Interventions against forced marriage: contesting hegemonic narratives and minority practices in Europe

Abstract

Muslims in western countries are routinely depicted as non-liberal minorities through representations of homophobia, honour killings and forced marriage within their communities. This presents a practical challenge to face up to non-liberal practices where they do exist, but without demonising an entire faith community. It also raises conceptual questions about mainstream western values. In the context of forced marriage, liberal principles (such as an individual's right to choose their own marriage partner and to decide whether to marry) appear to clash with postcolonial sensibilities including a valorisation of multiculturalism (which might recognise the rights of minorities to practice different marriage customs). These questions are examined through a case study involving Stichting Platform Islamitische Organisaties Rijnmond (SPIOR), a Muslim-identified organisation that works against forced marriage. Based in the Netherlands and active in six other European countries, SPIOR has worked with people potentially affected by forced marriage and also communicated its projects – and the progressive vision of Islam they advance – to wider audiences. Its experiences suggest that tensions between secular majorities and Muslim minorities, and between liberal and postcolonial values and sensibilities, are less fundamental than they sometimes appear, and more navigable.

Los musulmanes son rutinariamente descriptos en los países occidentales como una minoría no liberal a través de representaciones de homofobia, asesinatos por el honor y casamientos forzados dentro de sus comunidades. Esto presenta un desafío práctico: hacer frente a las prácticas no liberales donde sí existen, pero sin demonizar a una comunidad entera de una fe determinada. También plantea cuestiones conceptuales sobre los valores occidentales dominantes. En el contexto del casamiento forzado, los principios liberales (tales como el derecho del individuo a elegir su propia pareja y a decidir casarse o no) parecen chocar con las sensibilidades post coloniales, incluyendo una valorización del multiculturalismo (el que puede reconocer los derechos de las minorías a practicar diferentes costumbres de casamiento). Estas cuestiones son analizadas a través de un estudio de caso que incluye a SPIOR, una organización que se identifica como musulmana y trabaja contra el casamiento forzado. Basada en los Países Bajos y activa en otros seis países europeos, SPIOR ha trabajado con personas potencialmente afectadas por el casamiento forzado y también ha comunicado sus proyectos – y la visión progresista del Islam que ellos promueven – a audiencias más amplias. Sus experiencias sugieren que las tensiones entre las mayorías seculares y las minorías musulmanas, y entre los valores y las sensibilidades liberales y las postcoloniales, son menos importantes y más abordables de lo que con frecuencia parecen.

Keywords:

• forced marriage
• Muslim
• sexuality
• Orientalism
• postcolonial
• Europe

Keywords:

• casamiento forzado
• musulmán
• sexualidad
• orientalismo
• post colonial
• Europa

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to all those who took part in this research, particularly Marianne Vorthoren and the interviewees named in the footnotes. I am also grateful for the contributions of the two Research Assistants, Nina Műhe and Naima Bouteldja, who did not simply conduct interviews but played a central role in determining who should be interviewed and what should be asked. I would also like to thank Mark Graham, Beverley Mullings and three anonymous referees for their valuable comments on earlier drafts of this article. While these contributions are gratefully acknowledged, I accept responsibility for the final version of the article and any shortcomings that remain.

Notes

 1. Letter to Guardian by Hands off the People of Iran (Hopi), published 6 November 2007, 37: Signatories include Peter Tatchell, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/nov/06/iran.leadersandreply. Last accessed 17 July 2009. In another intervention, Tatchell condemned claims by Dr Iqbal Sacranie, leader of the Muslim Council of Britain, that ‘homosexuality spread disease and was immoral’. Metro (free newspaper, UK) 4 January 2006, p. 4.

 2. Tariq Ramadan, the campaign leader, proposed these countries on the basis of their large Muslim minorities, their importance in the European context and their common experiences. Interview with Marianne Vorthoren, SPIOR Policy Advisor and Project Manager of ‘Joining Hands Against Forced Marriages’, 2 September 2008.

 3. SPIOR's partners included Henna Foundation in the UK; Aktionsbündnis gegen Zwangsheirat (Action Alliance against Forced Marriages, a coalition of organisations) in Germany; and in France the Cultural Muslim Centre Tawhid, French Muslim Collective and Radio Pastel (SPIOR 2008).

 4. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2007/ukpga_20070020_en_1#l1g2. Last accessed 14 January 2010. See also HM Government (2009).

 5. I am grateful to Mark Graham for suggesting this comparison between different European constructions of tolerance.

 6. On 25 August 2008, Nina interviewed Lydia Nofal, a member of the Managing Board of Inssan, the leading member of the coalition that formed SPIOR's German partner organisation, Aktionsbündnis gegen Zwangsheirat, Action Alliance against Forced Marriages.

 7. Interview with Marianne Vorthoren, 2 September 2008.

 8. Ramadan was speaking at the UK launch of European Campaign against Forced Marriage, ‘Joining Hands Against Forced Marriages’, at Portcullis House, House of Commons, 30 June 2008; quotation from the author's notes on this presentation.

 9. Interview with Marianne Vorthoren, 2 September 2008.

10. SPIOR Press release, widely published and distributed, taken here from a Moroccan webzine: http://www.yabiladi.com/forum/read-66-2396687.html. Last accessed 30 August 2008.

11. Lydia Nofal of Inssan, interview with Nina Műhe.

12. Lydia Nofal of Inssan, interview with Nina Műhe.

13. Kelek's book, Die fremdeBraut (The Foreign Bride) (2006) was criticised in an open letter, by Yasemin Karaksoglu and Mark Terkessidis, published in Die Zeit, and signed by 60 social scientists. This criticised Kelek for allegedly unscientific work, and for amending the findings of her doctoral research for publication in her book, The Foreign Bride. Kelek answered the letter and rejected the accusations. See: http://www.zeit.de/2006/06/Petition. Last accessed 30 August 2008.

14. ‘Hand in Hand against Forced Marriages’, translated by Nina Műhe, http://www.pi-news.net/2008/07/hand-in-hand-gegen-zwangsheirat/. Last accessed 30 August 2008.

15. Tariq Ramadan against forced marriages?, http://communisme.wordpress.com/2008/08/06/tarik-ramadan-contre-les-mariages-forces/. Last accessed 30 August 2008.

16. The translation of terms such as ‘veil’ and ‘headscarf’ from one (European) language to the other can lead to confusion. In French literature, for example, the term ‘voile’ (veil) and ‘foulard’ (headscarf) are generally used to designate the same thing, i.e. a piece of cloth which covers the head and neck while the term ‘veil’ in English is generally use to designate a piece of cloth that covers the hair, neck and face (Naima Bouteldja, personal communication, 1 February 2010).

17. A campaign against forced marriages that is not ‘hand in hand’, 2 June 2008, http://www.siawi.org/article335.html. Last accessed 30 August 2008.

18. A campaign against forced marriages that isn't ‘hand in hand’, 2 June 2008, http://www.siawi.org/article335.html. Last accessed 30 August 2008. The acronyms and abbreviations refer to the following organisations: ASFAD (Association de Solidarité avec les Femmes Algériennes Démocrates); GAMS (Groupe d'Action Contre les Mutilations Sexuelles); Elélé Migrations et Cultures de Turquie; MFPF (Mouvement Français pour le Planning Familial).

19. Interview with Marianne Vorthoren, 2 September 2008.

20. Lydia Nofal (Inssan), Interview with Nina Műhe. Schmidt (2008) quotes Petra Koch-Knöbel, the Equal Opportunities Commissioner for the district, saying that she was angry about the initiative being mixed up with her working group against forced marriages, which has been working for several years.

21. A campaign against forced marriages that isn't ‘hand in hand’, 2 June 2008, http://www.siawi.org/article335.html. Last accessed 30 August 2008.

22. Hand in Hand against Forced Marriages, translated by Nina Műhe, http://www.pi-news.net/2008/07/hand-in-hand-gegen-zwangsheirat/. Last accessed 30 August 2008.

23. Lydia Nofal of Inssan, interview with Nina Műhe.

24. No to forced marriages, Politis, 10 July 2008, translated from the French by Naima Bouteldja: www.islamlaicite.org/article924.html. Last accessed August 30, 2008.

25. Letter to the Editor (response to article by Necla Kelek, printed on 29 July 2008), FrankfurterAllgemeine Zeitung, 12 August 2008, translated by Nina Műhe.

26. Lydia Nofal of Inssan, interview with Nina Műhe.

27. La campagne contre les mariages forcés à la peine, Libération, 9 June 2008, online: http://www.liberation.fr/france/010182748-la-campagne-contre-les-mariages-forces-a-la-peine. Last accessed 17 July 2009; see also Les Pays-Bas choisissent la prévention, Libération, 26 July 2008; L'été, la saison des mariages forcés, Libération, 26 July 2008.