Darakshan Raja's Speech at MPAC Convention

Hat tip to Joseph for the video.


One of the most interesting speakers at last Saturday's MPAC convention in Pasadena was a young lady named Darakshan Raja, who works with victims of domestic abuse in New York. Why was it interesting? It was interesting because this young lady exposed the problem of domestic abuse within the Muslim community in America, which she called "the number one problem in the community". She also called out the clerical leadership to address the problem as well as their own attitudes toward women in the mosque-especially those like herself who did not wear hijabs. On the screen she showed images of Shaima Alawadi and Abdifatah Mohammud, both fatal victims of domestic abuse. She is introduced to the audience by Haris Tarin, who moderated this particular session of the convention.

* Note: The heading above the video calls Raja "A victimology specialist". That is the label attached by the person who took the video. Yes, Ms Raja spoke of certain attitudes on the part of non-Muslims toward abuse in the Muslim community, but that was not the main thrust of her talk. I have a suspicion she made many in the audience uncomfortable and sorry that they invited her. For me, her appearance was the highlight of the day.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/p1n3922gt8441w7/Darakshan%20Raja%20Speech%20-%20A%20Victimology%20Specialist.mp4

I salute you, Ms Raja. We may disagree on certain things, but you showed true courage. Hopefully, there are more out there like you.