Arab And Muslim Arranged Marriages

Marriages in El Nahra were, for the large majority, predetermined. This practice in America would be seriously questioned and generally disregarded, based on the cultural ethos of individualism. Americans put a large emphasis on courting their own spouse. However, based on El Nahra?s cultural ethos of family honor, the people trusted their family to make quality decisions for them. Obviously, from an American perspective, women?s freedom of choice in this aspect of El Nahran culture is absent. However, viewing marriage cross-culturally, their priorities as a culture are different and we cannot view them through ?American'; eyes. We must realize that family is the most important aspect of each of their lives, and the preservation of the family line is of utmost priority to them.

Nevertheless, arrange marriages still take place in the Arab societies frequently and the expectation of the women is to fully take care of the families and household. However, if a career women in the Arab societies seek and obtain a high degree, still she need to consult her husband for his decision and approval. Lastly, with Arab women who are divorced are likely to suffer socially and emotionally abuse. In fact, Arab woman‘s tolerate many years of abuse from their husbands in order not to endure the divorce sigma from the Muslim society, avoiding losing her children to her husband and become an outcast from her society..

“Life is full of unhappiness and most of it caused by women (Harik and Marston 11)”. For women in the Middle East life is faced with great and unequal odds, as their human rights are limited, due to Islamic beliefs and that of patriarchy. From their daily actions at home to their physical appearance, Middle Eastern women are portrayed as quiet, faceless women veiled from head to toe. While this image is just another stereotype, women in the middle do face many obstacles and challenges of creating their own identity as they are frequently denied a voice in their rights. Living in a society dominated by men life is not, but regardless women in the Middle East, predominantly Muslims, continue to fight for

This study focuses on the culture of Arab Muslim living in the United States. Arab Muslim population is one of the dramatically increasing minorities in the United States. In addition to other factors, religion and cultural background influence individuals' beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes toward health and illness. However, in Muslim community health care is viewed uniquely and treated same way across the board (Najeh M Ahmad, 2004).

Sayed et al. (2003) research show the importance of Arab American unique characteristics affect the healing process for those individuals who are not custom to the American way of life. Arab American families is only looking for respect from other cultures that already prejudge them by only seeking their culture from an outside view. The common feeling of at Arab American is alienation from a American because of their culture beliefs, customs, and values. Prejudice and discrimination for Arab Americans may cause major psychological issues (i.e. depression, low self-esteem, and lack of

Brooks uses the sources to bring the thesis together and to help get her point across about the oppression of Islamic women and the pride and power of their male figures. An Islamic law states that women are not to commit adultery, but their husband can have more than one wife. When Brooks learned the story of Rehab and Mohamed and how Mohamed left Rehab for Fatima, it really opened her eyes on how different the treatment of married women of the Islamic world.

The peoples Islamic beliefs is one reason why women do not have equal rights (). Usually, males inherit two times more than females due to their Islamic belief (). In order for parents to divorce, the male must accept to it (). When parents get divorced, their children`s custody is given to the parent who can provide a better future for them (). When a boy is born, their birth is celebrated, unlike a girl`s birth, which is not celebrated (). Females are protected by males because the males inherit more of the fortunes (). Traditionally the spouses are chosen by their parents (). The parents choose the spouses based on their social and economic level

Arab Americans and Muslim Americans can at often times be viewed as one in the same, which can be confusing for the average person. Each culture has their story and ancestral root that can be traced from different countries spanning from the Middle East to North Africa and into the Persian Gulf. This is one of the reasons why Arab Americans and Muslim Americans aren’t the same will be discussed further. The second reason is Muslims are people who follow a religion called Islam. It is because of their Islamic faith that denotes them as Muslims. Addressing both cultural groups and understanding each has their own ethnic values, morals and traditions with different religions contributing that they are not homogenous will help guide counselors

-THOUGH family relationships and gender roles in the middle eastern cultures have been based on Islam and hanve been influenced little by changes in other parts of the world. Middle eastern countries, however, are becoming more westernized, resulting in changed attitudes toward marriage and family life.

Arab immigrants living in the Western society often compare their identity to the White race. The two main factors that differentiate the Arab immigrants and the Western White race are the two factors of gender and religion. Gender relations is often associated with Arabs creating their identity compared to the whites, this is because gender is associated with gender roles and the hierarchy of power (Ajrouch, 2004, p. 372). Another type of comparison is the factor of religion; White Christians often follow the Bible, which talk about the ideal breadwinner man and caretaker women. But, studies have shown that between Christians and White women both were affected by religiosity and ethnicity that relate to traditional gender roles (Ajrouch, 2004, p. 374) In the western society, Arab women can choose to accept or

In Middle Eastern society, a woman is seen to be insignificant, weak, and powerless compared to a man. Men in the Middle East choose to believe that women are much lower than them and should not have their own say, their own opinions, or their own rights. In the international bestselling novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, the author displays the lives of two women, Mariam and Laila, within the late-twentieth-century and the early-twenty-first-century in Afghanistan. The two women that Hosseini explores the lives of, are represented as “typical Muslim women” ("A Thousand Splendid Suns- Cultural Arts Review.", par. 2) who struggle through an arranged marriage full of disappointment, disapproval, lack of respect, and domestic abuse.

Somehow, I knew I was losing Ms. Basha’ir. I could tell she was not the same person. Her energy in teaching was slowly disappearing. Her dream to one day be freed of limitations was getting smaller each day. And I understood perfectly what she was going through. With all those restrictions I would probably feel the same way.  During my free time when I would step outside from school I saw that gender segregation is common in all areas of public life in Saudi Arabia, from the more obvious places, like swimming pools in public clubs, gyms and resorts to the less obvious, such as restaurants, coffee shops and even in ice cream shops. While you will hardly ever encounter a single Saudi woman on the streets, a woman living in Saudi Arabia who would like to dine out alone in the evening can usually do so in the family area of most restaurants.

Seeing and feeling this inequality undoubtedly impact women in a negative way. Sarah Abboud, a RN, uses her article "'We Are Arabs:' the Embodiment of Virginity through Arab and Arab American Women's Lived Experiences" to explain just how pressures women feel all around them, stating that Arab women attempting to assimilate into American culture due to pressure some feel from Americans, and the catch 22 they face when their families see that as "white," meaning fitting the stereotypes of "apparent sexual promiscuity, broken families, and bad women" (Abboud 717). Men in these situations, however, feel pressure to assimilate, but once again feel little to no pressure from their families. Many families, in fact, urge their sons to assimilate due to the growing stereotypes Americans have of Arab men since September 11. The more "white" Arab men seem in America, the more likely they will be successful (Abboud 717). The push and pull from American culture and Arab families tear Arab women apart and leave them conflicted all due to the inequality of treatment between men and women's

In Arab culture is heavily influenced by Islam, even with the non-Muslims, they have very interesting traditional weddings, foods, and spiritual beliefs. Even though the majority Arabs are Muslim, there is Christian Arabs Traditional plays a big role in Arab culture, such as women not getting pregnant before marriage, women and arranged marriages. They have a rule that when a woman gets married they don’t get married without putting henna on when celebrating the wedding. Also, the next morning the man must show a blood from the girl to prove that she was virgin. If the woman is virgin, then she gets a big respect from both families. Women get married at a young age, age 10 and above. Men are the household, provides and make decisions of the

In today’s society women are given ample opportunity just as much as men. In some countries, such as middle-eastern nations that is not the case. Muslim women are often perceived to be submissive to Muslim men and unequal. Mohammed never taught for women to be treated as lower class citizens. Nonetheless, the blame is pointed towards the religion of Islam. The Islamic religion began as all monotheist religions representing a belief in one God and moral standards. In the following essay I will discuss and elaborate what Mohammed taught, how women lived in early Islamic society, and what it has become.