Summary Explanation of Code of Conduct for Islamic Leadership
By: Danish Qasim and Danya Shakfeh, Esq.
May 17, 2019
The purpose of this Code of Conduct is to create accountability via establishing professional expectations. A code of conduct will not eliminate spiritual abuse. Institutions that adopt this code may still cover up abuse, in which case victims will need to take action against the institution for violating the code . Below is a brief explanation on how the Code of Conduct will help address abuse in the following areas:
Hiring Procedures
Children
Financial Dealings
Counseling and Therapy
Marriage
Harassment and Bullying
Exploitation
Grievance and Remedy Process
Hiring Procedures
Institutions have a duty to not put their employees and attendees at risk, and a basic background check, that includes criminal convictions and civil lawsuits and judgments, could go a long way to fulfill that duty. Background checks can help prevent sexual abuse of children, among other types of abuse, yet many institutions forego this basic procedure before hiring employees that work directly with children. We need to begin to expect this out of our institutions, and hold them accountable when they fail to do so.
If an institution knew or should have known (that is “should have known” through a reasonable background check), but nevertheless hires an individual in the sex offender registry, the institution should be held accountable. In many cases, the institution is remiss in its due diligence to ensure an employee has no criminal or otherwise dangerous history, where such due diligence could have prevented certain abuse of, students, and attendees.
Each institution should have its own policy on inviting guest speakers as well. Formal background checks that include criminal convictions and civil lawsuits and judgments serve the purpose of decreasing the chance a dangerous or unethical person from serving specific roles. However, as a community, we must take into account the relevancy and feasibility of taking on the expense of a formal or criminal background check for inviting a religious speaker or figure for a one-time event. Accordingly, institutions should form their own policies for when it is applicable to conduct such a background check.
Children
The safety of our children is paramount. Institutions should develop detailed child protection policies that include procedures for different situations that those in the care of children face. For example, there should be a procedure for trips taken outside the mosque. Additionally, there should be trainings on sexual abuse prevention, recognizing the signs of abuse, and on reporting abuse. Institutions should also include rules on what kind of touching is allowed between adults and children and what the limits of verbal discipline are. Institutes should also have fingerprints on record for employees working with children. (See related post on addressing sexual abuse of children).
While the above measures are highly encouraged, as a bare minimum we have prohibited isolation and personal contact between an adult and a minor child via social media. Institutions can thus hold employees accountable for inappropriate behavior as established via this code of conduct. Accountability for inappropriate behavior allows institutions to prevent abuse and it will also make it easier to determine wrongdoing for potential abuse which would otherwise not meet the standard of evidence.
Financial Dealings
Allah instructs us to be transparent in our financial dealings and to take precaution (see Quran 2:282). We may think highly of the one to whom we are lending money or engaging with in a transaction. Nevertheless, there should be witnesses and a record.
Affinity fraud is where people use their ‘in group’ status to financially scam other members of the in- group. As the name imp
lies the scamming party appeals to donors not by showing how responsible the scamming party is with donor money but rather, makes the appeal that donors should donate because of well-known people endorsing the scamming party. Unfortunately, it’s common that these famed endorsers have no personal knowledge of how the scamming party uses donor funds yet endorse the scamming party anyway.
In terms of zakat, one of the most abused categories of those who may receive zakat is those who are ‘in the path of Allah.’ This can mean anyone from a soldier to a student. Some organizations pay already well-to-do speakers with zakat, or will cover their travel expenses with it. This allows institutions to collect zakat with an implied purpose of giving to the needy, but actually giving $10,000 or more in honorariums to public speakers under the guise of giving to the needy. In other cases, they will set arbitrary prices for events, sponsor students via zakat money, pay the speaker a fee, and have the rest go back to the institution’s operations. Simply, zakat is used as a funnel to enrich the institution. Another trick some of institutions is using causes people care for and want to see more of, such as ‘female scholarship,’ and perhaps even put up pictures of recipients or share a story of how zakat helps female students of knowledge, or formerly incarcerated minorities, but the institution will not provide their accounting. These heartwarming stories make it harder to suspect any wrongdoing, which is why affinity fraud is so successful.
When other religious leaders learn of how these organizations are using zakat money, they will often admit it’s dishonest but then argue it might not be haram because it can fall under ‘those in the path of Allah’ – even if it is being used as a funnel for the institution and sometimes, the head of that institution personally.
Our purpose is to avoid justifications based on something being arguably halal. We are demanding transparency. People have a right to know where their zakat and donations are going, and organizations have an ethical duty to their donors and those trusting them to give their zakat as they publicly represent it. We are not pushing for a particular interpretation of zakat categorization- but simply we demand that this be public information. For example, some organizations famously and controversially collect zakat funds for specific purposes that many do not agree fall into any category of zakat. Nevertheless, at least these organizations are clear about and donors have the information necessary to decide if they want to give their zakat funds to those causes.
Counseling and Therapy
Religious leaders are often consulted and asked for advice. This does not make them counselors or therapists in the legal sense. Even if they are therapists or counselors, this does not turn meeting for advice into a therapy or counseling session. We want to avoid retroactive investigations to determine whether or not a religious figure was functioning as a counselor, which may have legal implications for the legality of amorous relationships. This is why we want the counseling role to be formalized via a written contract or notice, so there is a record of the formal relationship such as a counseling relationship, and congregants are clear as to whether the parties entered into a professional relationship. When these relationships are formalized, we can avoid guesswork and have solid ground for accountability.
Marriage
There are many cases where religious leaders will engage in temporary marriages. Most of the time, these marriages are secret from the community, and also from the family of the woman. Marriages that have no legal status are easy to end with little consequences. Women in such marriages are not recognized by law to have been married, and are therefore not entitled to the rights a legal wife would have. The basic Islamic rights such wives have are also neglected, and there is no mechanism of ensuring she receives her rights. When marriage is done in secret, there is no social shame or social accountability either, and the man is able to carry on as if nothing happened, whereas the woman who entered the marriage under the presumption that it is not temporary- and is often told that the marriage will be made public soon- is left devastated and with no recourse.
When such marriages are brought to light in private with other scholars and organizations, and even when the religious figure admits he intended the marriage to be temporary and secret, it is often justified and kept secret as an action that is not haram, and is then dismissed as not being bad.
Our Code of Ethics addresses this issue head on by making it clear that secret marriages, whether polygamous or not, are prohibited, and should a religious leader be found of engaging in such acts, regardless of intent or justification, can be terminated. In other words, a secret marriage is a stand alone violation of the Code of Ethics and no other factors need be considered.
Harassment and Bullying
Workplace bullying is a common problem. Currently, in the United States, there are no comprehensive laws that allow employees redress against an employer for bullying, though many states have pending legislation. The main fear is that such legislation would hurt employers and open doors to litigation for firing an employee or taking merit-based negative action against an employee.
Proving bullying is often difficult, but we have highlighted recognized bullying behavior that can be reviewed once the complaint is made. The only solution is to have an investigative process look at the totality of the circumstances as we have highlighted in our remedy process. Since we have took it upon ourselves to codify bullying, we do not need to wait for legislation to catch up and make it illegal. Codifying it makes cover ups difficult. This is because to cover up bullying, the institution would have to both cover up the bullying and failing to address the complaints of bullying as required by the Code of Conduct.
Exploitation
There are individuals that will be vulnerable in the different ways we have spelled out in the Code, and taking advantage of those vulnerabilities is exploitation which is unethical.
Like other offenses, exploitation can be subjective and hard to define. In some instances, compliments, particularly when in excess, can be used to “butter up” a target in order to eventually have the target act in favor of a perpetrator. Other times, a excessive compliments can be due to other reasons like social awkwardness or genuine admiration. The only solution is to have an investigative process look at the totality of the circumstances as we have highlighted in our remedy process.
Grievance and Remedy Process
Not following the grievance and remedy process, and instead covering up abuse or pressuring employees and volunteers to not pursue justice gives victims a grounds to sue. The process being formalized in a code makes it a protocol the institution is accountable for not following.
Having a formal grievance process as part of an ethical code of conduct serves a couple of purposes:
1) It empowers victims and more importantly 2) it holds the institution accountable by decreasing their ability to cover up or ignore issues. Although some institutions’ leaders are willfully complicit in covering up the misdeeds of their peers, there are leaders who genuinely do not know how to handle reports of abuse and prefer to ignore it than to deal with the discomfort or confusion of facing these issues head-on, especially when there is no clear solution. In both instances, the remedy process is clear and when an institution ignores claims or reasonable suspicions of abuse, when a standard is present will make any cover-ups clear.
On a final note, we have not included a reporting process of sexual assault as a minimum requirement to include in this ethical code. The reason for this is that sexual assault is incredibly complicated and as to adults, we do not see it fit to impose upon victims the right to decide how to handle assaults upon them. Secondly, it is difficult to create a universal policy that requires mandating sexual reporting without giving innocent individuals the legal protections that come with such a heavy responsibility. Accordingly, we have created rules to decrease the likelihood of these abuses happening such as prohibiting adults being alone with children. However, the code does include that if a perpetrator is convicted of a sexual assault crime, that individual should be terminated. Similarly, if there is a reasonable allegation against an accused, that individual may at least be put on mandatory leave.