Member-only story
My Islamic neighbors shunned me
Divorce, abuse, ostracism and religion
We’d been neighbors for 8 years. During that time, we’d been friends. I’d been over to their house for tea and for Ramadan celebrations. They’d been over to our house as well. My ex-husband and I took them to dinner for their anniversary.
That’s the problem though. My former husband is now my ex. And when he left me, things changed with my Islamic neighbors.
They don’t blame me, I don’t think. They know he left. In fact, in the first few weeks after, they were extra kind. Did I need any help? But then the distancing began.
Now they barely nod when they pass me on the street.
I’m a divorced woman, you see. And so I’m shunned.
This gave me a revelation about another friend of mine, a Muslim lady whose husband beats her.
He’s both physically and emotionally abusive. He’s hit her on the head in front of her children. He’s yelled at her and called her lazy because she didn’t have the biryani cooked the way he liked. She is forbidden to leave the house without his permission, and he seldom gives it. So she rarely leaves.
I’ve told her, when I’ve been able to see her. to leave him. I’ve whispered this to her.
