Combatting Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in Islam: Muslim Religious Leaders as the Bridge between Misinterpretation and Resolution

This paper provides evidence from initiatives taken by various Islamic religious leaders (imams) in North America to demonstrate their potential in prohibiting the practice of IPV in Muslim communities. In the paper, the foundations for legitimization of IPV in Muslim societies, prevalence of IPV in Muslim communities, the role of the imam in Islam, and the various applicable processes of mediation which imams actualize or are suggested to actualize in engaging in cases of domestic abuse within their communities are explored. Substantial empirical evidence is presented to illustrate the constructive role of imams as the critical link between faltering misinterpretation and insufficient legal framework for dealing with IPV and its treatment in citing various examples of mediation efforts from imams in North America. To draw upon foundational findings regarding the pressing issue of domestic abuse in Islam, empirical findings from Muslim societies in North America are analyzed in order to strengthen the proposed claim. Furthermore, the findings presented in this paper provide implications for research, practice, and policy in characterizing and treating IPV as a trans-cultural form of gender-based violence