Tuesday, January 27, 2009

One (Amazing) Reason to Get Married

GAZA CITY: There was no party, no celebrations when 22-year-old Aida al-Qaddumi finally got married this week.

There were no regrets either -- she said she was marrying to raise "fighters" and asked only that she might die as a "martyr" in Israel.

Three weeks of a deadly Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip forced postponement of the January 7 wedding, but it did not alter her intentions.

This really puts things in perspective. What are we really looking for in a spouse? What do we really hope to accomplish together? (If not specifically raising fighters, then how about a more general "serving Allah" or "bettering the world" goal?) And what superficial, worldy obstacles are we bowing to, thus undermining our ability to serve Allah?

4 comments:

Obi Asad said...

That's a righteous reason to get married if I ever heard one. Good post, Zahra.

Rim and Nady said...

i'm somewhat conflicted with the sentiment of this woman's quote.

it's quotes like this woman's -- which we (as muslims and those educated on the situation) can perceive as virtuous and altruistic -- that are the ones most frequently misunderstood and misinterpreted by the mass [read: ignorant] public. it's quotes like this that dehumanize the palestinian people...showing that we are incapable of marrying for love or raising our children with an ounce of hope.

i know, i know. that is not what this woman is saying...but it's how this quote will be perceived. and that's what worries me.

Naadiya said...

wow...that really puts things into perspective. I agree with Obi...good post

Obi Asad said...

I can understand the point you're making, Nadia. But I think that there is a sense of love and hope in just being a revolutionary and bringing people into this world that can help continue the fight. For me, an activist is someone who can see light at the end of the tunnel and it's this reason why an activist/revolutionary/freedom fighter, etc, would fight in the first place. If it seemed hopeless, I couldn't comprehend why this woman would want children at all. I know we're both kind of saying the same thing, but let's just hope there are more intelligent people reading the quota than ignorant.