A gruesome murder, a cry of violence against Women.

In light of the recent brutal murder of Aasiya Hassan by her husband Muzzammil Hassan, founder of BridgesTV, Muslimah Source voices its condemnation against violence inflicted on Muslim women. Our sympathy and prayers go out to her family and children.

Fueled by the negative portrayal of the incident by the media, this vicious and most vile act has undoubtedly sparked a great debate amongst the public. Unlike the claim made by xenophobes, this murder has nothing to do with Islaam. Ignorance breeds culture, and culture is often mixed with religion by those who use every ounce of their energy to taint Islaam and Muslims. According to various reports and interviews from close friends of Aasiya and her murderous husband, Muzzammil Hassan had a very aggressive nature; a pattern of abuse was evident throughout all 3 of his marriages. Some said it might have had something to do with his rough childhood and difficult relationship with his father.

What is even more unfortunate is that the media coverage largely focused on the husband. No doubt what he did was an atrocious crime and should be punished to the fullest extent of the law, but what’s being ignored is that what happened to Aasiya happens to women all around the world. This time it was a Muslim and hence the coverage focused mostly on finger-pointing and blaming of the entire Muslim nation.

Domestic violence is not new to us. Not to Muslims, nor Hindus or Christians. It existed thousands of years ago, and is prevalent to this day. Focus needs to be on ‘why’ the abuse of women has been tolerated throughout generations. It has to be eliminated from its very core. The core being ignorance. It’s the ignorance of rights of women in Islaam. Most cultures force women to live their lives in silence and bear the abuse in the name of preserving honor and reputation of the family. Islaam came about to eradicate this nescience and restore the rights of women.

And this is the purpose of Muslimah Source. We hope to educate the Muslim woman about her rights, to empower her through the teachings of Islaam, and to encourage her to speak up against violence and not withstand any form of abuse. We as women have it in us to fight. Our rights have already been given to us. All we have to do is… make use of them.

Photo Courtsey: Flickr