‘Beyond Borders’ is a podcast series exploring intersections of domestic violence, religion and migration in today’s globalised and conflict-affected world. The series aims to provoke new thinking and questions that can inform practice and policy in responses to domestic violence and interconnected forms of violence internationally, but especially in religious, migrant and ethnic minority contexts.

The first and inaugural episode of the series features Dr Mahmoud Ali Gomaa Afifi, PhD, a specialist in contemporary Islamic studies, Quranic interpretation, Islamic law, Islam in the UK and Islamic feminism. Mahmoud is also a collaborator in IDVRM’s programme ‘Developing Inter-faith Approaches for Clergy Training on Domestic Violence.’

In the episode, Dr Romina Istratii and Dr Mahmoud Ali Gomaa Afifi, PhD explore together numerous topical issues, including:

📍Current approaches to domestic violence in Muslim communities in Egypt and the UK and the role of interpretative approaches

📍Strengths and limitations of Islamic feminist responses and the needs for practice-based and ethnographically driven approaches to interpretation and response

📍Imams’ understanding of verse 4:34 and their experience-based responses to domestic violence in their communities

📍Novel and practical approaches to bridging ethnographic research and methodologies with religious interpretation

📍The need for inter-faith clergy training approaches and the Institute’s own innovations and current projects in this area

The podcast is intended for practitioners and policy makers who would like to understand better the current state of evidence and innovative research approaches on the topic of Islam, domestic violence and engaging clerics in effective responses.