Al Azhar confirms HIJAB is not a part of the religion

HIJAB IS NOT A PART OF RELIGION
URL - http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2012/05/al-azhar-confirms-hijab-is-not-part-of.html
The following statement is in reference to the "Burqa ban movement" in United Kingdom, it sounds more like a political movement to appease someone. Burqa Ban is brutish and driven by men's primal instinct to control women. No one should have the right to impose what a woman wears or not wears. However, we should seek acknowledgements and endorsements from Muslims that Burqa in it is form is cultural and not Islamic. Over a generation or two, either the practice will continue or fade for a sizable population, but it should never be forced.
 
Our position on Hijab
Islam is about freedom and not compulsion, Q 2:256, "Let there be no compulsion in religion". We recognize that culture is deeply ingrained into each one of us, and a full Hijab wearing woman will not go cold turkey and quit wearing the Hijab the very next day.  She will not be comfortable with it and none of us have the right to tell her to wear or quit wearing it. The change should come out of her own volition as it is a part of her cultural life.  It is like forcing a vegetarian to eat meat or ordering a meat eating person to quit eating meat.

As Muslims we should be pro-choice based on Quran and Prophet's teaching, the prophet had said, if the husband compels her to believe (in matters of faith) other than what she believed, she does not have to obey him.  Meaning a woman should have the freedom to wear full Hijab, partial Hijab or just the head covering or not wear the covering at all,  but never forced.
That is the genuine freedom, a critical value of Islam.
Mike Ghouse,
World Muslim Congress.
A think tank committed to nurture the pluralistic values of Islam. 

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AA
This statement is in reference to the "Burqa ban movement" in United Kingdom, it sounds more like a political movement to appease the secular government.  Burqa Ban is an useless and losing battle. However, we should seek acknowledgements and endorsements from Muslims that Burqa in it is form is cultural and not Islamic. Over a generation or two, either the practice will continue or fade for a sizable population, but it should never be forced.

Go for the winning battles, small ones and gradually big ones. You will create enemies out of average Muslims and then it becomes a fight.... is it necessary? What is the need to employ so much energy on this issue?

Several articles are referenced below, and two versions of the stories, both from Egypt, one affirms that Hijab is not a part of the religion, and another Zealot Shaykh Tantawi compels a woman to take the Niqab off. He is wrong, however big he is to compel and take advantage of his position of a scholar. Islam is about freedom and not compulsion.

A good guideline for discussion would be resisting the temptation to reject a presentation by others as propaganda.

As far as your statement,  “A statement of a Ph D thesis cannot change the ruling of the scholars of all times”, kindly note, that only God’s word remains unchangeable, and Prophet’s words remain unchangeable, provided, they are his words. Everyone else’s word should be questionable. Muslims are to read (Iqra), question and believe.

A few Muslims have been threatened, frightened and reduced to meekness with no guts to question the veracity of the scholars. With the unprecedented availability of knowledge, two generations down the road, you will see that new breed of Muslims will have stronger faith in God to question everything. They will be Allah fearing and not Mullah fearing, and they will question the authenticity of Imam Bukhari, Hanbali, Shafii, Jaffari and others without batting an eye. That is when Islam will be re-realized to its fullest extent. Right now our fear to question has put layers of dust over Islam…

I hope Gehan can provide further research on this, however the responsibility falls on all of us, we are responsible to find the truth on our own.

  

Some 15 years ago, we had a Muslim woman scholar giving a talk about the same subject; the Muslims “In charge” of the event were scrambling to shut the woman down, because they did not have the stomach to hear that Hijab is cultural and not Islamic.

There is nothing wrong in wearing the Hijab, if one is used to, and no one should compel the woman not to wear or to wear. It should be her choice. However, to force on as religious duty is wrong, because it is not religious. Who am I to say this? An ordinary Muslim, whom Prophet told to read and understand the book , as I am responsible for my acts on the day of judgment .  

Mike Ghouse, World Muslim Congress.

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RE: MuslimsTogether :: al Azhar confirms HIJAB is not a part of the religion

This is sheer propaganda. Please give us the whole Ph D thesis for checking. A statement of a Ph D thesis can not change the ruling of the scholars of all times.

Who are these people of WMC? What is their interest?

Shah Abdul Hannan

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From: WorldMuslimCongress@yahoogroups.com [mailto:WorldMuslimCongress@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of ISLAM
Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2012 9:44 PM
Subject: MuslimsTogether :: al Azhar confirms HIJAB is not a part of the religion

here is my humble interpretation:

Finally al Azhar clarifies its position and announces that hijab has nothing to do with religion

al Azhar's endorsed Sheikh Mustafa Mohamed Rashid's PhD thesis on Sharia and Law for which he obtained a grade of excellent, where he stated that hijab is not an Islamic requirement (fard), and that the interpretation (tafseer) of the verses (ayat) and the circumstances during which they appeared has led to the widespread misunderstanding about the so-called 'Islamic Hijab' denoting covering the head, of which there is absolutely no mention in the Quran.

Yet some have misconstrued the intent and correct interpretation of the Sharia, refusing the logic and sequence of its appearance, abandoning the proper methods of citing and interpreting of the verses (ayat), their historical background and reason for them.  They have done so either intentionally, or with good intention but with lack of the essential analytical savvy.

This hijab issue imposed itself on the Islamic and non-Islamic psyche, and thus becoming the defining factor, meaning, and nature of the Islamic faith to non-Muslims, which led some non-Islamic nations to consider it a divisive political statement.  In consequence to the resulting friction, some female students have been expelled from universities and jobs, only due to their adherence to this false belief, thereby attaching to Islam a non existent requirement.

So inconsistent and misguided have the proofs of the supporters of the hijab theory been, that it would sometimes take the form of khimar or jalabeeb, which distanced them from what they meant by head cover, which is indicative of their restrictive set of mind.

'Hijab' was mentioned in verse (ayah) 53 of al AHzab, where it signifies 'wall' or 'what prevents view' and it was in regards to pure "ummuhat al mo'mineen" where a "hajib" is to be placed between them and any men.

As for verse (ayah) 31 of Al Khimar - Sourrat al Noor, that is also a redundant claim, as the intent here is the cover of the breast and neck - the background here is the covering of the breast whose exposure is un-Islamic, and not what is now understood by hijab for the head.

And in regards to the historical background of verse (ayah) 59 of Sourrat al AHzab was to distinguish between the pure and the promiscuous whores and slaves.

Finally, in the mis-use of the Hadith about Asma'a, daughter of Abu Bakr, when she walked in on the prophet (pbuh)s gathering, and he ordered her to not expose her face or palms - this Hadith is not a binding Hadith, as it is one of al AHaad and not one of the consistent, or the connected confirmed.


TRANSLATION BY GEHAN A F D SABRY

from the Arabic text at http://www.elbashayer.com/news-192556.html

1. BBC - Egypt's highest Muslim authority has said he will issue a religious edict against the growing trend for full women's veils, known as the niqab.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8290606.stm

2. Shaykh Tantawi eventually tells even a teacher to remove her niqab!!

When the Grand Shaykh was invited to address a group of young female high-school students, he noticed one of them wearing a face-veil (niqab). This seemed to irritate his Excellency rather mightily, and, his conscience so roused, he proceeded to ask the supercilious girl to remove her veil (he is preceded by the likes of Jack Straw and Tony Blair, amongst other honorable mentions) – he charged on, blasting, “I have already told you that the niqab has absolutely nothing to do with the religion, and it is something that is from custom!”

http://muslimmatters.org/2009/10/07/with-scholars-like-these/

3. Burqa Ban Debate (1/4)

Burqa Ban Debate (1/4)

View on www.youtube.com

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 Atif al-Awami, vice-chancellor of Ain Shams University, added that he "personally believes that the niqab was nothing but a social habit that spread in response to motives unrelated to religion."

http://al-shorfa.com/en_GB/articles/meii/features/main/2010/02/03/feature-02?format=mobile&mobile=true

A FEW ARTICLES ON BURQA ON THIS SITE

1. World Muslim Congress: Me without my Hijab
2. World Muslim Congress: Burqa to no Burqa
3. World Muslim Congress: Burqa - Panipat to Paris
4. World Muslim Congress: Nazia wins womens rights
5. World Muslim Congress: Canada should not ban Burqa.
6. World Muslim Congress: Burn the Burqa
7. World Muslim Congress: Veil and British women
8. World Muslim Congress: To Veil or Not to Veil
9. World Muslim Congress: Fifteen Tips for Muslim Men talking about ...
10. World Muslim Congress: Lifting the Veil on the Niqab
11. World Muslim Congress: Muslim Dad Kills Daughter

Burqa - Panipat to Paris

We need to be pro-choice, i.e., respecting the right of woman to make that choice and not impose on them or ban them for wearing. Who are we do that? We must honor every one's freedom to wear what they want to wear, as long as it is not obstructive to some elses' functioning. French commies want to force women not to wear whereas the Talibans force them to wear, who the heck are these idiots - Mike Ghouse

From Panipat To Par
is: Muslim Women And The Veil
http://wfsnews.org/
Dr. Syeda Hameed

In 1947, my mother and other women of the family decided to shed the 'burqa' (veil). Our family comes from Panipat, which was at the time a flourishing district of Punjab, with a large population of Muslims. The distinguishing feature of this erudite, sufi-dominated town was the primacy of women. Our homes were known by the name of the woman of the house, for example 'Bi Maimuna ki Haveli' (much later I was pleasantly surprised to see in Marrakesh [Morocco] the same formulation: 'Riad dar Maimuna'). Their decision to remove the veil was accepted and respected by the men of my family.

The Panipat women were agents of their own fate. When several of these women reached Pakistan (per force they had to migrate) they did not revert to the veil. In either case, no one asked them to wear or remove; neither the State nor the family.

Sixty three years later, on July 13, 2010, France's lower house of Parliament voted to ban the wearing of face covering veils in public places. The vote was passed, 336 to 1, with the left parties abstaining. In its report, the French parliamentary committee said that requiring women to cover their faces was against the French Republican principles of secularism and equality - "It is a symbol of the repression of women and of extremist fundamentalism."

What is the link between Panipat and France on the issue of Muslim women and the 'burqa'?
France is the classic upholder of human rights. I, as many of my generation, grew up on stories of the French Revolution, Storming of Bastille, 'Liberty Equality, Fraternity', Montesquieu, Robespierre, Louis XIV, Marie Antoinette, and the ubiquitous Guillotine.

Panipat was the place where caravans of Sufi scholars migrated from Afghanistan and Iran to spread their teachings among a populace, which was ready and willing to learn. Many schools of Islamic jurisprudence flourished there; people openly debated religion and followed their own maslak, each according to his or her light.

Today, Panipat is a flourishing town where all the obvious signs of development hit you in the face. But the very fact for which it was distinctive has become its greatest bane; its neglect of gender issues has given it some of the lowest sex ratios in the country. From the high regard in which women were held, it has become the district with one of the worst CSR (Child sex ratio) in the country.

And France, the upholder of the rights of the marginalised has decreed that of the quarter million Muslim women, the 1,900 who wear the face veil will be fined $190 if they emerge in public wearing the veil. Men who force women in their family to wear full face veils will be fined $37,754 and a one-year jail term. If this Bill is cleared by the senate, it will become law of the land. In this manner, it will irretrievably 'disempower' at least some French citizens

In the 1960's when their economy was booming, France waived all visa requirements and opened its doors to immigrants from its erstwhile colonies. These immigrants contributed cheap labour to France's service industry and as is convenient and customary, were concentrated on the outskirts of the capital in ghetto settlements. They were relatively few opportunities for social and economic integration. Many of these immigrants were Muslims. It is the women from these areas, the poorest, who will be hard hit by the ban.

Muslim women in France will thus be caught between two hardships; hardship at home, where they prefer to adhere to 'traditional' dress codes for a variety of reasons, and hardship outside, where the State requires them to throw off the very same dress code. This fallout is certainly not going to fulfill the avowed objective of the French government of empowering and dignifying Muslim women.

The assumption is that Muslim women wear the 'burqa' always as a result of coercion. Such a construct strips women of all agencies. Sometimes, Muslim women choose to veil themselves not as a symbol of their religious identity (nor in protest against Western Imperialism) but because they want to become more pious. The body becomes a site for action. Is it not possible that the act of veiling is reflective of an inner dialogue with the self (whether we agree with the finer points of the dialogue is quite another matter)? Is it not a coercive State, which quells that inner dialogue? Is it also not a rather ignorant State, which interprets bodily embodiments in such simplistic ways? If a Muslim woman's conscience impels her to wear the veil as an act of piety, the veil is no longer a symbol; it becomes an integral part of her. What role does the State have in violating her integrity?

There is the story of the Muslim doctor in Amsterdam (The Netherlands). She is one of the thousands of veiled women of Europe. After she donned the 'burqa', she noticed that everyone around her became more patronising. Shop attendants spoke to her slowly, repeating words as to a child. If she went to return a faulty gadget to a shop, she was scolded by the manager for her inability to operate something 'modern.' While the manager's Islamophobic attitude will remain untouched, it is the woman who, if she stays true to herself, who will be unable to go to the shop. One of France's few Muslim politicians, senator Bariza Khairi fears that some of the women, thus targeted will withdraw into themselves, stay in the house. "Instead of doing education projects, we are doing a ban, which I regret," she said.

As a believing practicing Muslim woman, I choose not to wear the 'burqa', 'hijab' or veil. It is my choice. Islam is very clear in its injunction 'La ikrafiddin'. There is no compulsion in religion. There is no dress code in Islam. Its only injunction is that woman and man should dress in a dignified manner. I, therefore, protest any edict imposed by any body or organisation about my practice or dress code.

If a Muslim woman chooses to practice Islam within the 'hijab' she should be free to do so; if she wants to practice without the 'hijab', there should be nothing preventing her. Hazrat Ali, the 4th Caliph of Islam said: "Be wary of him/her who has nothing to lose". These women who are being deprived are the poorest Muslims; they have nothing to lose. Their sensitivities are being needled by such discriminatory legislation. The State needs to engage with those who wear the 'burqa' as well as with those who abhor the 'burqa'. A culture of engagement might be more empowering than a decontextualised recourse to human rights and secularism. The example of Panipat, that place of religious engagement and debate, is before us.
07/30/2010

Related articles:

Burqa to no Burqa
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2007/07/burqa-to-no-burqa.html

Sick of French commies, Talibans and Iranians
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2010/07/sick-of-french-commies-talibans-iranian.html

Burqa Ban on Hannity and Fox News
http://mikeghouseforamerica.blogspot.com/2010/06/burqa-ban-hannity-gabrielle-and-ghouse.html

Bikini to Burqa, which offers more
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2010/07/bikini-or-headscarf-which-offers-more.html

Burn the Burqa
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2007/01/burn-burqa.html

Lifting the Veil on the Niqab
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/02/lifting-veil-on-niqab.html

Me without my Hijab
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2008/06/me-without-my-hijab.html

Canada should not ban burqa
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/10/canada-should-not-ban-burqa.html

Sick of French Commies, Talibans & Iranian Clergy

On one hand we have the French commies and Turkish intolerant who want to tell a woman what she can wear or not wear; on the other hand we have the Talibans, Wahhabi and Ayatollavi clergy telling and forcing a woman what to wear. Similar intolerance is propagated by a few right winger rogues in America.

Who the xxck are the these men to tell what a woman should wear or not wear? It is time we all stand up for women's right to choose and let's learn to live and let live, let's be pro-choice when it comes to the veil. God guides a woman in Quraan to do what is right, and if the husband tells her to the contrary, she has a right to do the right thing and take a walk than put up with it.

Women are indeed putting up with it, is there a race, ethnic, religious, cultural or nationalistic group that does not oppress women? In most of the countries women are economically and socially dependent on men shamelessly take advantage of it.

Google it, no one is capable of casting the fist stone. It is time we stand up for the rights of women and just tell the guys to behave.

The Tehran News paper had published two of my articles before, and I hope to write to them and encourage sensitive peole to bring some sanity to these injustices.

Iranian clerics lash out on veiling

One top leader criticizes Ahmadinejad for suggesting a cultural campaign would better address the issue of 'badly-veiled women,' not morality police.

Young women argue with a conservative man about women's rights at a rally in Tehran. Morality police are cracking down against a trend of looser, less strict head scarves and tight overcoats. (Patrick Baz, AFP/Getty Images / June 21, 2005)

Iranian clerics lash out on veiling

One top leader criticizes Ahmadinejad for suggesting a cultural campaign would better address the issue of 'badly-veiled women,' not morality police.
By Meris Lutz, Special to the Los Angeles Times
June 19, 2010

Reporting from Beirut
Hard-line Iranian clerics determined to reverse the trend of what they regard as "badly veiled women" took aim Friday at an unlikely target: conservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

In a televised interview last week, Ahmadinejad suggested a "cultural campaign" against interpretations of Islamic dress that have been deemed improper by authorities rather than the humiliating high-profile police crackdown already underway.

His comments came weeks after law enforcement agencies stepped up efforts to curb what many within the regime see as a threat to the ruling ideology. Morality police have been stopping cars carrying women and shutting down stores that sell clothing considered immodest.

But Guardian Council chief Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati told worshipers during his Friday sermon that to stay silent on the issue of improper hijab, or veil, amounts to a mortal sin. He likened women whose hair peaks out from under their scarves to hardened criminals.

"Drug traffickers are hanged, terrorists are executed and robbers are punished for their crimes, but when it comes to the law of God, which is above human rights, [some individuals] stay put and speak about cultural programs," Jannati said, referring to Ahmadinejad.

"Shall we let badly-veiled women be free in the society corrupt our youth?" he added.

Jannati called on other clergy in Iran to join his campaign, and at least some were heeding the message. In the city of Mashhad, Ayatollah Ahmad Alam Hoda said that improperly veiled women represent "a corrupt minority."
Copyright © 2010, The Los Angeles Times

Related articles:

Burqa to no Burqa
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2007/07/burqa-to-no-burqa.html

Sick of French commies, Talibans and Iranians
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2010/07/sick-of-french-commies-talibans-iranian.html

Burqa Ban on Hannity and Fox News
http://mikeghouseforamerica.blogspot.com/2010/06/burqa-ban-hannity-gabrielle-and-ghouse.html

Bikini to Burqa, which offers more
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2010/07/bikini-or-headscarf-which-offers-more.html

Burn the Burqa
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2007/01/burn-burqa.html

Lifting the Veil on the Niqab
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/02/lifting-veil-on-niqab.html

Me without my Hijab
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2008/06/me-without-my-hijab.html

Canada should not ban burqa
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/10/canada-should-not-ban-burqa.html

Burqa Ban – Hannity, Gabrielle and Ghouse on Fox TV

On Hannity Show June 29, 2010

Mike Ghouse live from Nashville, Tennessee. Of course we could not get all the talking points in to the show, but you can read it.Let's do some serious critical thinking. French commies now want to tell their people what they eat, believe, pray and WEAR? How dumb!

On you tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnnGQB9tPyg

Click to continue: http://mikeghouseforamerica.blogspot.com/2010/06/burqa-ban-hannity-gabrielle-and-ghouse.html

Mike's profile

Canada should not ban Burqa.

We need to be pro-choice, i.e., respecting the right of woman to make that choice and not impose on them or ban them for wearing. Who are we do that? We must honor every one's freedom to wear what they want to wear, as long as it is not obstructive to some elses' functioning. French commies want to force women not to wear whereas the Talibans force them to wear, who the heck are these idiots -








Canada should not ban Burqa.
We must support freedom over imposition.
To save the women from oppression of one kind,
The Muslim Canadian congress is pushing the other oppression;
denial of the right of women who genuinely want to wear the Burqa.

Societies do not change overnight; let the change happen in the open market,
Let MCC compete with the Wahhabis and educate the Muslims otherwise.
What if the Wahhabis gain the influence?
Turn MCC reccomendation upside down?

Solutions should be sought through freedom and education.
We certainly should oppose any compulsion on women; left or right.

I do understand and acknowledge that Burqa is not a religious requirement.
But I stand opposed to MCC's stand to ban the Burqa,
and request them to reconsider their eagerness to prevail.
Let the freedom prevail, that is the essence of Islam
There should be no compulsion, there is great wisdom in it.

Opinion is my own,
you are welcome to your opinion at:

http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/10/canada-should-not-ban-burqa.html#comments

Mike Ghouse
http://www.worldmuslimcongress.com/
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/10/canada-should-not-ban-burqa.html
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2007/07/burqa-to-no-burqa.html

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October 7, 2009

Muslim Canadian Congress wants
Canada to ban the Burka in public
Top cleric in Egypt says face covering has nothing to do with Islam

TORONTO - The Muslim Canadian Congress (MCC) is asking Ottawa to introduce legislation to ban the wearing of masks, niqabs and the burka in public.

In a statement, the MCC said, not only is the wearing of a face-mask a security hazard and has led to a number of bank heists in Canada and overseas, the burka or niqab are political symbols of Saudi inspired Islamic extremism.

The MCC dismissed the argument that wearing of a face-mask by Muslim women is protected by the Charter's guarantee of religious freedom. The MCC said, there is no requirement in the Quran for Muslim women to cover their faces. Invoking religious freedom to conceal one's identity and promote a political ideology, is disingenuous.

The MCC pointed to the the recent decision by Egypt's highest Muslim authority, Sheikh Mohamed Tantawi, dean of al-Azhar university, who said he will issue a Fatwa (religious edict) against the niqab and burka.

The Egyptian newspaper al-Masri al-Yom quoted Sheikh Tantawi as saying the niqab was merely a cultural tradition and had no connection to religion or the Quran.

The MCC said if there is any doubt about the religiosity of the burka, one should take a look at the holiest place for Muslims — the grand mosque in Mecca. For over 1,400 years, Muslim men and women have prayed in what we believe is the House of God, and for all these centuries, female visitors have been explicitly prohibited from covering their faces.

Farzana Hassan, communications director of the MCC said, "Islamists are defending the burka as if it was the central pillar of Islam. They consider Muslim women who do not cover their heads and faces--the vast majority -- as sinners or lesser Muslims.

"It is of utmots impritance that the Canadian government take the lead and end this medieval misogynist practise once and for all," Ms. Hassan added.

The MCC statement regretted that while the rest of the world is moving toward the goal of gender equality, right here in Canada Islamists are pushing back the clock, convincing educated Muslim women, they are no more than sexual objects and a source of sin, if they reveal their faces in public.

Related articles:

Burqa to no Burqa
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2007/07/burqa-to-no-burqa.html

Sick of French commies, Talibans and Iranians
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2010/07/sick-of-french-commies-talibans-iranian.html

Burqa Ban on Hannity and Fox News
http://mikeghouseforamerica.blogspot.com/2010/06/burqa-ban-hannity-gabrielle-and-ghouse.html

Bikini to Burqa, which offers more
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2010/07/bikini-or-headscarf-which-offers-more.html

Burn the Burqa
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2007/01/burn-burqa.html

Lifting the Veil on the Niqab
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/02/lifting-veil-on-niqab.html

Me without my Hijab
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2008/06/me-without-my-hijab.html

Canada should not ban burqa
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/10/canada-should-not-ban-burqa.html


#

Lifting the Veil on the Niqab

Lifting the Veil on the Niqab

The following article on the subject is fairly well written.

Agree with most of what Tarek has said, but if a woman wants to wear the Hijab or Niqab (face mask), let her, it is her life and her body; she should have complete freedom to choose. Its time to think in terms of freedom, and not fall into the trap that wearing Niqab is oppression or regression. Why does one have to conform? It is about what she wants to cover or uncover, let the issue be a pro-choice.

One comment I have heard that makes a lot of sense is “if she had told the court that she is not comfortable with the open face in presence of media or such..." it would have been more acceptable as opposed to referencing to religion. Then we have two choices - some Muslims think it is religious, most others don't... should it not be a woman's choice?

My late wife never wore any Hijab, except the covering at the Mosque... one day she said she is going to wear the Burqa... that stopped me in my tracts and resisted my own resistance to it. Who am I to "tell" her what to wear or not?

Mike Ghouse
WorldMuslimCongress.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

February 5, 2009

Lifting the Veil on the Niqab

There is no requirement in Islam to cover one's face -- the niqab is the epitome of male control over Muslim women

By Tarek Fatah,

The Ottawa Citizen

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Life/Lifting+veil+niqab/1254516/story.html

Barely a week goes by when my religion, Islam, does not face a fresh round of scrutiny. If it is not a suicide bomber blowing himself up in an Iraqi mosque screaming "Allah O Akbar," it is news that an imam in Malaysia has declared the practice of Yoga sinful. If it is not a Toronto imam defending suicide bombing on TVO, a Muslim woman writes a column in a Canadian daily, advocating the introduction of Shariah law in Canada.

But the one topic that rears its head in almost predictable cycles is the subject of a Muslim woman's supposed Islamic attire. Whether it is swimming pools or polling booths there is no escape from the repeated controversies surrounding the face mask, better known as the niqab, or the burqa.

The latest incarnation of the niqab controversy surfaced this week when a Toronto judge ordered a Muslim woman to take off her niqab when she testified in a case of sexual assault.

The woman invoked Islam as the reason why she wanted to give testimony while wearing a face mask. She told the judge, "It's a respect issue, one of modesty," adding Islam considers her niqab as her "honour." Her explanations were rejected by the judge who determined that the woman's "religious belief" was not that strong and that in his opinion the woman was asking to wear the niqab as "a matter of comfort."

But all of these arguments are premised on the acceptance of the myth that a face mask for women is Islamic religious attire.

Humbug.

There is no requirement in Islam for Muslim women to cover their faces. The niqab is the epitome of male control over women. It is a product of Saudi Arabia and its distortion of Islam to suit its Wahabbi agenda, which is creeping into Canada .

If there is any doubt that the niqab is not required by Islam, take at look at the holiest place for Muslims -- the grand mosque in Mecca , the Ka'aba. For over 1,400 years Muslim men and women have prayed in what we believe is the House of God and for all these centuries women have been explicitly forbidden from covering their faces.

For the better part of the 20th century, Muslim reformists, from Egypt to India , campaigned against this terrible tribal custom imposed by Wahabbi Islam. My mother's generation threw off their burqas when Muslim countries gained their independence after the Second World War. Millions of women encouraged by their husbands, fathers and sons, shed this oppressive attire as the first step in embracing gender equality.

But while the rest of the world moves toward the goal of gender equality, right here, under our very noses, Islamists are pushing back the clock, convincing educated Muslim women they are sexual objects and a source of sin.

It will be difficult to pinpoint what went wrong, but most of Canada 's growth in niqabi women can be traced to one development in 2004, when a radical Pakistani female scholar by the name of Farhat Hashmi came to Canada on a visitor's visa, to establish the Al-Huda Islamic Institute for women.

Maclean's magazine reported in July 2006 that she had "established a school where she lectures to mostly young, middle-class women from mainstream Muslim families, not only from across the country but also from the U.S. and as far away as Australia ."

In October 2005, the Globe and Mail ran a story on Dr. Hashmi quoting a 20-year-old Muslim woman as saying, "I agree with Dr. Hashmi that women should stay at home and look after their families." This student was so impressed with Dr. Hashmi's sermons that she convinced 10 of her friends to enrol in the course that involved wearing the niqab, leaving the work force and embracing polygamy.

In the Globe piece, 18-year-old Sadaf Mahmood defended polygamy and the burqa saying: "There are more women than men in this world. Who will take care of these women? It is better for a man to do things legally by taking a second wife, rather than having an affair."

While the rest of Canada sleeps, the Islamist agenda, funded by the Saudis and inspired by the Iranians, continues to make its presence felt. The vast majority of Muslims look on in shock, unable to understand why this country would tolerate the oppression of women in the name of religion and multiculturalism.

The woman who was denied her burqa in court is a victim. She is merely a puppet in the hands of those who wish to keep women in their place. First she suffered the trauma of the alleged sexual assault, which was then compounded by the controversy about her niqab. She could have asked the judge to not let her face her alleged attackers, and that would have been a fair request.
But when she invoked Islam and said hiding her face would be an act of religiosity, she became a voice not for justice, but for those who wish to sneak Shariah law into our judicial system. This should be stopped.

Me without my Hijab

http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2008/06/me-without-my-hijab.html

Here is an account of an Iraqi woman removing her head covering and how she saw herself without it. I am certain, most women, particularly those who wore Hijab once may find in tune with this article. I have written a few articles on the subject, whose links are provided below the article.

The way we clothe is cultural and not necessarily religious. Religious requirement is simply modesty; no more than that. That modesty can range between a full shuttle cock Burqa to no Burqa. Modesty is the right thing to follow, it is the middle path, and it is the path of least conflicts. The Qur'aanic wisdom reiterates that path. Today, Hijab is a fashion and an identity statement, loudly announcing that one is a Muslim, it draws more attention defeating the very purpose for which it stands; Modesty and not to draw attention.

1. http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2007/07/burqa-to-no-burqa.html
2. http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2008/03/gender-equality-now.html
3. http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2007/01/burn-burqa.html
4. http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2007/02/to-veil-or-not-to-veil.html
5. http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/search/label/Hijab
6. http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2007/03/islams-liberation-of-women.html

Mike Ghouse
# # #
Me without my Hijab
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/suncommentary/la-op-hussain8-2008jun08,0,1315525.story
From the Los Angeles Times
Removing my head covering changed how I saw myself and the world.
By Zainab Mineeia

June 8, 2008

When I came to this country, I took off my hijab. It wasn't an easy decision. I worried at night that God would punish me for it. That's what I had been taught would happen, and it filled me with fear.

I was 27, coming from my home country of Iraq to study in California. I hoped that by taking off the hijab I had been wearing for eight years, I would be able to maintain a low profile. In Baghdad, you keep a low profile to stay alive. But in the United States, I merely wanted not to be judged.

Still, I was filled with anxiety. As I flew toward the United States, I wondered how I would feel when the moment came to appear with my head uncovered.

I knew, of course, that most women in the United States didn't cover their heads. Despite that, I worried that my appearance would draw attention. I was going to stand bare in front of everyone. My neck, my hair, the top of my chest would all be exposed. This might (or might not) go unnoticed by others, but I would be keenly aware of it. I didn't know if I was ready to handle this feeling.

When I arrived at the airport in Frankfurt, Germany, at the end of the first leg of my journey, my head was still covered. I let my hair out briefly, but then I covered it again, unsure of myself. I packed the hijab away for good when I arrived at Denver International Airport.

I had talked with my parents about the fact that I might take off the hijab upon my arrival in the States; fortunately they were supportive of the idea. In fact, just a few days before leaving Iraq, I was sitting in the living room with my father.

"My daughter, when you arrive at the Jordanian airport, take your hijab off and fold it in your bag. There is no need to wear it anymore," he said while smoking his cigarette.

I did not comment, nor did I look him in the eye. I was embarrassed and did not want to talk about the subject with him or my mother. I was not used to talking to them about such sensitive, personal subjects. But his words meant a lot to me. Having his blessing was important.

Coming from Iraq, a conservative society in which Islam is the main religion, the hijab was something I had always known. Muslim women begin wearing the hijab at different ages -- some start as young as 8; others start later. Some never wear it at all. We wear it because we are told that it would be a sin not to cover ourselves -- and because we need to be without sin in order to get close to God. Women, we're told, are a source of enticement to men, and we need to be covered so that men won't desire us.

I made the decision to cover my head willingly and without any pressure from my family. My mother and sisters wore it, which made my choice easier. I was 19, and I was becoming more religious in those days and had begun to pray more frequently. I was convinced that it was the right thing to do.

The night before I first wore it to school, I stayed up most of the night. None of my friends knew what I was going to do. I expected it would surprise a lot of people. I was a girl who loved styling my hair and wearing nice things; my friends (many of whom were already wearing the hijab) would know how much I had to give up to wear it.

On the street, I felt a rush of mixed feelings: happiness and shyness, as well as fear that I would regret my decision in the future. But I never thought that taking it off would be an option. Once women wear the hijab, they are not likely to take it off.

These days, the hijab is a controversial subject. Some Muslims argue that it is a must for women, though others think it is not. My friend Dahlia Lamy, for instance, an Iraqi woman I knew in Baghdad who is now studying at Boston University, argues that no verse in the Koran clearly makes the hijab an obligation for women. Lamy is a practicing Muslim, but she believes that most women who wear the hijab have been forced to do so by their fathers and brothers. "I've never worn the hijab, nor do I intend to," she told me. In Turkey -- and even in France -- culture wars have raged over the wearing of the hijab in schools and other places.

The hijab takes different forms. In Iraq, it can be a chest-length veil that is placed around the head and sometimes can connect to a niqab, a cloth that covers the mouth and nose. The wearing of the niqab is not common in Iraq. In Iran and other Persian Gulf countries, women wear an abaya. An abaya is a long black gown that covers the entire body.

My hijab helped me during the rough days after the war began in 2003. It was like a shield, an invisible suit that I always had on when I went out, the suit that kept away the evil eye. It enabled me to keep that all-important low profile.

But even as the hijab kept me safe, it became a burden for many others. After the fall of Saddam Hussein, there was a dramatic increase in the number of women wearing the hijab. Since then, as religious groups have gained more power, it has become dangerous to be spotted without one -- so much so that even Christian women now wear the hijab when they go out. To me, that signified that something was wrong with my country.

The reason I came to the United States was to spend a semester at UC Davis before starting a master's degree program in journalism. I arrived on the flight from Denver in September 2006. It was late at night, and I went immediately to sleep. The next day was my first to go out without the hijab. That morning, I stood in front of the mirror and instead of straightening my hijab, I straightened my hair. It worried me, but I also felt happy.

At first, I looked behind me a lot as I walked down the street, wondering who was looking at me and what they were thinking. But over time, I got used to it. My conscience stopped bothering me, and I became accustomed to being without the hijab in the middle of the day. I remember early on when a woman sipping coffee on her porch said "Good morning" and smiled at me, as if I looked completely normal. That was a peaceful feeling.

For a while, I lived in Davis with another Iraqi woman, who had been wearing the hijab since 2002. When I told her that I had taken off my hijab when I came to the U.S., she was surprised and gave me the look. The look telling me that I had done something wrong. We discussed the issue many times; I felt guilty again and had second thoughts.

After some months, though, she moved to Massachusetts. One day, she called me, and we talked again about her hijab. This time she talked about the discomfort and sometimes even hostility that people seemed to feel when they met her and saw how she was dressed. "They try to hide it, but it's obvious," she said. She said that although real estate agents were positive over the phone, no one would rent her an apartment once they saw her in person. She explained that a woman from the student housing office had had the audacity to explain to her the way toilets are flushed, "As if my hijab was an anti-intelligence sign," she said. "I spent two days crying."

She called me again at the end of December and told me that she too had taken off the hijab. After the conversation ended, I felt a bit relieved; I had apparently made a wise decision and spared myself pain from the start.

At the same time, I was disappointed. We shouldn't have to hide the fact that we're Muslims in order to be treated like everyone else. In some ways, it's as bad to feel pressure to take off the hijab in the United States as it is to be pressured to keep it on in Baghdad. It's sad that people here do not always accept you for who you are.

For myself, I'm comfortable with my decision. But even today, I sometimes take my hijab out of the closet and place it over my head. It feels strange, not unlike the feeling I had when I was preparing to stop wearing it.

At the same time, when I put it on, I feel at home, as if I wasn't far away. It makes me miss the days when I used to match the color of my hijab with my clothes. The hijab was a part of my identity, a part of who I was, and those memories can't be erased.

Zainab Mineeia worked as a translator and reporter for The Times in Iraq in 2005 and 2006. She is now a graduate student at the Missouri School of Journalism.

Burqa to no Burqa

We need to be pro-choice, i.e., respecting the right of woman to make that choice and not impose on them or ban them for wearing. Who are we do that? We must honor every one's freedom to wear what they want to wear, as long as it is not obstructive to some elses' functioning. French commies want to force women not to wear whereas the Talibans force them to wear, who the heck are these idiots - Mike Ghouse

Burqa to no Burqa
Mike Ghouse, July 4, 2007

http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2007/07/burqa-to-no-burqa.html

Updates added on July 7, appended at the bottom

When the President of the United States abuses the authority given to him and violates the constitution and trust of the people (low approval ratings), when the Pope abuses his authority and utters words that create gratuitous chaos, when the Mufti of Saudi Arabia abuses his authority in pre-empting God’s authority and issues a fatwa declaring another Muslim as a non-Muslim, and when people in power abuse their authority; the people in power over their family also abuse the imposition of Burqa as an instrument of control. However, not all the Presidents, not all the Pope’s, not all the Clerics and not all the people abuse the privileges, some do and I estimate that to be no more than 1/10th of 1% when it comes to the general public.

A majority of Muslim women wear the Burqa out of their own volition, there is no doubt that there are a few men who compel them to wear, and it is certainly an oppressive situation. When you take a principled stand, women are indeed oppressed by all societies, The insecure men; whether it is a Bubba, Mullah or a Prince, be it in China, United States, India, Brazil or Saudi Arabia, they all behave the same, take it out on their women and always prey on the weak or the dependent. They are the one’s that need education and not the Burqa elimination.

Burqa is used from the Shuttle-Cock format in Afghanistan to the Hijab format (a bare scarf in the United States, Canada, India, Turkey, Bangladesh, Pakistan and some other nations. The Original Islamic idea was for a woman to be modest in public places, hold on from jumping to conclusions, it is not only women, it is men as well. Men in most Muslim societies do not wear shorts, they wear full length pants, they do not go bare chested even in their homes. That is range of modesty in practice. For an average American to understand this concept of modesty, all they have to do is compare the society of a higher threshold where, some families walk around the house with barely any clothes on, but most American families have modesty, what they wear in front of their children, especially of the opposite gender, when their sister, daughters or cousins are around is not the same.

If some woman wants to drop the Hijab, she can, but she has to feel comfortable with it. It would be hypocritical of us to impose our values onto others, let alone our own relatives.
We have an obligation to maintain a balance in the society and it is our duty to keep law and order and faithfully guard the safety of every citizen. If we can learn to accept and respect the God given uniqueness of each individual, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.
Prejudice against any one is one of the many sources of disrupting the peace in a society and it is our duty to track down the source of such hate and work on mitigating it. if we let hate mongers, hate sermons and hate lectures creep in our societies, we lose that desired balance in the society.
First, we have to believe that the societal balance begins with each one of us; we see goodness around if we upload good values in ourselves. It is in our interest to treat the world as one nation under God, one family and one people with liberty and justice for all. We are on the bus.

Another column on the topic in Feb: http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2007/02/to-veil-or-not-to-veil.html

Mike Ghouse is a Speaker, Thinker, Writer and a Moderator. He is president of the Foundation for Pluralism and is a frequent guest on talk radio, discussing interfaith, political and civic issues. He founded the World Muslim Congress with a simple theme: "good for Muslims and good for the world." His personal Website is www.MikeGhouse.net and his articles can be found on the Websites mentioned above and in his Blogs: http://MikeGhouseforAmerica.Blogspot.com and http://MikeGhouse.Sulekha.com . He can be reached at MikeGhouse@gmail.com . Mike lives in Carrollton with his family and has been a Dallasite since 1980

Related articles:

Burqa to no Burqa
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2007/07/burqa-to-no-burqa.html

Sick of French commies, Talibans and Iranians
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2010/07/sick-of-french-commies-talibans-iranian.html

Burqa Ban on Hannity and Fox News
http://mikeghouseforamerica.blogspot.com/2010/06/burqa-ban-hannity-gabrielle-and-ghouse.html

Bikini to Burqa, which offers more
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2010/07/bikini-or-headscarf-which-offers-more.html

Burn the Burqa
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2007/01/burn-burqa.html

Lifting the Veil on the Niqab
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/02/lifting-veil-on-niqab.html

Me without my Hijab
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2008/06/me-without-my-hijab.html

Canada should not ban burqa
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/10/canada-should-not-ban-burqa.html

Two articles to refer to following the update on July 7th

July 7th update:

Dear Ahmed, Allyternity, Bharat Born, Sabiha and Mariam,

All your comments and questioned can be contained in the following paragraph;

I have always wondered about the "own volition" part of the wearing of the veil. Do women really do it on their own or are they conditioned to ?" Do majority Muslim women wear the "burqa" (or some modification). Is this really true? And what is the basis for your statement that majority women who wear the burqa do so because they want to?

We have to take a principle stand on the subject and test it out.

The various formats as the pictures have suggested are determined by culture and within each culture there is diversity. In any given Muslim community, you may find the whole range of practices with varying ratios.

The Saree; Are the women in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka or the diaspora forced to wear the Saree or conditioned to wear? Can we get a traditional woman to wear a skirt instead of the Saree? Would most of them jump at the opportunity?

Are Men at work forced to wear pants and shirt or conditioned to wear. Is police forced to wear the uniform or conditioned to wear? Is the clergy forced to wear the head gear or conditioned? Are we conditioned to eat medium rare steak or well done? Are we forced to eat the meals we grow up with any opportunity we get or we conditioned to?

A traditional American woman would be reluctant to wear a bikini in presence of her sons and brothers, and a conservative American father would not run around the house bare naked, where as a Norwegian or dutch would be comfortable with that... nothing is wrong or right about it, it is the level of comfort one develops or conditioned to. We can even label it conservative or liberal, but one has to be comfortable to be in either classification.

As with all habits, including the habit forming taught by Stephen Covey, it takes effort and conditioning at the beginning, but later on it becomes a practice, it become part of your daily living and personal or family culture.

The form of Burqa may have similar beginnings as Covey's habits and Muslim women are used to it now. The Shuttle Cock Burqa (Leftmost picture) is mainly used in Afghanistan and NW frontier of Pakistan, however you still see it co-exists in different communities here and there, I have seen that in India also. The dominant one is with an openable flap on the face in most conservative places. The very rural and very urban women across the world except in Saudi Arabia and Iran wear just the Hijab, a small piece of cloth covering their hair, it is simply a scarf. America and Canada is developing it's own fashionable clothing. Mother Mary wore full clothing with fully covered hair, it is a symbol of purity, the practice has continued in Islam.

Do most Muslim women wear Hijab in one form or the other? Yes, they do and do it out of their own volition with a few exceptions (please refer to the original article appended below) It is a symbol of modesty and they are comfortable with it. Even though I may not see the need for it, but as a pluralist and as person who believes in democracy and rights of individuals, I would not force any woman to wear or not wear, let it be her choice.

The fallacious assumption that she would drop it instantly if she had a choice, falls flatly on its face. Let's go back to our principle stand, and ask the same question to the liberals and moderates.

Men: Would you cut your hair short or long if you do the opposite? Would you change because some one tells you to, or would you retain what you have because you are conditioned to?

Women: Would you drop the Saree if some one tells that it is primitive and wear revealing clothes that shows you are on par with the society? Can a Hollywood girl tell you to drop the traditions and wear like them as they do on Oscar night?

Except a few, most working Muslim women have adopted to the environment, I honor them and also honor the right of those who want to wear what is good for them. You can wear a Saree, Burqa or a Skirt, that is entirely your choice.

Personally, I would like to see all Men and Women wear clothing that are modest, which would facilitate the person to focus on other's thoughts, talks, emotions and ideas rather than the appearance.


Mike Ghouse

------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Mike,

Thanks for sharing your interesting. I'd like your feedback on the following question: Your article seems to imply that majority Muslim women wear the "burqa" (or some modification). Is this really true?

And what is the basis for your statement that majority women who wear the burqa do so because they want to?

Aloha,
Saleem
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Allyternity,

I have always wondered about the "own volition" part of the wearing of the veil. Do women really do it on their own or are they conditioned to ?"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Burqa to no Burqa
Mike Ghouse, July 4, 2007


http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2007/07/burqa-to-no-burqa.html



Pakistani cleric captured under Burqa

By MUNIR AHMED, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 34 minutes ago
Security forces besieging a radical mosque in the Pakistani capital captured its top cleric Wednesday as he tried to sneak out of the complex in a woman's Burqa, and more than 1,000 of his followers surrendered.

But heavy gunfire raged into the night, and it was unclear if his capture would lead other hard-liners to give up the fight at the mosque.

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf deployed the army to subdue the militants holed up at Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, whose clerics have boldly challenged the government for months with a drive to impose a Taliban-style version of Islamic law in Islamabad.

The peaceful arrest of the mosque's prayer leader, Maulana Abdul Aziz, was a coup for the government. The firebrand Aziz has been a vociferous opponent of Musharraf and threatened suicide attacks to defend the mosque. His thousands of male students have been at the forefront of anti-government and anti-U.S. rallies.

Tensions exploded into a daylong battle Tuesday between security forces and militant students, some heavily armed and masked. Officials said 16 people died, including militants, security officers and bystanders. Mosque leaders put the death toll among just students at 20.

The government ordered the militants to lay down their arms and surrender by Wednesday morning as it positioned armored vehicles and helicopters around the mosque in a show of strength.

A security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to journalists, said Aziz was captured when he tried to get away disguised as a woman, wearing a full-length black burqa, and a female police officer tried to search him.

The officer began shouting "This is not a woman," the official said, prompting male officers to seize Aziz. "The suspect later turned out to be the mosque's chief cleric," the official said.
An AP Television News cameraman saw plainclothes police bundling the gray-bearded cleric into the back of a car, which sped away.

Javed Iqbal Cheeman, an Interior Ministry official, said Aziz's wife, the principal of the mosque's religious school, was also arrested.

"The entire operation will end in further success, and we will be able to give you and the nation more good news," Deputy Interior Minister Zafar Iqbal Warriach said.

He said the whereabouts of the mosque's deputy leader, Abdul Rashid Ghazi, who is Aziz's brother, was unclear. Ghazi said earlier Wednesday that "we will continue to defend ourselves."

Cheema said at least 1,100 people surrendered during the day, with some of the women in tears. All women and children will be granted amnesty, but males involved in killings and the top mosque leaders will face legal action, Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azim said.
Cheema claimed that "not many more" people were left inside the mosque complex.
One who decided to give up, 15-year-old Maryam Qayyeum, said those who stayed in the seminary "only want martyrdom."

"They are happy," she said. "They don't want to go home."
Qayyeum said mosque leaders were not trying to stop students from giving up. But her mother, who had come to take her home, disputed that "They are making speeches. They want to incite them," she said of the leaders.

Over the past six months, the Red Mosque clerics have challenged the government by sending students to kidnap alleged prostitutes and police in an anti-vice campaign.
The bloodshed has added to a sense of crisis in Pakistan, where Musharraf — a major ally of President Bush — already faces emboldened militants near the Afghan border and a democracy movement triggered by his botched attempt to fire the country's chief justice.
The mosque siege sparked street protests Tuesday in the cities of Lahore and Quetta organized by radical religious parties.

On Wednesday, officials said a suicide car bomber rammed a vehicle into a Pakistan army convoy near the Afghan border, killing five soldiers and five civilians. In northwestern Pakistan, unidentified assailants fired a rocket at a police station, killing one officer and wounding four, and an explosive killed four people and injured two district officials.
It was not known if the incidents were linked to the mosque crisis.
___
Associated Press reporters Sadaqat Jan and Stephen Graham in Islamabad and Riaz Khan in Peshawar contributed to this report.

.____________________

International Herald Tribune.

Head-to-toe Muslim veils test tolerance of stridently secular Britain
By Jane Perlez
Thursday, June 21, 2007

LONDON: Increasingly, Muslim women in Britain take their children to school and run errands covered head to toe in flowing black gowns that allow only a slit for their eyes.
Like little else, their appearance has unnerved Britons, testing the limits of tolerance in this stridently secular nation. Many veiled women say they are targets of abuse. At the same time, efforts are growing to place legal curbs on the full Muslim veil, known as the niqab.
The past year has seen numerous examples: A lawyer dressed in a niqab was told by an immigration judge that she could not represent a client because, he said, he could not hear her. A teacher wearing a niqab was told by a provincial school to go home. A student who was barred from wearing a niqab took her case to the courts, and lost. In fact, the British education authorities are proposing a ban on the niqab in schools altogether.

David Sexton, a columnist for The Evening Standard, wrote recently that Britain has been "too deferential" toward the veil. "I find such garb, in the context of a London street, first ridiculous and then directly offensive," he said.

Although the number of women wearing the niqab has increased in the past several years, only a tiny percentage of women among Britain's two million Muslims cover themselves completely. It is impossible to say how many exactly.

Some who wear the niqab, particularly younger women who have taken it up recently, concede that it is a frontal expression of Islamic identity, which they have embraced since Sept. 11, 2001, as a form of rebellion against the policies of the Blair government in Iraq and at home.

"For me it is not just a piece of clothing, it's an act of faith, it's solidarity," said a 24-year-old program scheduler at a broadcasting company in London, who would allow only her last name, Al Shaikh, to be printed, saying she wanted to protect her privacy. "9/11 was a wake-up call for young Muslims," she said.

At times she receives rude comments, including, Shaikh said, when a woman at her workplace told her she had no right to be there. Shaikh said she planned to file a complaint.
When she is on the street, she often answers barbs. "A few weeks ago a lady said: 'I think you look crazy.' I said: 'How dare you go around telling people how to dress,' and walked off. Sometimes I feel I have to reply. Islam does teach you that you must defend your religion."
Other Muslims find the niqab objectionable, a step backward for an immigrant group that is under pressure after the terror attack on London's transit system in July 2005.

"After the July 7 attacks, this is not the time to be antagonizing Britain by presenting Muslims as something sinister," said Imran Ahmad, author of "Unimagined," an autobiography of growing up Muslim in Britain, and the head of British Muslims for Secular Democracy. "The veil is so steeped in subjugation, I find it so offensive someone would want to create such barriers. It's retrograde."

Since South Asians started coming to Britain in large numbers in the 1960s, a small group of usually older, undereducated women have worn the niqab. It was most often seen as a sign of subjugation.

Many more Muslim women wear the headscarf, called the hijab, covering all or some of their hair. Unlike in France, Turkey and Tunisia, where students in state schools and female civil servants are banned from covering their hair, British Muslim women can wear the headscarf, and indeed the niqab, almost anywhere, for now.

But that tolerance is eroding. Even some who wear the niqab, like Faatema Mayata, a 24-year-old psychology and religious studies teacher, agreed there were limits. "How can you teach when you are covering your face?" she said, sitting with a cup of tea in her living room in Blackburn, a town in the north of England, her niqab tucked away because she was within the confines of her home.

She has worn the niqab since she was 12, when she was sent by her parents to an all-girls boarding school. The niqab was not, as many Britons seemed to think, a sign of extremism, she said. The niqab, to her, was about identity. "If I dressed in a Western way I could be a Hindu, I could be anything," she said. "This way I feel comfortable in my identity as a Muslim woman."

No one else in the family wore the niqab. Her husband, Ibrahim Boodi, a social worker, was indifferent, she said. "If I took it off today, he wouldn't care."

When she is walking, she is often stopped, she said. "People ask, 'Why do you wear that?' A lot of people assume I'm oppressed, that I don't speak English. I don't care, I've got a brain."

Some commentators have complained that mosques encourage women to wear the niqab, a practice they have said should be stopped. At the East London Mosque, one of the largest in the capital, the chief imam, Abdul Qayyum, studied in Saudi Arabia and is trained in the Wahhabi school of Islam. According to the community relations officer at the mosque, Ehsan Abdullah Hannan, the imam's daughter wears the niqab.

At Friday prayers recently, the women worshipers were crowded into a small upstairs windowless room away from the main hall for the men.

A handful of young women wore the niqab and spoke effusively about their reasons. "Wearing the niqab means you will get a good grade and go to paradise," said Hodo Muse, 19, a Somali woman. "Every day people are giving me dirty looks for wearing it, but when you wear something for Allah you get a boost."