Arab and Muslim women walk in faith, not fear

Submitted 11/19/2007

Story by Meha Ahmad

More than 200 members of the Arab and Muslim community changed recently their weekend plans and treked three miles to raise awareness for breast cancer and domestic violence in Palos Heights. The event raised almost $5,000, and participants hope it raised awareness, too.

They called it “Walk in Faith Not in Fear.” The opening ceremony and event on Oct. 27 specifically targeted Arab and Muslim women and their hesitation to discuss abuse and illness among the community.

“There’s a stigma that comes with cancer,” said Sheri Maali, vice president of Arab American Family Services, one of the two sponsoring groups of the event. “Our society looks down on it, and that’s just sad.”

In general, the community responded uncomfortably to efforts made by Arab American Family to discuss cancer in an open forum, said Tahani Hammad, director of the organization’s breast cancer program. This kind of cancer is an especially sensitive subject because the number of women being diagnosed is increasing, so it’s becoming increasingly scary, said Hammad.

Lena Tlieb, director of the Mosque Foundation Community Center, the other event sponsor, said she thinks another reason Arab and Muslim women don’t speak about having cancer is due to a sense of pride.

“We’re too independent. We don’t want to say we’re ill, that we need help,” Tlieb said. “We hesitate.”

Arab American Family Services, an Arab and Muslim community organization based in Burbank, funds a breast cancer program that helps women prevent and treat the disease by offering educational seminars and free mammograms.

The program’s calendar included a breast cancer awareness walk for the morning of Oct. 27. Meanwhile, the Community Center, a Muslim youth center in Bridgeview, had planned a walk for domestic violence the same day. When the center contacted the Arab American Family, Tlieb said the organizations joined forces and held a joint event.

Maali said the walk’s goal was “all about empowering our community.”

Several community members said they felt empowered by the event and said it’s time for the community’s mentality to change.

Nuha Hasan, 24, a grad student at Midwestern University, based in Downers Grove, Ill., participated in the walk and said she feels that both topics–breast cancer and domestic violence–are problems in the community no one wants to face.

“The walk reminded me of how big of an issue domestic abuse and breast cancer are and how widely it’s ignored,” said Hasan. “And it’s about time to bring it up. The Arab community is in so much denial.”

Hasan said she believes domestic violence exists and will grow in the community due to lack of knowledge about their religion. If more Muslims in the community knew Islam’s laws against domestic violence and women’s rights, she said, the problems would dramatically decline. In Islam, any sort of abuse or mistreatment toward women, especially toward a wife, is condemned.

Aisheh Said, vice president of the Mosque Foundation spoke before the walk began to educate walkers on the existing problems in the community. Most women in the mosque ask Said for advice on personal and domestic matters. Said stated that about 15 percent of marriage complaints to the mosque are about domestic violence.

“The reason abuse is rising is because our definition keeps changing,” stated Said. “Everyone used to think it was just physical [abuse], but now we consider emotional and verbal abuse forms of domestic violence, too.”

The Community Center director Tlieb said some “people in the community hide it really well, and others aren’t even aware of it.”

The Community Center and Arab American Family Services with the Crisis Center for South Suburbia of Tinley Park want more victims of domestic abuse to seek help. They offer free legal assistance, case management, shelter and safety plans. The Crisis Center works with area police departments to give victims crisis intervention and legal referrals.

The Arab American organization’s Breast Cancer Awareness Program will continue throughout the year, offering free mammograms on a walk-in basis.

Vice president of Arab American Family Services Sheri Maali said both organizations will help any woman who needs it, whether victims of domestic violence or diagnosed with cancer.

“I think there are a lot of women, especially Arab and Muslim Americans in our community, who think ‘Why am I being punished?’ ‘What did I do to deserve this?’ ‘Why is God mad at me?'” Maali said. “I want them to know we support our community and we support our women.”