First off, this is NOT a divorce case. This is NOT an issue between a husband and wife, trying to find a resolution. This is all related to what has transpired afterwards.
I firmly believe in trying to resolve matters privately. And this is exactly what I tried to do for YEARS. I knocked on door after door … imams, shuyūkh, community leaders, organizations, local, national, and the list goes on.
Absolutely.No.Help.
I tried to move on with my life, yet Dunia’s slander and lies kept spreading in the community. And this had a direct, tangible, and material impact on my life. First, with her trying to sabotage my attempt to get married. Second, with my wife being inundated with gossip she kept hearing upon moving into the community. In the months afterwards, multiple sisters that she met would question her, “is he abusing you at all?” To which she would reply, “of course not, he’s been so good to me.” Their response: “well, maybe you just don’t realize it yet.”
This is the effects of the poison that became cancerous. This is the power of someone deemed as religious, sincere, and influential … FALSELY claiming to be a victim. With such levels of performative piety, why would anyone not believe her?!
Hence the reason why I was left cornered and without any option. I truly hoped that within 24 hours of releasing the first video, leaders would intervene and I would be able to finally get the help needed to address this issue affecting every aspect of me and my family’s life.
3 weeks in and nothing but a deafening SILENCE. Is this what we’ve come to expect from our leaders? Is this the kind of response we’d like when in dire need? Is this the future and precedence we want to set for our children?