WUNRN

 

Interfaith Encounter Association - Women's Interfaith Encounter

 

Muslim, Christian, Druze and Jewish women study together topics of relevance to women from the perspective of the different religions. Interfaith study is used as a vehicle not only for understanding, acceptance and respect for the other, but as a way to deepen awareness of one's own religion.

 

November 12, 2009

 

ADAMA (Abu Dis and Maaleh Adumim) met in Abu Dis on November 12.  The recent article about our group in the Jerusalem Post newspaper had generated much interest and, therefore, we had doubled in size.  Many more people from Maaleh Adumim felt safe enough to make the trip into Abu Dis, where Abed hosted us in his home.   We also had a fair number of Christian participants, mostly from the Lutheran Evangelical Church.

 

The theme of this month's meeting was Family Law.

 

Palestine is governed by Jordanian law, which also includes religious Islamic law regarding family matters.  For example, marriage is not done in civil courts, rather by Islamic law.  Islam allows women to put conditions in the marriage contract, for example, stating that she is continuing her education.  Because marriage is governed by Islamic law, a woman cannot put in her marriage contract that her husband may not marry another woman.

 

For the crime of stealing, four witnesses are needed, if witnesses are women, then eight women are necessary. 

 

This contrasts with Judaism, which only allows men to be witnesses in religious law.

 

We discussed cultural crimes such as honor killings, which the Koran strictly forbids.

 

Inheritance laws state that after the death of parents, the son will take twice as much as the daughters.  Parents cannot leave a Will under Islamic law.  If the husband dies, the wife receives 1/8th of her husband's estate, and if there are no parents then the wife takes 1/4 of her husband's estate.

 

So too, in Israel, family law is governed according to Jewish law.  A man can divorce his wife, but the wife cannot divorce her husband.  If he refuses to divorce his wife, this can cause problems with the wife being unable to re-marry.  However, the errant husband can be jailed for not giving his wife a divorce, as well as other inconvenient methods, like revoking his driver's license, so that he is pressured to give his wife a divorce.

 

In Islam, too, only a man can divorce his wife and not vice-versa.

 

The Christians said that Christians can have religious courts for divorce, adoption, inheritance and marriage.

 

Report by Leah Lublin – Jewish Coordinator

 





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