In all societies, marriage is an enormous milestone and celebration. This is no different for immigrant families, especially muslims. While muslim marriages differ depending on the country of origin, they are all held together by Islamic law and the Quran. Marriage is also a good indicator of the status of social assimilation in regards to immigrants. Through these intimate social interactions, a glimpse of the overall attitude in society can be viewed; social boundaries between immigrants, specifically those who practice Islam, and the members of the country that they moved to are complex and ever changing, but intermarriage can provide a clue into the challenges faced by many muslim immigrants.
Within the course material from lecture, race
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Often, muslim men are portrayed as inherently intimidating figures who do nothing but dominate over their family, particularly the women. Within their marriages, it is assumed that the husband is the figure of authority and the wife is powerless and submissive (Charsley and Liversage, 2015). This article by Charsley and Liversage, with evidence procured from personal interviews with three different men, challenges that notion (2015). Out of the three men interviewed, two were originally from Turkey and one was from Pakistan. Men who move from another country to get married are often referred to as marriage migrant men (Charsley and Liversage, 2015). Within these marriages, there seems to be some role reversal that is abnormal in other muslim marriages. Due to the fact that the husband is often isolated from his own family, he is left to only interact with his wife and her family. This creates a power shift that would not normally happen in their country of origin. The men interviewed in the article often cited feeling disempowered because their in laws bossed them around, as did their wives (Charsley and Liversage, 2015). Due to their migration to a foreign country without their own family, without knowing many of the customs, and without a guarantee of citizenship in the case of divorce, the once perceived powerful, confident muslim …show more content…
Bowen (2011). This final article deals with marriage and immigration in a slightly different way, through divorce. The ability to obtain a divorce by muslim women migrants is often more difficult than other religions (Bowen, 2011). Due to the fact that muslims have a strict set of guidelines regarding divorce, the woman must often seek out help in order to get a divorce. The article analysed how three different countries, Britain, the United States, and France, handle divorce in muslim communities. In Britain, the most involved, there are different councils like the London Islamic Shariah Council that handle different Shariah matters within the muslim community (Bowen, 2011). These councils are hands on in helping women obtain a divorce and settle the matter of their mahr, a mandatory payment made by the groom’s father when the couple are married. In France, the most strict country, there are not many resources available to muslim women (Bowen, 2011). Due to the more strict guidelines of assimilation in France, it is hard for muslim women to obtain a divorce. France sees muslim marriages as a refusal to assimilate into their culture (Bowen, 2011). This hostility integrates itself into the French legal system. Finally there is the U.S. which is a mixture of the French and British systems. While there are some councils like the London Islamic Shariah Council, they are rare and often underdeveloped (Bowen, 2011). Those
Introduction A century ago, divorce was nearly non-existent due to the cultural and religious pressures placed upon married couples. Though over time Canadians have generally become more tolerant of what was once considered ‘mortal sin’, marital separation and divorce still remain very taboo topics in society. Political leaders are frowned upon when their marriages’ crumble, religions isolate and shun those who break their martial vows, and people continue to look down on those who proceed to legally separate their households. With that being said, couples do not just decide to get a divorce for no particular reason. There must be something driving them towards marital dissatisfaction and further, driving them towards divorce.
Racism and ethnicity continue to affect the sector of education in most parts of the world. More often, it influences adults and children’s experiences in education at all levels and in various ways. These include professional employment, academic performance, parental involvement, social interactions, assessment issues, and curriculum development. Certainly, the terms racism and ethnicity identify as problematic and arise socially. Therefore, many people fail to recognize that racism is a perception about the color of the skin and traditions of a particular group of people. Racism and ethnicity exist in quite blatant and subtle forms. As such, racism and ethnicity usually lead to negative consequences for the group that does not belong to the dominant culture. The contemporary racism originated from various avenues, one of it being the society norms and upbringing. Indeed, as children grow, they exclusively rely on their parents or guardians to learn new things. Moreover, part of the upbringing involves teaching the children things about the society and the
Race is a very interesting subject of sociology, and it is also immensely studied. What is race? Race is presumed common genetic heritage resulting in distinguishing physical characteristics” (Social Stratification). There are three basic theories to explain race in sociology; Functionalist Theory, Conflict Theory, and the Symbolic Interaction Theory.
This article focused mainly the emergence of the first people in America: Who they are, where they came from and how they got to America. He discussed three main routes as to how they arrived in America, none of which were without criticisms. In trying to determine whom the first people in America are, Hadingham began with the Clovis points and their creators, the Clovis people, who lived about 12,500 to 13,500 years ago, and tried to trace their origin.
Family and gender among American Muslims: issues facing Middle Eastern immigrants and their descendants. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Race is used to quickly classify a person and determine how one should interact with another. There is nothing easier than ...
Before beginning to discuss ideas on ‘race’ and how they have changed over time, it is important to acknowledge the problematic nature of the term ‘race’. Cox (1948) states that there is no universally accepted definition of race. However, in a sociological context, Cox defines race as “any group of people that is generally believed to be, and generally accepted as, a race in any given area of ethnic competition” (1948:319) Racial Ideology refers to a set of ideas which relate to ‘race’, in the way of actions and consequences, for example, distinguishing between more than one so called race to deem one superior. Ideas about race and racism assume particular condition i.e. they take into account the political and socio economic climate and historical era. When referring to race as a concept, it is also important to consider broader aspects such as race relations, racial difference and of course, racism.
Many Muslim immigrants came to the United States of American as slaves from Africa during the 1500’s. Free Muslim immigrants started to arrive to the USA as early as the 16th century, more of them started to migrate to the United State after the Civil War. Many Muslims used refuge and education as an excuse to come to the United States and start a new life. The fact that dictators dominate most of the Muslim territories usually means that there are persecutions, violence, poverty and even wars. These events caused most of the Muslims to seek happiness and peace in the new world: United States. Education was also one of the reasons why Muslims decided to come to the United States. The universities, economic status, and political freedom that America had to offer attracted more than half a million foreign students. By 1965 there was about 150,000 Muslims that lived in the United States.
Through the selected readings it becomes clear that race is not only a social construct but also a value that changes depending on the region in which one inhabits. Despite the lack of scientific support for race as a biological phenomenon, race still results in misfortune for many minorities. This present throughout everyday life in terms of job opportunities, education, and life experiences.
Romano, Dugan. Intercultural Marriage : Promises & Pitfall. 2nd ed. Yarmouth, ME : Intercultural Press,1997.
One primary reason why Middle Eastern men oppress women is their deeply rooted belief system as well as their needs. For example, their belief that the Middle Eastern woman’s duty is being a dedicated homemaker encourages them to disallow her from seeking an education. Ramsay M. Harik and Elsa Martson, revisit this concept in their book, Woman in the Middle East, as they state that many males convince their women that education is unnecessary nor relevant to their household responsibilities. "The girl will spend her life cooking and having babies, why does she need to read or write? This was a common attitude in much of the Middle East until the last fifty years or so" (24). The common consensus was that once educated, these women would question many of the injustices suffered, would demand better treatment...
Race relations are always a scary or uncomfortable topic for people to discuss amongst groups of different ethnicities and racial identities. It is a long standing tradition in the United States to walk a fine line and use politically correct terms in the above mentioned setting but to feel perfectly comfortable to speak freely when in a setting surrounded by likeminded people who share similar political affiliations and race. This is the main reason discussions surrounding the idea of race are too often avoided in today’s school systems and in society in general. If we are to encourage our students and children to be free thinking future citizens of our global society, we must first become one ourselves. The only way to accomplish this
Muslim immigrants came to America from all different parts of the Middle East; Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, etc. They’ve been coming to America for centuries (voluntarily and involuntarily) for a number of reasons. First, they came as refugees due to tyranny, persecution, violent regime crimes, and poverty back in their home countries. There has been violence and civil strife in the Middle East involving religious and ethnic persecution. Also, there are problems involved with political ties involving the Shia and Shi’ite Muslims.
As more Americans enter the cultural melting pot and cross ethnic and social barriers, the rate of interfaith marriages has increased, not because persons are less committed to their faith traditions, but because there is a new reality in which old barriers are breaking down. In the western hemisphere the issue of interfaith marriage is widely debated among all religious traditions. Many conservative denominations believe that, "A believer marrying or intending to marry an unbeliever is clearly going against the expressed commandment of God" (J.J. Lim) . Other religious denominations view intermarriages as, "The unity within diversity that adds a richness and beauty to marriage and to life" (Rev. Tom Chulak) . Regardless of one's religious denomination, a person's religion comprises the framework of meaning and the source of his or her values. When two people marry they bring with them their strengths and weaknesses, hopes and fears, and their religious dimension that plays a significant role in their relationship, decisions and responses to each other. For this reason, many issues and challenges arise within interfaith marriages that require accommodations by each person including how the couple will deal with their religious difference, what religion they will teach to their children, and how their respective religious communities will respond to interfaith marriages. No two couples manage the adjustments that need to be made within an interfaith marriage in the same way. This is because there is no standard or typical Christian, Hindu, Buddhist or Muslim. Their knowledge, commitment, practice and attachment to the respective religious traditions, and their knowledge of, attitude and affinity toward the religious tradition of their spouses are so different that no two couples have the same experience.
However, the divorce rates trend to continually increase nowadays, thus it might be argued that divorces can take place easier than in the past. There are three main causes of divorce: changing women’s roles, stress in modern living and lack of communication, which are highlighted below. The first significant cause of the recent rise in the rates of divorce is that women completely change roles. In the past, men have to earn whole money to afford the expenses of family, whereas women only do housework, hence women have no money leading to depend on husbands’ money. Because of these situations, it is too difficult for most women to separate from their husbands.