RCNMO hosts conference to tackle marital challenges in New York

A New York City- based Muslim Organization, the Regional Council of Nigerian Muslim Organizations Inc., has organized a conference on peaceful marriage and relationship. The conference, held on Saturday, August 24, was aimed at addressing marital challenges within the Ummah, especially in the United States.

The event was hosted by Mariam Agbelusi, a New York-based Nigerian activist and community organizer, whose dedication to the cause has set a precedent for similar initiatives in the future.

Speaking to a correspondent from Muslim Media Corperation, Agbelusi reflected on the success of the conference.

“It’s been an amazing journey. We have highly selected highly intelligent panelists, as well as our imams, in collaboration with the professional marriage counselors. It’s a wrap today. It’s a beautiful event. I pray that this event has a positive impact on the people,” she remarked with palpable satisfaction.

According to the host, the core objective of the event was to mitigate the rising divorce rates and associated societal issues within the Muslim community.

Agbelusi elaborated, “The essence of this event is to reduce the rate of divorce in our community and to reduce the rate of crime. We feel like if the woman is happy, there’s going to be happy children growing up in that environment. So that’s why we have events like this to reduce environmental [hazards].”

The success of the event was attributed to extensive marketing efforts and community engagement, despite the timing challenges posed by the academic calendar.

Looking ahead, she expressed a strong desire to make the conference an annual affair. “Our plan is to have this event annually because we see that it’s needed in our community, some interactions that are not usual. For instance, we had discussions on some of the difficulties people have in getting married to fellow Muslim brothers and sisters.”

She concluded, “My final message to everybody out there is that we should do our best to make ourselves happy. We should reduce expectations and do the best we could so we can coexist amongst ourselves. As for the singles, they should be able to look out for the positive virtues, when choosing the opposite sex for to become spouses. And they should consider the Muslim community too, because we have the Qur’an and the Hadith to guide us.”

She also emphasized the importance of intentionality and spiritual alignment in marital relationships.

“For the married couples, there is nowhere that it’s not raining, it’s raining everywhere. But if we are intentional in our relationship, I think the journey is sweeter and better. And if we have the mindset that we are doing everything for the sake of Allah, it’s also going to help us in this journey. So we should also refer back to the Qur’an and Hadith whenever we wanna communicate with each other.”