Divorce in the Muslim Community
From The Peopling of Astoria, Queens
The mosques effectively cater to the needs of the local Muslim community by
providing counseling for various personal troubles. Like, with the Churches,
members also have to be divorced in the mosque. Again the same principle
applies that the marriage has to be dissolved in the house of God.
Counseling sessions are also provided to prevent the couple from getting a
divorce. In these intense sessions the imams try their best to prevent the
couple from going through with the divorce. If there is no hope for any sort
of reconciliation, then the divorce is finalized when the man quotes the
words: “Divorce, divorce, divorce.” Having said these words, the marriage is
now broken in the eyes of Allah. According to the Imams at the bigger
mosques, thre are 3-4 divorces conducted annually and 2-3 in the smaller
mosques.
If a woman wants to get remarried after divorce, there are certain stringent
requirements she must follow before the mosque accepts to perform her second
marriage. If the woman is a widow, then she can remarry three months after
her husband's death. If, however, the woman is a divorcee, it is required
that she must go through three menstrual cycles before getting remarried.
This is to ensure that the woman is not pregnant from her previous marriage
and that she no longer have any ties with her previous husband. A Muslim man
wanting to remarry does not have to follow any such rules. He can remarry
right away.
