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An impromptu coalition of Muslim organizations, journalists, community leaders, imams, and other concerned citizens have called for immediate action by American Muslim leaders and religious figures to address domestic abuse and violence in America, including that found in the American Muslim community, on Friday, Feb. 20.
The call for swift action to address domestic violence during Friday's religious services came in the wake of the murder of Aasiya Zubair, co-founder of the Muslim broadcast station Bridges TV, and wife of the man charged with her murder, Muzzamil Hassan.
Bridges TV is based in Buffalo, New York, and was created to help connect non-Muslim Americans to American Muslim broadcast programming.
Hassan has been charged with second-degree murder following the death of his estranged wife who filed for divorce a week before her death. Hassan is said to have a history of domestic violence and is said to have abused his two previous wives. His marriage to Zubair was his third.
Imams and religious leaders across America have been asked by members of the coalition to speak out against domestic violence and offer resources on domestic violence including strategies of how to prevent and stop it. They have also been asked to remind congregants of the Prophet Muhammad's abhorrence of harshness, abuse and violence, and emphasize solutions that strengthen families and ensure all members are treated with fairness and respect, free of fear of abuse or violence.
The resources imams and religious leaders have been asked to make easily obtainable are available through the Peaceful Families Project, a Muslim-run domestic violence prevention organization founded in 2000, to help educate the American Muslim community.
Several prominent California imams have heeded the call to action by concerned American Muslims including Shaykh Hamza Yusuf of the Zaytuna Institute in Berkeley and Imam Tahir Anwar of the South Bay Islamic Association in San Jose.
This call to action has been and is continuing to be broadcast through various channels, including blogs, Facebook groups, personal contacts, and news media.
"The outcry among Muslim Americans against this type of violence is a heartfelt one," said Shahed Amanullah, editor-in-chief of the online newsmagazine altmuslim.com. "It is essential that we address the problem and take steps to ensure that no one else faces the same tragic fate as Ms. Zubair."
More information on domestic violence prevention can be found at www.peacefulfamilies.org.
Posted on February 20, 2009
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