Understanding trends in american mUslim divorce and marriage:

the participation of women in work and education, the role of the extended family, and attitudes
towards divorce. At the same time, contemporary Islamic family identity is emerging from a range
of traditions and practices which are rooted in cultural values as well as religious principles.
This evolving identity reflects a continuing commitment to an “Islamic imagination” among
Muslim families whose children are born and raised in North America–what Tariq Ramadan
calls “…the building of the Muslim personality in the West and…in the modern era.” 1
A National Debate
There is widespread and growing fear of Islam in the U.S. often fixated on the concept of
shari’a. Media coverage constantly reinforces an image of shari’a as a rigid, authoritarian
and brutal system of punishments. Misinformation and misunderstanding has made shari’a
a toxic word in public discourse, associated with the idea that Muslims wish to impose
“their” laws on non-Muslims.
This study shows that for North American Muslims, whatever their level of observance, the
most commonplace expression of their shari’a obligations is through critical rites of passage
and family transitions, especially marriage and divorce. None of the 212 individuals – including
imams, religious scholars, social workers, therapists, lawyers and divorced men and women–
interviewed for this study suggested that they wanted the extension of the most notorious penal
regimes described as “shari’a” to North America. This is hardly surprising since the majority
of respondents regarded these regimes as aberrant and lacking in Qur’anic authority. Further,
only three of 212 respondents favored a separate, parallel Islamic legal process for family
matters or the legal recognition of Muslim marriage and divorce. On the contrary, there was
widespread and consistent acceptance of the civil courts both as legitimate state institutions,
and as a forum for dispute resolution. All the respondents in this study understand their private
choices of Islamic marriage and divorce as separate from the formal legal system, drawing
a distinction between God’s law— regarded as a matter for personal conscience rather than
public adjudication—and the law of the state or “human law.” They consistently expressed a
desire to be able to continue to access their Islamic traditions in a private, informal system, and
also to be able to use the legal process (many used the courts to resolve contentious issues).
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Understanding Trends in American Muslim Divorce and Marriage