Individual vs community
Minority rights | Love and marriage
Minority rights
Some
countries, such as Britain and Canada, have developed a multicultural view
that accepts a whole a range of cultural norms. They often have difficulty
in deciding who to listen to when dealing with minority communities. For
example, the Canadian
Council of Muslim Women is campaigning to prevent the countrywide introduction
of Islamic courts, fearing that this will reinforce discrimination
both within and between communities.
'Cultural' matters?
In Britain, members of minority communities have sometimes accused the authorities of, at best, making excuses for, and, at worst, condoning ill-treatment of women and homosexuals on the grounds that these matters are 'cultural'. For example, The Southall Black Sisters report, Forced Marriage, describes the case of 'Hina', who, facing a forced marriage was pressured by Social Services to undergo mediation with her family – at whose hands she had suffered violence. Southall Black Sisters say: 'The Home Office does not promote mediation for women experiencing domestic violence in the wider community, so why do so for Asian and other black and minority women?'
France, a strictly secular society, has a clearer view. Since the French Revolution, it has recognised the rights of individuals but not of communities. Napoleon expressed it succinctly, saying: 'To the Jews as individuals, everything, to the Jews as a group, nothing.' When a law was passed to ban students from wearing obvious signs of religion (the hijab, the Jewish skullcap, the Sikh turban, large crosses) fierce debate followed, inside and outside France. But the ban has not led to as much open defiance or protest as many observers expected: in fact, some Muslims women's groups actually campaigned for the ban – and welcomed it.
Gay men and lesbians
The Qur'an specifically forbids homosexual acts (just as, many Christians would argue, the Church does). In order to hide their sexual orientation, Muslim men and women may feel they must marry (often with disastrous results), attempting to cover up their true feelings rather than face being ostracised by their community.
Adoption and fostering
Islam does not recognise adoption but, traditionally, within Muslim societies, there is often long-term fostering. This amounts to almost the same thing, though special provisions must be made for inheritance. The child's religion is dictated by that of the 'adoptive' father's therefore, if the father is Christian, so must the child be.
In countries where Muslims are a minority, laws on adoption are secular and Muslims have been able to adopt in the conventional sense.
Minority rights | Love and marriage