Dr Nafi Ghafournia

Women¿s presence and role in contemporary mosques in Western countries is contested within and outside Muslim communities, but research on this topic is limited and only a few studies consider women¿s roles inside mosques in Australia. There is a complex intersection of gender and religion in public sacred spaces in all religious communities, including Muslim communities. Women¿s role in these spaces has often been restricted. They are largely invisible in both public sacred spaces and in public rituals such as congregational prayers. Applying a feminist lens to religion and gender, this article explores how a mosque as a socially constructed space can both enable and restrict Australian Muslim women¿s religious identity, participation, belonging and activism. Based on written online qualitative interviews with twenty Muslim women members of three Australian Muslim online Facebook groups, this article analyses the women¿s experiences with their local mosques as well as their views on gender segregation.

There is a great deal of research on domestic violence, but few studies investigate the role of religious values on intimate partner violence or faith-based prevention and intervention strategies in Muslim community. This article draws on a study of 14 abused Muslim immigrant women in Australia and aims to contribute to the understanding of how religion intersects with culture, gender, and immigration. The contemporary climate for Muslims in the West, including Australia, has become increasingly volatile since September 2001 and more recently with the emergence of the so-called ¿Islamic State¿ (ISIS). In this context, the Muslim community has been stereotyped as a violent community whose religious teachings and cultural beliefs support and enforce violence, especially against women. Yet abused women¿s narratives provide a different view of the effect of religious values and spirituality on the experience of domestic violence. The findings of this study of abused Muslim immigrant women focus on four themes: positive role of religion and spirituality; negative role of religious leaders; perception of the relation between religion and domestic violence, and the intersection of culture and religion.

For almost fourteen centuries, Muslim men and women believed, or have been led to believe, that beating wives is a permitted act in Islam and the Quran has been used to support this physical violence against women. Permissible violence against women has mainly been justified on the basis of the Quranic verse 4:34. Since its revelation, there has been a long time challenge to explore the real meaning of the verse. The translations and interpretations of this verse have caused much consternation among scholars, including this author. However, important attempts have recently been made to define or interpret the verse. In this study, two different strands of interpretation are explored: patriarchal and egalitarian. While there are many interpretations of the verse, this study focuses only on the works of some of the most renowned scholars and theologians. A critical analysis of different approaches to the interpretation of this verse shows that the contradictions and complexities related to the verse are not inherent in the Quran itself but are rooted in the intentional or unintentional neglect and misuse of the text by authoritative Muslim scholars. This study argues for a more progressive approach to interpreting the verse which is compatible with a holistic comprehension of the text and teaching of Islam.

In immigrant-receiving countries, domestic violence is usually discussed in the broad context of gender inequality among immigrant communities. These debates focus mainly on culture turning between "cultural relativism" and "universalism". The paper starts with the critical definition of culture. It explores two common perspectives in details. Each of these two views has been substantially criticized by the opposite side. The paper questions the binary interpretation of domestic violence as either cultural or patriarchal. By examining two perspectives, the paper will argue for the necessity of applying feminist intersectional theory to explore the link of domestic violence and culture. By taking the intersectional theory both structural factors and culture as contributing factors in violence against women will be addressed. © Common Ground, Nafiseh Ghafournia, All Rights Reserved.

This paper explores the status of battered migrant women in Australian migration policy. It will start with a general review of domestic violence among migrant families as well as the historical changes in policies in response to this issue. It will be argued that the policies have been mostly shaped in order to protect non-resident women from being abused by their partners or husbands due to their uncertain residence status. However, there are still some significant concerns that are overlooked. These concerns, as will be discussed, are mostly related to underlying social, economic, and cultural factors. The current policies do not take these factors into account. When it comes to filling in the gaps by considering cultural and social factors, one needs to be aware of ideological and theoretical perspectives. By examining two perspectives a 'universalist' and a relativist, the paper will argue for the necessity of looking for a middle approach in addressing domestic violence against migrant women. In conclusion, by taking the moderate approach, further policy reforms will be proposed in order to fill the identified gaps in the policy. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.