IN THE WEST, FAMILY AND MARRIAGE PROTECTED BY A MONOGAMY STICKER

There is a mitigating factor, and that is the sad and pathetic abandoning of the true Islamic teachings by the majority of the world's Muslims.

Ahmadiyya Times | Articles | November 26, 2009
Waseem A. Sayed, Ph.D.| Chino Hills, California

Today we observed Thanksgiving Day in the United States and among the countless blessings I thank God Almighty for, are my faith of Islam, the breath I have just taken, and my family that I return back to at the end of every day.

I read a sticker a while back, on a car, on an old run down car, that said: This car is protected by an alarm sticker; and, then I had an epiphany that answered all my questions vis-à-vis; why do the people in the West object to Islamic teachings that protect, support, foster, and strengthen the institutions of marriage and family?  Especially, as I see these institutions dying, being torn to shreds in all Western countries.  The answer is they neither care for, nor value the institution of marriage and family.  The situation here is very much like the car I saw with the sticker.  Family and Marriage are not valued.  So naturally it is considered enough to just put up a sticker.  So in the West this is what we see; like it or not.

Every time someone present the beautiful teachings of Islam with regard to the promotion of chastity and protection and valuing of the family as the basic unit of society, worth making sacrifices and giving up of minor liberties to protect and foster and strengthen, we run into the Monogamy sticker on marriage; where someone will get up and raise the monogamy/polygamy issue and everyone will have a good laugh and they will all go and do what they have been doing.  Be happy that here in the West the family and marriage is protected by the monogamy sticker.  

The reality is, they do not value the family or marriage.  Not worth protecting, so just put on the monogamy sticker; otherwise, there are so many wise people among the society and so many of them have full knowledge of the Islamic teachings and know the data from their own societies.

It would be unfair to not say one thing in their defense.  There is a mitigating factor, and that is the sad and pathetic abandoning of the true Islamic teachings by the majority of the world's Muslims.  They disregard women’s due rights, mistreat them and deny their due status in society. They cling vehemently to medieval thoughts about apostasy and killing in the name of God. Many Muslim have turned their mosques into terror bases and refuse to be led into any reform of these false notions.  

It is time that we look at the original teachings of Islam which appeal to a sound mind. There is a progressive and reformist community of Muslims who are making the immense effort necessary to effect a reform amongst the Muslims: The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community; visit their main info website: www.alislam.org

Waseem A Sayed, Ph.D. is a regular contributer of Ahmadiyya Times.