired.  Here is a link:  

http://robcrilly.wordpress.com/2007/11/27/quiet-diplomacy-and-ringing-phones/

Eileen

Gillian Gibbons

I just heard about this while reading Rob Crillly's blog, South of West - A Journalist in Africa. (see my sidebar link)

You can read about what happened to Gillian Gibbons, the British teacher in Sudan from the Times On Line, at:

http://robcrilly.wordpress.com/2007/11/27/quiet-diplomacy-and-ringing-phones/

Another article can be found at TurkishPress.Com, at:

 http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=204260&s=&i=&t=Sudan_steps_up_probe_into_Briton_held_over_bear's_name

I asked my good Muslim husband what he thought about a teacher getting arrested for this in Sudan (we are not in Sudan, but we are in the Middle East), and he replied it was "really stupid."

I'd really be interested in hearing what other readers think about this, especially my Middle Eastern readers.  Please comment!

Eileen 

After quite a long power point presentation by the board co-chair we faced what we all knew was coming; a group of very frustrated parents.  Problem of the year: one particular classroom in which honor roll students grades were dropping to average at the best grades.  I won't bother getting into details of the side politics of all of the email exchanges that have been taking place over the past two week amongst parents/board/spouses of school staff but I do have to mention it as it plays a large role in the unproductive manner in which many communicate amongst each other instead of taking the issues through the proper channels.

In this case, the class in question has the same teacher as last year so the parents weren't as quick to jump to the conclusion that it is the teachers fault (Allhamdullilah, as she is a wonderful teacher .. and my daughter contrary to the other children has been, Allhamdullilah, excelling this year).  Unfortunately, the parents themselves are quick to make rash judgments of what the problems may be.  One of the arguments was in one sister's humble opinion that there are children within the school whose parent's views of values do not match the quality of values that an Islamic school would like to instill within these children.  She mentioned that some of these parents allow their children to watch television and that Disney is not necessarily appropriate content.  She pointed out that some of the older children that have transferred over from public school are also bringing up inappropriate subjects.  Next the sister went on to say that the school should be screening these children and the board conveying to parents that certain values need to part of home life and that these parents need to understand that Islamic education is a privilege and not a right.

Well, I didn't take that well, not as a board member but more specifically not as a Muslim.

First, Islamic education is a right... if someone requests an Islamic education... Islamically they are entitled to it.  Considering that about 70% of the families attending our school are on some sort of financial assistance plan I would say that at the administrative level this is understood.

Second, as a board member I cannot support anything which would deter any Muslim from seeking an Islamic education.  This discussion alone being circulated around the Muslim community may become an argument of