Reasons for divorce among muslim arabs in israel
An exploratory study

Abstract

This is an exploratory, cross-cultural study examining the reasons for divorce in a sample of 312 Muslim Arabs in Israel. Findings showed a combination of modern and traditional reasons, which reflect the transition that Arab society in Israel is undergoing. On the modern side, over two-thirds of both the men and women endorsed ‘did not get along’ and communications problems, common reasons in the West today. On the traditional side, large proportions of respondents cited physical violence and interference by relatives – reasons which are more common in traditional societies, where divorce is stigmatized and otherwise very difficult. In addition, a sizeable proportion of the men cited problems of conception.

Keywords:

• reasons for divorce
• causes of divorce
• Muslims
• Arabs
• citizens of Israel
• society in transition