Source: MSNBC
http://www.msnbc.com/news/944564.asp
On July 31, 2003 MSNBC reported that "since 9/11, domestic violence has been on the rise in the American Muslim community, according to social-service agencies nationwide. The weak economy, an insulated culture and intense scrutiny from law enforcement and locals alike have created a powder keg that’s all the more frightening because there are so few resources to deal with the problem; only three shelters in the United States cater specifically to Muslim culture. And, with the authorities threatening arrest and deportation for suspicious foreign nationals, Muslim women are even more hesitant to report abuse than usual, according to Nora Alarifi Pharaon, a psychologist at the Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Arab-American Family Support Center... The idea of seeking help at a shelter is a foreign one. Islam has a long history of associating runaway women with immorality, says Sharifa Alkhateeb, president of the North American Council for Muslim Women."