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http://forpeoplewhothink.org/Topics/Hijab-Controversy.html
The Hijab
Controversy
Abdul H. Manraj
About
nine years ago, I wrote an article dealing with the
head-covering / hijab, which generated much feedback –
both verbally and
written – at that time and in the
intervening years. Some of the comments on the article were positive
but there was also a lot of virulent criticism. As one would expect
from much of the intellectually stagnant Muslim world, when revisiting
or questioning rulings and traditions that have been handed down to us
with accretions over the centuries, the approach is not to analyze the
logic and evidence presented, but to attack the author / messenger.
Moreover, my qualifications were questioned, the insinuation being
that only “scholars” are eligible to indulge in such analyses, and the
rest of the Muslim world is obliged to follow their edicts /
fatawa like a blindly adherent
flock. Admittedly I’m a layman and not an Islamic scholar by any
stretch of the imagination, but I submit that common sense and
intellect are not exclusive to scholars alone. In fact, I have
experienced numerous situations where so called “Muslim scholars”
display neither trait, which of course has a profound effect on the
Muslim laity.
My
position (and the overlooked premise of the almost decade old article)
has been – and still is – that the hijab is cultural. It has
since evolved into an icon of Muslim identity and the prevalent belief
is that it is a religious requirement. While I do not share the view
that the hijab is mandatory, I do feel that women who choose to
wear the head-covering should be allowed to do so. In its
Qur'anic use, hijab actually refers
to a wall or curtain and applied specifically to the Prophet
Muhammad’s wives, but over the centuries, the interpretation became
synonymous with head-covering. Muslim organizations and the majority
of Muslim men and women portray the hijab as a religiously
mandated item of clothing, which is also the position of orthodox Jews
and Catholic nuns. The term “religiously mandated” is somewhat of an
oxymoron, as the Qur’an clearly states that “there shall be no
coercion in religion” (Q2:256), so on the one hand, Muslims are
fond of quoting this verse to prove that Islam advocates freedom of
choice, and in the same breath these Muslims dichotomously claim that
the hijab is mandated. In some cases, those who choose to wear the
hijab make some of their Muslim sisters feel religiously inferior
for not abiding by the same dress code, so in essence outward
appearance determines one’s level of piety. While certain things would
certainly seem ordered, every single order has circumstances that
might temper it, and anything that is controversial should
ipso facto not be seen as
"religiously mandated," more so since the hijab certainly does
not fit the category of ordered / mandated.
When
quoting the Qur'an to make a case for the hijab, Muslims
usually cite 24:31 and 33:59, which tells the believing women "to
draw their head-coverings over their bosoms and not reveal their
charms..." (first instance), and then
"to draw over themselves some of their outer garments when in
public so that they are recognized as decent women and not annoyed..."
(second instance). It is paradoxical to
presume that prior to these revelations,
women were covering their hair to protect themselves from prying eyes
because the hair was an "enticing charm", but leaving their bosoms
partially exposed as an act of modesty. This style of dress was
obviously in vogue at the time or the instruction to cover the bosom
would be pointless. It is preposterous to argue that a woman's exposed
head of hair is a more flirtatious act than a partially exposed bosom
(unless the medieval Arabs were more turned on by a head of hair
instead of cleavage), therefore the Qur'anic
instructions are clearly about modesty and not covering the hair per
se.
Recently,
there was an example of how ludicrous arguments are sometimes
presented in the name of religion. A Muslim woman sued the Orange
County Sheriff’s Department for not being allowed to wear the hijab
while in prison (for more information, see “Muslim sues over right to wear
head scarf” by H.G. Reza, September 5, 2007
edition of the
The
approach that Muslims take to the Qur’an and
ahadith (the Prophet Muhammad’s reported sayings and actions)
will determine their position on various decrees and cultural norms.
Some believe that the Qur’an and ahadith are immutable
regardless of the time space factor. Others (myself included) believe
that all statutes and traditions have to be understood in context, and
regulations have to be revised as conditions change. For example, I
don’t believe that any rational person would posit that slavery should
still be institutionalized today, since the Qur’an acknowledges the
practice but did not specifically abolish it. Furthermore, the
majority of Muslims unquestioningly accept thousands of
ahadith as infallible, even though
many of these narrations are at odds with the Qur’an’s universal
message. Also conveniently ignored is the fact that these stories were
passed down through several generations over hundreds of years. At the
time that these ahadith were
collected, hundreds of thousands were reportedly discarded, yet we are
supposed to believe that those generations of Muslims were somehow
flawless, and that the ahadith that
remain with us today are impeccable. Documenting capabilities were not
anywhere close to the level we have today, yet at a time when writing
was done on leather skins, parchments, etc., and travel took weeks,
months, or years on foot, horseback, and camel, we are supposed to
believe that the hadith collectors either had a "tractor
trailer" of documents that they travelled with, or superhuman memory.
Bukhari supposedly collected roughly
600,000 traditions before finally settling on about 7,000. If all of
these ahadith were memorized
instead of written, then this uncanny ability to store such massive
amounts of data in memory and recall thousands of
ahadith without error has not been seen before or since
that period. When people lose the ability to think, question, and
continuously progress, then the result is the kind of decadence that
is currently manifest in much of the Muslim world.
The fact
is that women played a prominent role in Muslim society during the
Prophet’s time and in a couple of centuries following his demise.
Women were jurists and even educated men, but all this changed (due to
a large extent) wit the proliferation of the
ahadith, which
relegated women to second class citizens and an almost slave-like
status. The majority of the ahadith are perceived as reliable
(especially Bukhari and Muslim), so we are
supposed to accept (without question) reports like the ones below that
are attributed to the Prophet, which claim that the majority of women
are mentally deficient, ungrateful, and destined for hell.
Narrated Abu Sa’id Al−Khudri:
Once Allah's Apostle went out to the Musalla
(to offer the prayer) of 'Id−al−Adha or
Al−Fitr. Then he passed by the women and
said, "O women! Give alms, as I have seen that the majority of the
dwellers of hellfire were you (women)." They asked, "Why is it so, O
Allah's Apostle?" He replied, "You curse frequently and are ungrateful
to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more deficient in
intelligence and religion than you. A cautious sensible man could be
led astray by some of you." The women asked, "O Allah's Apostle! What
is deficient in our intelligence and religion?" He said, "Is not the
evidence of two women equal to the witness of one man?" They replied
in the affirmative. He said, "This is the deficiency in her
intelligence. Isn't it true that a woman can neither pray nor fast
during her menses?" The women replied in the affirmative. He said,
"This is the deficiency in her religion." (Bukhari
1.301)
“...I also saw the hellfire and I had never seen such a horrible sight. I
saw that most of the inhabitants were women." The people asked, "O
Allah's Apostle! Why is it so?" The Prophet replied, "Because of their
ungratefulness." It was asked whether they are ungrateful to Allah.
The Prophet said, "They are ungrateful to their companions of life
(husbands) and ungrateful to good deeds. If you are benevolent to one
of them throughout the life and if she sees anything (undesirable) in
you, she will say, 'I have never had any good from you.” (Bukhari
2.161)
Sayings
like the above (there are many others in the various
hadith collections) are used
to remind Muslims that women have a propensity towards evil, and they
should essentially not be heard or seen in public. With such
patriarchal attitudes dominating Islam for centuries, it is no
surprise that many Muslim women have come to believe that they are
responsible for some of society’s ills, analogous to an abused woman
blaming herself for her oppressor’s cruelty. There is historical
evidence that this notion of the woman being the temptation towards
evil infiltrated Muslim beliefs by way of some of the early Jewish and
Christian converts to Islam, as there is nothing in the Qur’an that
denigrates women to a fraction of the level that the
ahadith do. The practice of veiling initially started among
the Syrian and Iranian elite to differentiate them from the commoners,
and then became a norm among the Jews and Arabs. Besides the mode of
dress, the arrogance was also preserved over the centuries as many
Muslim women who wear the hijab carry themselves with an air of
superiority and look down on their fellow Muslim sisters who do not
cover their heads. There is a lot of well-researched material
available on the Internet that reinforces my belief that the hijab
is not mandated by the Qur’an or authentic
ahadith, but is rather a result of Judeo-Christian
influence (for example, see
To Cover or Not to Cover: That is the Question - Jewish Hair Laws
Through the Ages by Dr. Leila Leah Bronner,
Head
Covering by Ellen Kavanaugh, and
Head covering -
Women: will you cover your head?). Also below are a few
Biblical references.
For she had said unto the
servant, What man is this that
walketh in the field to meet us? And the
servant had said, It is my master:
therefore she took a vail, and covered
herself. (Genesis 24:65)
And she put her widow's garments
off from her, and covered her with a vail,
and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to
Timnath; for she saw that
Shelah was grown, and she was not given
unto him to wife. When
And the priest shall set the
woman before the Lord, and uncover the woman's head, and put the
offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy offering: and
the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that
causeth the curse. (Numbers 5:18)
But every woman that
prayeth or
prophesieth with her head uncovered
dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were
shaven. For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if
it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.
For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the
image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
(Corinthians 11:5-7)
The
Qur’an contains very little in the way of legislation and is actually
quite vague about men’s or women’s attire, instead primarily focusing
on ethics and spirituality. On the other hand, the
ahadith are replete with minutiae. In fact, many of the
ahadith
present such conflicting reports that they actually create confusion.
There are several
ahadith that advocate
that women should veil themselves, and there are also reports that
Muslim slave-women are exempt from covering their hair, presumably
because it was somewhat restrictive for them in getting their work
done. Muslims certainly cannot argue convincingly that Muslim
slave-women were less pious or not as sexually attractive as free
women simply because of their status in society. While the focus is
usually on the
ahadith that
promulgate veiling, the following
ahadith about hair extensions and wigs are seldom mentioned.
Narrated ‘Abdullah (bin Mus'ud): Allah's Apostle
has cursed the lady who uses false hair. (Bukhari
6.409)
Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "Allah
has cursed the lady who artificially lengthens (her or someone else's)
hair and the one who gets her hair lengthened and the one who tattoos
(herself or someone else) and the one who gets herself tattooed." (Bukhari
7.816)
Narrated ‘Aisha: An Ansari woman gave her daughter in marriage and the hair
of the latter started falling out. The Ansari women came to the
Prophet and mentioned that to him and said, "Her (my daughter's)
husband suggested that I should let her wear false hair." The Prophet
said, "No, (don't do that) for Allah sends His curses upon such ladies
who lengthen their hair artificially." (Bukhari
7.133)
Narrated Asma: (the daughter of Abu'
Bakr) A woman came to Allah's Apostle and
said, "I married my daughter to someone, but she became sick and all
her hair fell out, and (because of that) her husband does not like
her. May I let her use false hair?" On that the Prophet cursed such a
lady as artificially lengthening (her or someone else's) hair or got
her hair lengthened artificially. (Bukhari
7.818)
We have
to assume that whether or not Muslim women wore hair extensions in
early Muslim society could not be determined when they were in public,
since they would (presumably) be wearing the head-covering. It would
appear then that the Prophet took a keen interest in how women
appeared in the privacy of their homes with their husbands and
immediate family members. In fact, the Prophet who was sent as a
“mercy to mankind” allegedly preferred to see a Muslim woman get
divorced rather than wear a wig to save her marriage, as the above
ahadith
claim. One would also expect that there would have been some rulings
for handsome or muscular looking men given women’s proclivity towards
sinfulness, but there are none, or if there are, they are never cited.
The burden is solely on women to prevent societal promiscuity. Some
women don the hijab in Muslim gatherings and segregate
themselves, even in the presence of close (male) relatives and
friends, but discard the head-covering when in "non-Muslim"
environments, e.g., corporate America. Moreover, they have no problems
interacting with non-Muslim males, shaking hands, embracing, etc.
Either these Muslim women are being hypocritical, or they feel safer
with non-Muslims than they do with Muslims. Ironically, even though
the Qur'an states that women advanced in years will incur no sin if
they discard their outer garments (Q24:60), many women choose to wear
the hijab when they are older and no longer garner any
attention.
The
arguments for the hijab have
now been spun to illogically claim that the head-covering actually
empowers women. The hijab controversy has reached a level of
comic proportions. Now there are advertisements about fashionable
hijabs so that women can appear more "beautiful" with their
covered heads, defeating its "alleged" purpose of modesty and not
attracting attention to oneself. I have
seen young Muslim women in shorts with their stomachs exposed and with
their heads covered. If the focus on the hijab is hiding the
woman's hair from lustful eyes and keeping men's predatory urges in
check, some women today obviously do not feel the same way about
exposed flesh. Or is the idea that "exposed flesh" is not as tempting
as exposed hair? This traditional style of dress also has health
implications (see
Middle Eastern women may have
vitamin D deficiency by David
Douglas, and
Vitamin D “Inadequacy” Endangers
Lives of Middle East Women).
Regardless of any evidence or rationale presented, Muslim
traditionalists would have us believe that God (in His infinite
wisdom) made the woman's hair part of her overall beauty (awrah)
to be viewed only by her husband and immediate family. We can infer
from this then that a woman's face (regardless of its beauty or lack
thereof) will not attract any unwanted attention, and only the exposed
hair will provide a "turn on".
Besides
the factors already mentioned above, people's interpretation of
religious obligations is also heavily influenced by their environment,
level of education / intellect, cultural upbringing, and personal bias
much more so than the actual wording of any doctrine. Whether or not
Muslims choose to acknowledge it, there are many creedal beliefs and
practices that were passed down to us as a result of Judeo-Christian
influence, sectarian and political affiliations, various cultural
norms, and outright fabrications, yet Muslims have adopted and refined
these beliefs and practices without question throughout the millennia.
Besides the hijab, other tenets include (but are not limited
to) stoning to death, the second coming of Jesus, punishment in the
grave, etc., so I encourage Muslims to do more research on their own.
Established beliefs and practices are difficult to discard, so my
objective is not to discredit Muslims who choose to wear the hijab
as an icon of religion, identification, modesty, liberation, or
whatever. Rather, this article is meant for Muslims (both male and
female) who believe that God did not create women to be second class
citizens who are supposed to be isolated and regarded as sex objects,
but to be treated as equal partners in all aspects of life.
Furthermore, it shows the folly of the “religiously mandated”
argument. Faith is a personal relationship between an individual and
God. Claiming that something is a religious requirement is actually
speaking for God, so one has to be careful that the evidence is
incontrovertible when issuing such decrees. Advocating that anything
is compulsory in Islam (or any religion for that matter) perpetuates
the notion of theocratic authoritarianism, rigidity, and intolerance,
which stifles debate and denies people freedom of choice and personal
accountability to God. And Allah knows best.
Posted
September 16, 2007
http://forpeoplewhothink.org/Topics/Hijab-Controversy.html |
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