THE
RIGHT OF A MUSLIMAH TO BE RESPECTED FOR HER MIND INSTEAD OF HER BODY
by
Syarif Hidayat
 |
| A Nobel prize-winner activist Tawakol Karman |
The
right of a Muslim woman (Muslimah) is to be respected for her mind and for
being her own person: A Muslim Woman is Required to Dress a Certain Way When
She Goes Out in Public. For a Muslim woman, her modest dress is an expression
of a universal sisterhood. An Islamic dress also liberates the Muslim woman,
and she is then automatically respected for her mind instead of her body.
Simply
put, she retains her dignity! It is like saying: I am a respectful woman. I
am not for every man to look at, touch, or speak to. I am protected, exactly
like a precious white pearl which, if touched by everyone, will become black
and dirty.
A
woman’s modest dress protects society from adultery and other forms of illegal
sexual relations that lead to the breakup of families and corruption of
society.
Backwardness
…!
A
Nobel prize-winner activist Tawakol Karman was asked by the people of the West,
'How is it possible that an intelligent lady like yourself, well educated
and incredible successful, can be so backwards in thought, which is shown by
your 'choice' to cover yourself up [i.e. hijab]'.
The
sister very intelligently, and rightly so, replied, 'If you look back into
history, you'd notice that the not-so-intelligent people barely covered. As
intelligence increased, clothing was introduced. It is not I who is backward,
for I am moving forward, with intelligence. Backwards are those who wear less
clothes, like the ancestors did whence cohabitation in caves were a norm.’
Tawakkol
Abdel-Salam Karman (Arabic: توكل عبد السلام خالد كرمان Tawakkul ‘Abd us-Salām Karmān; also Romanized
Tawakul, Tawakel) (born 7 February 1979) is a Yemeni journalist, politician and
senior member of the of Al-Islah political party, and human rights activist.
She leads the group "Women Journalists Without Chains," which she
co-founded in 2005. She became the
international public face of the 2011 Yemeni uprising that is part of the Arab
Spring uprisings. She has been called the "Iron Woman" and
"Mother of the Revolution" by Yemenis, She is a co-recipient of the 2011
Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the first Yemeni, the first Arab woman, and the
second Muslim woman to win a Nobel Prize and the youngest Nobel Peace Laureate
to date.
Karman
gained prominence in her country after 2005 in her roles as a Yemeni journalist
and an advocate for a mobile phone news service denied a license in 2007, after
which she led protests for press freedom. She organized weekly protests after
May 2007 expanding the issues for reform. She redirected the Yemeni protests to
support the "Jasmine Revolution," as she calls the Arab Spring, after
the Tunisian people overthrew the government of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in
January 2011. She has been a vocal opponent who has called for the end of
President Ali Abdullah Saleh's regime.
Naked
in spite of being dressed!
Abu
Hurairah (r.a.) reports that the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) warned, “I have
not seen two parties of the occupants of Hell (because they do not exist now;
they will come into being later in time). One party will consist of those who
will hold whips like the tails of oxen, with which they will slash the people
(in a cruel manner). The other party will consist of women who will be dressed,
yet naked. They will be those who tempt men and are tempted by them. They will
have large heads like the bent humps of camels. They (the two parties) will
neither enter Paradise nor smell its scent. And verily its scent can be smelled
from such a large distance.” (Bukhari, Muslim)
The
point of discussion here is the second party mentioned by the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.)
i.e. women who will be naked in spite of being dressed. The implication is that
they will wear clothes of such thin material which will not conceal their
bodies. There may also be another implication: If the cloth is not thin, the
dress will be so tight-fitting on the body that it will reveal the whole shape
of the body and thus will eliminate the purpose of concealing the body.
Another
meaning of being dressed and yet being naked is that there will be inadequate
clothing on the body leaving a large part of it naked, especially those parts
which modest women conceal from the view of men. Nowadays, Muslim women wear
transparent clothing, or garments without sleeves or the sleeves are so short
that their arms are visible. Their legs are naked, head bare and the neck of
the dress is so large and open at the front and back that the upper part of the
body is clearly exposed.
Thereafter
Pprophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) continued that these women will tempt men and will
be tempted by them. In other words the fashion of remaining naked will not
arise out of poverty, but because women will want to expose their bodies to
tempt men. Another means of temptation they will adopt is that, while walking,
they will shake their heads (which will be without scarves) just like the hump
of the fast running camel shakes and bends downwards. The comparison with the
hump of the camel illustrates how the women will enlarge their heads by tying
their head upwards in big knots.
At
the end of the Hadith it is said that such women will neither enter Paradise
nor smell its fragrance. Thereafter it is said that the scent of Paradise is
smelled from a great distance. This Hadith does not mention the distance from
which the fragrance of Paradise may be smelled. Some Ahadith, however, say that
the scent of Paradise can be smelled from a distance of a hundred years’
journey. Just imagine what a misfortune it would be to be deprived of not only
Paradise but even its fragrance.
How
Muslim Women should dress in public
Jacob
Poushter
in his article titled “How should Muslim
women dress?” published in www.pewresearch.org writes “An important issue in the Muslim world is
how women should dress in public. A recent survey from the University of
Michigan’s Institute for Social Research conducted in seven Muslim-majority
countries (Tunisia, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey),
finds that most people prefer that a woman completely cover her hair, but not
necessarily her face. Only in Turkey and Lebanon do more than one-in-four think
it is appropriate for a woman to not cover her head at all in public.”
The
survey treated the question of women’s dress as a visual preference. Each
respondent was given a card depicting six styles of women’s headdress and asked
to choose the woman most appropriately outfitted for a public place. Although
no labels were included on the card, the styles ranged from a fully-hooded
burqa (woman #1) and niqab (#2) to the less conservative hijab (women #4 and
#5). There was also the option of a woman wearing no head covering of any type.
Overall,
most respondents say woman #4, whose hair and ears are completely covered by a
white hijab, is the most appropriately dressed for public. This includes 57% in
Tunisia, 52% in Egypt, 46% in Turkey and 44% in Iraq. In Iraq and Egypt, woman
#3, whose hair and ears are covered by a more conservative black hijab, is the
second most popular choice.
In
Pakistan, there is an even split (31% vs. 32%) between woman #3 and woman #2,
who is wearing a niqab that exposes only her eyes, while nearly a quarter (24%)
choose woman #4. In Saudi Arabia, a 63%-majority prefer woman #2, while an
additional 11% say that the burqa worn by woman #1 is the most appropriate
style of public dress for women.
In
several countries, substantial minorities say it is acceptable for a woman to
not cover her hair in public. Roughly a third (32%) of Turks take this view, as
do 15% of Tunisians. Nearly half (49%) in Lebanon also agree that it is
acceptable for a woman to appear in public without a head covering, although this
may partly reflect the fact that the sample in Lebanon was 27% Christian.
Demographic information, including results by gender, were not included in the
public release of this survey.
Even
as publics in many of the surveyed countries express a clear preference for
women to dress conservatively, many also say women should be able to decide for
themselves what to wear. This attitude is most prevalent in Tunisia (56%),
Turkey (52%) and Lebanon (49%) – all countries where substantial percentages
are open to women not covering their heads in public.
But
nearly as many in Saudi Arabia (47%) also say a women should be free to choose
how she dresses. Smaller, but sizable percentages agree in Iraq (27%), Pakistan
(22%) and Egypt (14%). What the survey leaves unanswered is whether respondents
think social or cultural norms will guide women in their choice to wear more
conservative or less conservative attire in public. * (Jacob Poushter is a
Research Associate at the Pew Global Attitudes Project).
World
Hijab Day
Catrin
Nye in
her article titled “Hijab for a day: Non-Muslim women who try the
headscarf” published in http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ writes “World Hijab Day
calls on non-Muslim women to try out life under the traditional head scarf. Can
it lead to more religious tolerance and understanding?”
“Because
I’m not very skilled I’m wearing what you could call a one-piece hijab – you
just pull it over your head. But I’ve discovered the scope is endless. There
are all sorts of options.” So says Jess Rhodes, 21, a student from Norwich in
the UK. She had always wanted to try a headscarf but, as a non-Muslim, didn’t
think it an option. So, when given the opportunity by a friend to try wearing
the scarf, she took it.
“She
assured me that I didn’t need to be Muslim, that it was just about modesty,
although obviously linked to Islam, so I thought, ‘why not?’”
Rhodes
is one of hundreds of non-Muslims who will be wearing the headscarf as part of
the first annual World Hijab Day on 1 February.
Originated
by New York woman Nazma Khan, the movement has been organised almost solely
over social networking sites. It has attracted interest from Muslims and
non-Muslims in more than 50 countries across the world. For many people, the
hijab is a symbol of oppression and divisiveness. It’s a visible target that
often bears the brunt of a larger debate about Islam in the West.
World
Hijab Day is designed to counteract these controversies. It encourages
non-Muslim women (or even Muslim women who do not ordinarily wear one) to don
the hijab and experience what it’s like to do so, as part of a bid to foster
better understanding. “Growing up in the Bronx, in NYC, I experienced a great
deal of discrimination due to my hijab,” says organizer Khan, who moved to New
York from Bangladesh aged 11. She was the only “hijabi” (a word for someone who
wears the headscarf) in her school.
“In
middle school I was ‘Batman’ or ‘ninja,’” she says. “When I moved on to college
it was just after 9/11, so they would call me Osama Bin Laden or terrorist. It
was awful.“I figured the only way to end discrimination is if we ask our fellow
sisters to experience hijab themselves.”
Khan
had no idea the concept would result in support from all over the world. She
says she has been contacted by people in dozens of countries, including the UK,
Australia, India, Pakistan, France and Germany. The group’s literature has been
translated into 22 languages. It was social networking that got Jess Rhodes
involved. Her friend Widyan Al Ubudy lives in Australia and asked her Facebook
friends to participate.
“My
parents, their natural reaction was to wonder if this was a good idea,” says
Rhodes, who decided to wear her hijab for a month. “They were worried I would
be attacked in the street because of a lack of tolerance.” Rhodes herself was
concerned about the reaction, but after eight days of wearing the headscarf she
has actually been surprised by how positive it has been.
“I
can’t explain it really but people have been really very helpful, especially in
shops,” she says. Esther Dale, 28, lives in the US state of California and is
another non-Muslim trying out the headscarf for the day. The mother-of-three
was told about the event by a friend of hers who is a “hijabi”. As a practicing
Mormon, Dale understands the importance of faith in daily life, and the
judgement that can come with the associated clothing.
She
says she knows the stigma that surround the headscarf and hopes this is an
opportunity to help combat that. “I knew that it’s about modesty of behaviour,
not just clothing, and that it’s a faulty assumption that women only wear it if
they’re forced to – especially in the US. That’s not at all the truth,” she
says. “It’s a good chance to educate people that you can’t make an accurate
judgement about someone based solely on what they’re wearing,” says Dale.
The
hijab has been a frequent target of criticism from people like Maryam Namazie,
a vocal ex-Muslim and campaigner, who sees the garment as a form of oppression.
“Millions of women and girls have been harassed, fined, intimidated and
arrested for ‘improper’ veiling over the past several decades,” she wrote in a
blog post about the Iranian women’s soccer team’s hijabs. “Anyone who has ever
taken an Iran Air flight will verify how quickly veils are removed the minute
the airplane leaves Iranian airspace.
“And
anyone who knows anything about Iran knows the long and hard struggle that has
taken place against compulsory veiling and sex apartheid.”
Organisers
of this event say they were fed up with seeing the words “oppressed” or
“subjugated” when it came to discussing the Muslim head-covering. They reject
the notion that women only wear hijabs at the insistence of a father or a
radical member of the family.
This
day, then, is about showing the world that women can choose the hijab
willingly. Rhodes says it’s a choice she will continue to make. “I will wear it
from time to time,” she says of her hijab. “I’m saying to the world, my beauty
is for my family and my partner. Any woman can wear this.”
One-day
Hijab leads young Briton to Islam
A
one-day experience of wearing hijab has led a 21-year-old Briton to read more
about Islam and eventually embracing the religion. “I took part in the first
World Hijab Day and challenged myself to wear the hijab for a month,” Jessica
Rhodes told Muslim Mirror. “I then began reading the Qur’an and the
words in the Qur’an seemed logical and clear, rather than in the Bible where
they tend to waffle.”
Rhodes,
from Norwich, was among scores of non-Muslims around the world who donned hijab
as part of the annual World Hijab Day on February 1. The event was meant to
clear misconceptions that the headscarf, an obligatory code of dress, is a
symbol of suppression of women in Islam. After wearing the outfit, Rhodes says
that she could not remember what it felt like to go without wearing hijab. After
the experience, Rhodes began to read more about Islam to know better about the
religion.
“I
also did some research into Islam as a whole and felt that it was an inclusive
religion that could give me the answers I was looking for,” she said. Deciding
to revert to Islam, Rhodes was met with mixed reactions to her conversion. “It
was a bag of mix,” she recalled. “Parents were not happy but they accept my
decision. My in-laws have been extremely supportive,” Rhodes said. “My friends
are unfortunately a mixed bag – some are happy with my decision, others want to
argue with me about it, and still others walked out of my life altogether.”
“Narrow-minded”
The
young Briton complains that many Muslims fail to reach out to new converts to
help them know better about Islam. “I have had some support, but not many
people seem to want to reach out to me,” Rhodes lamented.
“It
is always me asking for help.” She says that many Muslims are “narrow-minded”
about different interpretation of the Qur’an.
“When
I go and ask questions, people quote the Qur’an at me and do not seem open to a
convert’s interpretation of the Qur’an,” Rhodes said.
“They
can improve this by being more open-minded to other interpretations, because it
is not just Westerners who can be narrow-minded, misguided etc.” The young
Briton also complains that the reaction of some Muslims sometimes leads her to
consider going back on her conversion.
“Sometimes
I am unsure – the reaction from most of the Muslims that I have spoken to has
led me to feel like I should leave Islam and go back to paganism as in that
religion I was given a choice about how I practice my religion, and nobody
cared if I did things my way or another way,” she said.
“As
for the Muslim ummah… that is in the hands of Allah. If people worldwide, of
all walks of life, are more open-minded perhaps we can move forward,” Rhodes
said.
“But
if not, we will simply continue to be in a mire of misconceptions, anger and
pointless wars.” Britain is home to a Muslim community of nearly 2.5 million.
May
Allah give our women the ability and the correct guidance to cover their bodies
according to the Shariah.
Ameen!
(HSH)
Bibliotheque:
2.http://muslimvillage.com with a source from AFP
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