Dysfunctional Families: Where and Why We are Failing within the Muslim Community?

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 18:45 in Discussion Forums

Where: Dialogue Society, London
by Judge Marilyn Mornington

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Transcript

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Abstract

Happy functional families are the basis of successful communities/countries. Judge Mornington argues that Muslim family life in the UK is in crisis. Muslims have the lowest rate of educational and economic achievement and the highest for health problems. Muslim women have three times the suicide rate of any other group. As with other misguided cultural practices common in some regions of the world, some families are overwhelmed by misguided concepts of “Izzat” or honour, forced and ill matched transcontinental cousin marriage and domestic violence. All of this from a religion that puts family life at its centre. So how do the Muslim families in the UK reform and heal themselves and reconnect to Islam so that their members and in particular their women achieve their full potential and position in society?

Biography

Marilyn Mornington is District Judge as well as a lecturer and writer on Family Law and in particular, domestic violence and elder abuse. Both nationally and internationally, she has worked on multiple publications in these areas.

She has been involved in various advisory and consultative capacities with the BBC, the Foreign Office, the Pakistani Government and Police force, the British Council and the Home Office, among many others.

In the last year alone she has contributed to an NSPCC report on abuse in UK Asian Communities, acted as patron to Karma Nirvana, an Asian men and women's project, contributed to a Home Affairs Select Committee on Domestic Violence and Forced Marriage and worked on an International Foreign Office exhibition and publication on the subject of integration. She also lectured on International Law and Human Rights at LSE, the Commonwealth Institute, Sheffield University and Punjab Law School in 2007 and 2008.

In 2005, Marilyn received the ‘Friends of Islam’ All Party UK Parliamentary Group Award for furthering relations between Islam and the West.

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Dysfunctional Families: Where and Why We are Failing within the Muslim Community? Dysfunctional Families: Where and Why We are Failing within the Muslim Community? Dysfunctional Families: Where and Why We are Failing within the Muslim Community? Dysfunctional Families: Where and Why We are Failing within the Muslim Community? Dysfunctional Families: Where and Why We are Failing within the Muslim Community? Dysfunctional Families: Where and Why We are Failing within the Muslim Community? Dysfunctional Families: Where and Why We are Failing within the Muslim Community? Dysfunctional Families: Where and Why We are Failing within the Muslim Community?

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