Stop ‘un-Islamic’ divorce by social media, says Omani imam

Muscat // An imam at Muscat’s main mosque spoke out on Friday against the trend of divorcing through social media among younger couples in Oman.

Such divorces are against the principles of Islamic law, Sheikh Yusuf Al Hamdani said in his sermon at the Central mosque in the Omani capital. Marriage in Islam is a serious commitment that binds two lives into one and cannot be annulled by tapping quick messages in the social media, he said. Muslims — both men and women — can notify their spouse of their intention to divorce either verbally or in a written message. Unlike some Muslim societies there is not even a specific word of phrase that must be used. Court approval is not required unless one of the partners launched legal proceedings to contest the divorce. "The popular one is WhatsApp — couples use it as the favourite channel to tell each other they need to end their marriage. They find it easy that way to prevent emotional scenes or a fight," said Asma Al Khalidi, a marriage counsellor. The rate of divorce in Oman has increased by 3 per cent in 2016 compared to the previous year, according to the records of the ministry of awqaf and Islamic affairs. But the ministry has given no specific reasons for the rise in divorce.