Society & Culture
Welcome to the Women in Islam Podcast. I am your host, Hamidah Abbas — and I “live” at about.me/hamidahabbas. In this episode of the podcast, I spoke about Mahr. It is the financial security built into marriage for women.
Welcome
This podcast is an attempt to confront a painful truth within our Ummah:
Many Muslim men have goodness in them, but like all humans, they have vices — and one of their greatest vices is hiding the favours and rights that Almighty ALLAH has given to women.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Whoever among you sees evil, he must change it…” — Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 49
Dear sisters in Islam, we must recognise this reality:
Muslim men will not change the evil in their fellow men. Except in extremely rare cases.
So it falls upon us — the women — to confront, expose, and correct these injustices.
Sincerely,
Hamidah Abbas
about.me/hamidahabbas
THE STORY OF IMAM NICK: PROOF THAT MUSLIM MEN DO NOT HOLD OTHER MEN ACCOUNTABLE
In 2017, on a Friday, an Islamic cleric — Imam Nick — delivered a khutbah at the Islamic Center of Irving, USA. In that khutbah, he publicly condemned the mosque’s management for helping a Muslim male elder — who had sexually assaulted a minor — escape America.
The khutbah was livestreamed on the mosque’s official page… but the leadership deleted the video immediately afterward.
Fortunately, a Muslim women’s organization had already saved the video and uploaded it to their Facebook page.
At first, the leadership planned to ignore Imam Nick.
But once women publicly shared the video, he was suddenly accused of collaborating with Muslim feminists.
He was accused of being a spy.
He was fired.
His reputation was destroyed.
And the most painful part?
The silence.
The total, deafening silence of male Islamic leaders worldwide.
Not one prominent male Islamic teacher, speaker, imam, or activist stood publicly with Imam Nick.
Not one.
Only women supported him.
Even though he is a Saudi-trained, credible, trustworthy Imam.
Instead of praising him, he was punished. Instead of honouring his courage, they took away his livelihood. He could not find another job for almost a decade. He became homeless. He was completely abandoned.
And globally, Muslims were watching.
We saw Islamic websites — including MuslimMatters — publish hit pieces against him, attacking him for doing exactly what the Prophet ﷺ taught:
to stand against injustice — especially when it involves the vulnerable.
After witnessing how the abuser was protected and how the whistleblower was destroyed, the message became clear:
Abusers felt safer.
Victims became silent.
Whistleblowers knew they would never be supported.
Evil flourished.
And without anyone saying a word, Muslim women collectively realized something:
We cannot trust male Islamic leadership with issues of women, children, and family law.
Not when they stood with an abuser and abandoned a righteous whistleblower.
Since then, Muslim women have quietly stopped reporting sexual assault to imams.
They now go directly to the police and the FBI.
Because experience has taught them:
Islamic male leadership, except for a very rare few, cannot be trusted to defend women or minors.
I made this podcast because women across the world are accepting Islam, and it is essential that they learn their rights — especially family law — from other women.
If you are a new Muslim woman, this podcast is for you.
I am telling you clearly:
You can trust a few men like Imam Nick.
But the majority — especially the popular ones — have shown that truth is not their priority. Most are too busy recording their next Ramadan series.
It has been nearly a decade since 2017, and I'm done with being perplexed over how almost every MALE Muslim speaker refuse to support Imam Nick PUBLICLY. I have to accept the truth that Almighty ALLAH revealed in the Qur'an. Verily, the people of paradise are few.
Once again, welcome to the new Muslim woman podcast.
With Sincerity,
Hamidah Abbas | about.me/hamidahabbas
Welcome
This podcast is an attempt to confront a painful truth within our Ummah:
Many Muslim men have goodness in them, but like all humans, they have vices — and one of their greatest vices is hiding the favours and rights that Almighty ALLAH has given to women.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Whoever among you sees evil, he must change it…” — Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 49
Dear sisters in Islam, we must recognise this reality:
Muslim men will not change the evil in their fellow men. Except in extremely rare cases.
So it falls upon us — the women — to confront, expose, and correct these injustices.
Sincerely,
Hamidah Abbas
about.me/hamidahabbas
THE STORY OF IMAM NICK: PROOF THAT MUSLIM MEN DO NOT HOLD OTHER MEN ACCOUNTABLE
In 2017, on a Friday, an Islamic cleric — Imam Nick — delivered a khutbah at the Islamic Center of Irving, USA. In that khutbah, he publicly condemned the mosque’s management for helping a Muslim male elder — who had sexually assaulted a minor — escape America.
The khutbah was livestreamed on the mosque’s official page… but the leadership deleted the video immediately afterward.
Fortunately, a Muslim women’s organization had already saved the video and uploaded it to their Facebook page.
At first, the leadership planned to ignore Imam Nick.
But once women publicly shared the video, he was suddenly accused of collaborating with Muslim feminists.
He was accused of being a spy.
He was fired.
His reputation was destroyed.
And the most painful part?
The silence.
The total, deafening silence of male Islamic leaders worldwide.
Not one prominent male Islamic teacher, speaker, imam, or activist stood publicly with Imam Nick.
Not one.
Only women supported him.
Even though he is a Saudi-trained, credible, trustworthy Imam.
Instead of praising him, he was punished. Instead of honouring his courage, they took away his livelihood. He could not find another job for almost a decade. He became homeless. He was completely abandoned.
And globally, Muslims were watching.
We saw Islamic websites — including MuslimMatters — publish hit pieces against him, attacking him for doing exactly what the Prophet ﷺ taught:
to stand against injustice — especially when it involves the vulnerable.
After witnessing how the abuser was protected and how the whistleblower was destroyed, the message became clear:
Abusers felt safer.
Victims became silent.
Whistleblowers knew they would never be supported.
Evil flourished.
And without anyone saying a word, Muslim women collectively realized something:
We cannot trust male Islamic leadership with issues of women, children, and family law.
Not when they stood with an abuser and abandoned a righteous whistleblower.
Since then, Muslim women have quietly stopped reporting sexual assault to imams.
They now go directly to the police and the FBI.
Because experience has taught them:
Islamic male leadership, except for a very rare few, cannot be trusted to defend women or minors.
I made this podcast because women across the world are accepting Islam, and it is essential that they learn their rights — especially family law — from other women.
If you are a new Muslim woman, this podcast is for you.
I am telling you clearly:
You can trust a few men like Imam Nick.
But the majority — especially the popular ones — have shown that truth is not their priority. Most are too busy recording their next Ramadan series.
It has been nearly a decade since 2017, and I'm done with being perplexed over how almost every MALE Muslim speaker refuse to support Imam Nick PUBLICLY. I have to accept the truth that Almighty ALLAH revealed in the Qur'an. Verily, the people of paradise are few.
Once again, welcome to the new Muslim woman podcast.
With Sincerity,
Hamidah Abbas | about.me/hamidahabbas