Burkha
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star_munir
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Burkha
Recently in France muslim girls are not allowed to wear veil,burkha or hijab in schools and colleges. I think its right. What do you think about it??
Burkha
I don't think it's right. I think a woman should have a right to wear Burkha if she <BR>wants to. A woman does not creates a bad effect by wearing a Burkha in society. Therefore, I don't think that anybody has a right to stop women from wearing burkhas.
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star_munir
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Maybe it is a symbol of unequality. But it really depends on what the woman who wears the burkha thinks. I just don't think that people have a right to force women to not wear burkhas. It is up to the women. They should have a choice on whether they want to wear burkha or whether they not want to burkha.
I don't think anybody has a right to take away that choice from women. What do you think?
I don't think anybody has a right to take away that choice from women. What do you think?
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star_munir
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Many muslim women are forced to wear veil why?? Is this not right to end this social evil.
If women want to cover themselves completely in burkha thats ok their own will but whats the need of veil?
There are many disadvantages of it therefore Imam not only stopped this practice from ismailis but also said nonismailis to not wear hijab.
If women want to cover themselves completely in burkha thats ok their own will but whats the need of veil?
There are many disadvantages of it therefore Imam not only stopped this practice from ismailis but also said nonismailis to not wear hijab.
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star_munir
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noorani_786
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star_munir
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Reference
1 Kalam-e-Imam-e-Mubin [Book of Farmans, 3 or more Farmans about this]
2 Memoirs of Aga Khan [ In Islam religion of my ancestors]
3 Noorum Mubin [It is in this history book that Imam Sultan Mohammad Shah told in His speech in Aligarh disadvantages of burkha, speech is in Noorum Mubin]
4 I think also in book Message to the the world of Islam [sppeches of Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah] but I am not not confirm.
1 Kalam-e-Imam-e-Mubin [Book of Farmans, 3 or more Farmans about this]
2 Memoirs of Aga Khan [ In Islam religion of my ancestors]
3 Noorum Mubin [It is in this history book that Imam Sultan Mohammad Shah told in His speech in Aligarh disadvantages of burkha, speech is in Noorum Mubin]
4 I think also in book Message to the the world of Islam [sppeches of Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah] but I am not not confirm.
I totally agree..I consider this more of a political outcry than a religious one..Wearing a burkha is a religious choice, and I don't think the gov't should interfere with this decision..what's next? asking Jews not to wear the hats (sorry i dont know the term for it), or asking nuns not to wear their 'uniforms' ? Yes, some people may see women wearing burkha's as a sign of unequality, but regardless, it's their personal choice- if they don't mind, i dont feel as though the gov't should force someone to abandon their decision.
Munira786 wrote:Maybe it is a symbol of unequality. But it really depends on what the woman who wears the burkha thinks. I just don't think that people have a right to force women to not wear burkhas. It is up to the women. They should have a choice on whether they want to wear burkha or whether they not want to burkha.
I don't think anybody has a right to take away that choice from women. What do you think?
I came across this great story and thought I would share.
Why I took the hijab
Hilary Saunders used to think that Islam was a relic from the dark ages. Now she has converted. Here she explains why
The most significant thing I have ever done was in fact incredibly simple. A little over four weeks ago, in front of two witnesses, I recited a simple declaration, the shahada. "I bear witness that there is no God but Allah and I bear witness that Mohammed is His messenger," I said; and from that moment, I was a Muslim.
Until the very second that I made my declaration, I wasn't entirely convinced that it was what I wanted to do. Would I wake up one day and want to change my mind? Would I feel like I had made a huge mistake? But already I feel as if my life has been transformed. I don't know how to describe it, but the moment I said those words, my heart filled with joy and love and it took about four days for me to come back down off the ceiling. I would almost describe it as "coming out", because a part of me that has been important, but always very private, is now out in the open.
The ritual of my conversion may have taken only minutes, but it was the culmination of a lifetime's quest. My parents are both agnostic - they don't believe in God, and raised me and my two sisters without any faith, so that we could make up our own minds when we were adults. As a child, I suppose I wanted to please my father, and so tried to mirror his views. But I have always been very conscious that I was looking for something, and I could never quite put my finger on what that was. In my darkest moments I have often felt like a ship adrift at sea, not knowing where to dock.
When I was at college I started investigating faith: I got interested in a philosophical system called the Work, which actually took a lot from Islam, although I didn't know it at the time. I was also investigating various new-age philosophies, practising Buddhist meditation, and reading a lot of alternative self-help books.
I have had some problematic relationships with men in the past, and after splitting up with one boyfriend I read Women Who Love Too Much, by Robin Norwood. I had read it before and had always thought it was for women who were overly attached to men who beat them up. But after this reading I thought: I am one of these women, and I want to do whatever the book suggests. It advised developing your spiritual life, learning to be more self-centred, and perhaps getting counselling. That was a significant turning point. I was also, at that stage, practising reiki, which is similarly concerned with channelling unconditional love. I was wrestling with the concept of the divine, trying to find out where I belonged spiritually. I was definitely a searcher.
And then, suddenly, I found myself going out with a Muslim guy. I hadn't set out to date a Muslim - ironically, in fact, it was the result of a drunken night out (I would describe him as a practising Muslim, but one who made mistakes along the way!). At that stage I was ignorant about Islam. I hadn't had any Muslim friends when I was growing up, and my assumptions about the faith were almost all negative. I thought it old-fashioned, a relic from the dark ages, and one that was oppressive and authoritarian with regard to women.
My sense that the religion was anti-women was one of the major sticking points. I wanted my partner to justify some of the doctrines that I saw as particularly anti-feminist. I went through all the usual western arguments, citing how the religion was about men putting women down. How come Islam permitted men to have four wives?
If I'm honest, it was talking about faith that kept us together for four years. He would try to answer my questions as best he could, and refer me to the Koran and the examples from the life of the Prophet. I started to read, and gradually my questions were answered, until I realised that a lot of my preconceptions were basically wrong. In knowing only a little - like the bare fact that a man can have four wives - I had jumped to the wrong conclusion.
One of the things I came to realise was that, in Islam, multiple marriages are not promoted, they are tolerated. Sometimes they are a necessity. But there are safeguards: before a man can take a second wife, the first wife has to agree to it and be happy, and both the wives have to be treated equally. If a man is married and for some reason his wife cannot conceive, he can take a second wife with her agreement. (On the other hand, if a woman's husband is not able to get her pregnant, then she can get a divorce.) This seems to me better than the western way, in which he might get divorced, leaving the first wife without any support. This doctrine is actually for the protection of women. It is not about men going out collecting trophies.
This was the kind of question I would raise, and on each I would get to the point where I couldn't argue any more. Why did women need the protection of men - why wasn't it possible for a woman to have several partners? A woman could not have four husbands, I realised, because it would be impossible to know who was the father of her children, and the fathers might argue over who should support the child. I realise that Islam made so much sense.
A couple of months ago, I split up with my partner, and went on holiday to Jordan. It was there that I finally decided that I wanted to convert. I can't put my finger on it exactly, but somehow the penny dropped. It is such a beautiful, amazing place to be; just watching how people interacted with each other, and the call to prayer - it really moved me. So when I came back, I enrolled on a three-day course at Central mosque in Regent's Park, north London. At the end of the three days I decided it was the right time to make my declaration.
I made a number of good friends on the course; indeed, most of the Muslims I know well are converts. More people convert into Islam than you might think - approximately 10,000 of Britain's 1.8m Muslims are white or African-Caribbean converts.One of the problems for us is that, since we haven't grown up in Muslim communities, forming relationships can be difficult. In Islam you do not date - you don't have boyfriends or girlfriends and move on after a few years. Instead, someone from your extended family, who knows you from childhood and who knows Joe Bloggs down the road from childhood, will think: those two would really get on. They help you to find the right person so that you can enjoy a happy marriage.
I can see that there are practical problems in how this might work for me. But I am hugely excited about getting married and I believe that I will find, inshallah, a nice husband. I have wrestled with the idea of whether I could share my husband with another woman - I have always thought that I was far too jealous and insecure to be able to cope with that. But one day I woke up and it dawned on me: the women who are in multiple marriages must feel so loved and cherished - by their husbands, but also by God - to be able to cope. I am aware, however, that it is possible that some marriages might be unhappy - we are fallible human beings, after all.
Since my conversion, I have chosen to abide by the Islamic code of dress and wear the hijab. The hijab is about modesty, not showing off, not trying to attract the opposite sex, and avoiding causing envy. Islam advises both sexes, not just women, to dress modestly.
I felt quite nervous about putting it on at first, wondering what people would think. But then I told myself that I had made a commitment and that this was the public sign of it. I feel a lot safer now that I am wearing it; I have more self-respect. Now I know where I belong.
Any comments guys?
jasmine
Muslim Convert
This is a very interesting article and it highlights relevant issues that we all face today.
First of all it clearly shows that children of agnostics do not end up being agnostics! That is important in the context of inter faith marriages and how to raise children in that context. I have held the view that in situations where parents are unable to come up with an agreement about which faith to raise the children, the best solution would be to leave them alone and let them seek for themselves when they reach maturity. In the meantime instil in them the common ethics that are shared by all faiths. Children who seek and find the faith are more likely to be faithful to it and appreciate it than those upon whom faith is just 'drummed' in.
It also brings to the fore the awareness of modesty in Islam. While we do not have to go to the extreme of wearing a Hijab, I think we should be conscious of being modest in our own lives. We should dress appropriately in public places and especially in JamatKhanas.
It makes us aware not to pass judgement about individuals. "Allah guides to His light whom he pleases".
Hopefully it will make us appreciate what we have got and be grateful about it.
First of all it clearly shows that children of agnostics do not end up being agnostics! That is important in the context of inter faith marriages and how to raise children in that context. I have held the view that in situations where parents are unable to come up with an agreement about which faith to raise the children, the best solution would be to leave them alone and let them seek for themselves when they reach maturity. In the meantime instil in them the common ethics that are shared by all faiths. Children who seek and find the faith are more likely to be faithful to it and appreciate it than those upon whom faith is just 'drummed' in.
It also brings to the fore the awareness of modesty in Islam. While we do not have to go to the extreme of wearing a Hijab, I think we should be conscious of being modest in our own lives. We should dress appropriately in public places and especially in JamatKhanas.
It makes us aware not to pass judgement about individuals. "Allah guides to His light whom he pleases".
Hopefully it will make us appreciate what we have got and be grateful about it.
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star_munir
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It was story of a woman who converted to Islam. I have read such stories of people converting from muslim to non muslim and non muslim to muslim but as we discuss this term "hijab/burkha or veil"
as kingkaiser said " Another thing...to call the veil or burqa an "evil" may be stretching it. My mother and sister cover their heads with dupattas. Yet myself and my father are in no way overbearing men who would whip our female family if they didnt conform to our notions of morality "
Covering dupatta is another thing as compare to burkha in which face is also covered like a thief. I dont think its sin if you wear westen dresses.
I dont even think wearing duppata is a bad thing. You or your father may not be forcing females in your family to wear duppata but there are many many muslim families in which it is compulsory for women to wear hijab, to be in burkha which is not only unfair but also not good for health for those who lives in warm countries. You and your family may be modern but there are families in which women or girls are not allowed to go out side home or to meet any one except family and few relatives.
It is wrong and therefore hijab is an evil. If it was good practise than Why would Imam stop it? I have given references so please read what Imam thinks about veil specially in Noorum Mubin.
as kingkaiser said " Another thing...to call the veil or burqa an "evil" may be stretching it. My mother and sister cover their heads with dupattas. Yet myself and my father are in no way overbearing men who would whip our female family if they didnt conform to our notions of morality "
Covering dupatta is another thing as compare to burkha in which face is also covered like a thief. I dont think its sin if you wear westen dresses.
I dont even think wearing duppata is a bad thing. You or your father may not be forcing females in your family to wear duppata but there are many many muslim families in which it is compulsory for women to wear hijab, to be in burkha which is not only unfair but also not good for health for those who lives in warm countries. You and your family may be modern but there are families in which women or girls are not allowed to go out side home or to meet any one except family and few relatives.
It is wrong and therefore hijab is an evil. If it was good practise than Why would Imam stop it? I have given references so please read what Imam thinks about veil specially in Noorum Mubin.
Re: Burkha
There is a big difference between the hijab (head covering) and the burkha.
The burkha thing has only been in the last 20 years, since the Saudis have taken over Sunni Islam.
The burkha used to be a sign of "snobbery" only worn by women from Makkah.
The burkha now, in the US, means that a woman is POLITISIZING her religion. Attention is drawn to her.
The whole idea of dressing modestly is to NOT draw peoples' eyes to you. When you exhibit anti-social behavior, you are making your religion look bad to people of other faiths.
Not to mention that many of these women in burkhas are sluts... ask them how many illegitimate children they have (I'm not joking)
The burkha thing has only been in the last 20 years, since the Saudis have taken over Sunni Islam.
The burkha used to be a sign of "snobbery" only worn by women from Makkah.
The burkha now, in the US, means that a woman is POLITISIZING her religion. Attention is drawn to her.
The whole idea of dressing modestly is to NOT draw peoples' eyes to you. When you exhibit anti-social behavior, you are making your religion look bad to people of other faiths.
Not to mention that many of these women in burkhas are sluts... ask them how many illegitimate children they have (I'm not joking)
Hijab and Modesty
In the case mentioned in the article posted by Jasmine, the issue is not whether the Hijab is good or bad. MHI made the distinction between Hijab being enforced and that which is adopted out of personal choice in one of his comments about the post Taliban situation in Afghanistan.
What is admirable about this convertee to Islam is her understanding of the Islamic concept of modesty and at what length she goes to express it. She adopted the hijab voluntarily without any external threat or influence. Moreover, she does not live in a society where it is enforced upon women to have it. In this respect, her courage to live by her convictions is impressive.
It is an established fact that the way you dress up influences the way you feel about yourself and that in turn influences your behaviour to a certain degree. In this particular situation the woman not only feels modest when she wears the hijab, but it also gives her a sense of identity and belonging which can easily be eroded by the materialistic influences around us. This is something worthy of reflection.
What is admirable about this convertee to Islam is her understanding of the Islamic concept of modesty and at what length she goes to express it. She adopted the hijab voluntarily without any external threat or influence. Moreover, she does not live in a society where it is enforced upon women to have it. In this respect, her courage to live by her convictions is impressive.
It is an established fact that the way you dress up influences the way you feel about yourself and that in turn influences your behaviour to a certain degree. In this particular situation the woman not only feels modest when she wears the hijab, but it also gives her a sense of identity and belonging which can easily be eroded by the materialistic influences around us. This is something worthy of reflection.
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_thaillestlunatic_
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Ya Aly Madat, Kmaherali,
absolutely. I heard a incident which occured during Imam SMS
time where a girl who wore the hijab and went to the Imam for
mehmani and the Imam told her, why are u wearing the hijab
infront of your father and mother. She immediately removed it.
I think it should be a personal choice, not like in Afghanistan. However,
are there any spiritual benefits of wearing the hijab? Does it pose
any significance? Would it make the Imam happy? I think these
are legit questions when a woman decides to wear a Hijab. What do u think??
absolutely. I heard a incident which occured during Imam SMS
time where a girl who wore the hijab and went to the Imam for
mehmani and the Imam told her, why are u wearing the hijab
infront of your father and mother. She immediately removed it.
I think it should be a personal choice, not like in Afghanistan. However,
are there any spiritual benefits of wearing the hijab? Does it pose
any significance? Would it make the Imam happy? I think these
are legit questions when a woman decides to wear a Hijab. What do u think??
YAM thaillestlunatic_thaillestlunatic_ wrote:Ya Aly Madat, Kmaherali,
absolutely. I heard a incident which occured during Imam SMS
time where a girl who wore the hijab and went to the Imam for
mehmani and the Imam told her, why are u wearing the hijab
infront of your father and mother. She immediately removed it.
I think it should be a personal choice, not like in Afghanistan. However,
are there any spiritual benefits of wearing the hijab? Does it pose
any significance? Would it make the Imam happy? I think these
are legit questions when a woman decides to wear a Hijab. What do u think??
For Ismailis it is quite clear that it would be tantamount to nafarmani to wear a purdah. If by hijab it is only meant head covering as per Tabiha's post, than I believe in some circumstances it may require women to have it. What I think is important though is that we are aware of the concept of modesty behind it.
You may want to watch the video clipping of Princess Zahra covering her head at the foundation stone ceremony at Mozambique at:
http://akdn.org/video/mozambique_0604.html
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star_munir
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Wearing duppata on head or to cover head is not sin but to wear veil or burkha is sin which seems dress of thief.
In One of His interview Hazir Imam was asked that your wife wear veil or not and Hazir Imam said not.
In One of His interviews Hazir Imam said that "My Grandfather made it quite clear to the ismaili community that women were not to wear the veil and they no longer do"
In Noorum Mubin there is extract of Speech of Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah in Aligarh that how much bad is to wear veil and what are its disadvantages.
In One of His interview Hazir Imam was asked that your wife wear veil or not and Hazir Imam said not.
In One of His interviews Hazir Imam said that "My Grandfather made it quite clear to the ismaili community that women were not to wear the veil and they no longer do"
In Noorum Mubin there is extract of Speech of Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah in Aligarh that how much bad is to wear veil and what are its disadvantages.
Wearing a Hijab or Burkah is NOT an Islamic tradition. It was started by the Arabs because of the severe sand storms in Arabia. So people who were then being converted to Islam thought that whatever the Arabs were doing was Islamic however it was not. So wearing a Hijab has NO religious CONTEXT WHAT SO EVER
[MUSLIM LIKE ME — Part 1
Difficult times
by Nadia Moharib
Calgary Sun
The perception is that these must be difficult times to be a Muslim in North America. Muslim militant groups are being blamed for a spate of terrorism around the globe over the last several years — from the 9/11 tragedy to the Beslan school atrocity in Russia. As North American security forces take greater steps each day to protect the continent from terror attacks, the Sun sent reporter Nadia Moharib, a Christian of Arab descent, onto Calgary streets dressed as a traditional Muslim woman to, as the saying goes, walk in another’s shoes. Here is her first report:
It doesn’t matter that it’s likely the last of the hot days in Calgary.
I’ve modestly got my legs and arms covered in clothing.
And I top it off by pulling on the veil hanging on the back of the bathroom door.
To be honest, I don’t know if this is how one keeps a hijab, a veil worn by Muslim women, but it didn’t work so well on a hanger.
After a few days, I easily get the morning routine down pat.
I simply line up the hijab’s seam with my chin and pull it over my head so the white lace frames my face and hides my hair, ears, neck and chest.
It’s become a bit easier to walk outside, inside this veil. But that’s not to say I like it.
Mostly, I suspect, it’s because this isn’t really me.
I am not the Muslim I appear to be.
It’s not so bad meeting strangers, but I have to wonder what my neighbours think of my latest fashion statement.
Neighbour Wendy typically sees me sitting on the front porch sipping red wine — so I imagine the new look, suggesting I’m a practising Muslim, is no doubt a bit odd.
“Are you going to a mosque?” she asks me without skipping a beat.
I feel myself blush and think I should offer an explanation, but then that would be an admission that I’m an imposter.
• • • • •
In some ways, I might be the most appropriate person among my fellow reporters to look into life from behind the veil.
On the other hand, as a non-Muslim woman, long baffled by the practice, I may be the least suited.
Suited or not, it’s my job to dress up in a hijab and head out in public.
The idea is to find out if and how a seemingly Muslim woman might be treated differently in a world where Islamic terrorists — not law-abiding, clean-living Muslims — make the news on a daily basis.
Readers are now fed a seemingly daily diet of car bombings, school slaughters and suicide bombers from around the world — all in the name of a perverted form of Islam.
Instead of trying to live someone else’s life, I’m living mine, on the surface anyhow, as a Muslim, which means doing pretty much everything in the veil.
Of course, it comes off when I go to the pub, out of respect to the woman who gave it to me in good faith so I could get the slightest glimpse into how the world greets her.
For the most part, strangers barely blink at my new look.
I even went out for a run in the hijab, an XL sweatshirt and long pants — yes, it was hot — but certainly not a head-turner for anyone I crossed paths with.
That’s sort of telling of the typical reaction I’ve been getting around town.
The biggest problems have been the pragmatics of it all.
I’ve had to rid “Good Lord” from my vocabulary, to take off the Celtic cross around my neck and make sure to hide the tattoo of a Coptic cross — the Christian religion of my father — on my wrist.
Do you put the phone receiver over or under your hijab?
Do you tuck it in when you eat sloppy food?
Do I put it in the dryer or on the clothesline?
• • • • •
Many Muslim women I’ve spoken to dismiss assumptions this “modest” dressing, veiling and sometimes wearing loose clothing, jilbab, to appear proper and modest — is imposed on them.
They say it wouldn’t be possible to put it on if a woman’s heart wasn’t in it, if it wasn’t something she chose to do.
And they are offended the veil is often seen in the West as a symbol of Muslim women’s subordinate role in society.
The Qur’an states both sexes are equal in the eyes of God.
It says good women cover themselves up, mostly to protect themselves from harm by evil men driven to sin by a woman’s beauty.
In all fairness, it asks men to avert their eyes from women.
Many women say, rather than imposing a burden, the hijab sets them free to be respected and protected.
The interpretation of the Qur’an’s request for women to dress modestly, however, varies around the world.
The hijab can be loose scarves, veils or full-length coverings, such as the burqa worn by many Afghan women.
There is also so-called “Islamic dress,” — a loose coat worn with a scarf tied over the hair.
The waters on this much-debated topic — to veil or not to veil — even among Muslims, are a bit murky.
There is, I’ve found, a difference between cultural traditions and religion and how Islam is interpreted by women.
No doubt about it, Islam, especially in the world post-Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, is a maligned and misunderstood faith.
University of Calgary Professor Karim-Aly Kassam says there is great diversity in how adherents interpret the religion.
Unfortunately, extremists exist.
“Islam is an old religion — you acquire stereotypes over 1,400 years,” says the professor, who has a degree in Islamic studies.
“People have been at war with people who are Muslims; one way to attack someone is to create a stereotype.”
But that is, for the majority of Muslims, just that.
“It’s like saying all Catholics are the same and all Protestants are the same and that is rubbish,” he says.
“Charles Manson used the cross and he murdered innocent people and the Ku Klux Klan uses the cross to promote hate.”
Recent increased interest in women wearing veils may in many cases be a reaction to bad press on Islam.
Recently in France, schoolgirls proudly, if defiantly, donned headscarves despite a controversial ban on the religious wear.
Wearing one anywhere these days may have nothing or little to do with faith and be more a reaction to a sense of besiegement, Kassam says.
For some, a hijab is a way to say “I’m Muslim” and proud.
“It’s an important way to respond to the events around them and defend their faith ... and if it brings judgments to them, then they have the courage to face it,” he says.
And many Muslims here bristle at unfair media emphasis on the actions of a small number of extremists.
“Not every Christian criminal is referred to by their religion but every Muslim criminal is referred to as a Muslim,” says Muslim Council of Calgary chair Hatim Zaghloul.
“It is very sad to see what happens to the civilians (targeted by extremists,) and, at the same time, I’m sad for the religion that some people are hijacking its image.”
Calgarian Angela Mentis wears a veil to obey her God but also to send an important, and these days much-needed, message to others.
“It shows you are Muslim,” she explains proudly.
MUSLIM LIKE ME — Part 2
Hijab no barrier to work
by Nadia Moharib
Calgary Sun
The perception is that these must be difficult times to be a Muslim in North America. Muslim militant groups are being blamed for a spate of terrorism around the globe over the last several years — from the 9/11 tragedy to the Beslan school atrocity in Russia. As North American security forces take greater steps each day to protect the continent from terror attacks, the Sun sent reporter Nadia Moharib, a Christian of Arab descent, onto Calgary streets dressed as a traditional Muslim woman to, as the saying goes, walk in another’s shoes. Here is her second report in our five-part series:
Trying to get a job, decked in a veil, went better than expected. The friendly Starbucks baristas not only offered me an application but encouraged me, saying it’s a good time to apply.
It was much the same at Coffee Time — and I was chuffed.
I have every right to believe my hijab will not make me any less employable than I am without it.
Same person, different look.
I think my discomfort in this veil has, so far, more to do with me than with anyone else.
I try but fail to catch the eye of people eyeing me and am starting to think I’m searching for looks which don’t exist.
I did think one woman was staring but maybe she was staring at me because I was staring at her to see if she was staring at me.
I am, however, getting very, very hot underneath this hood.
Steaming coffee was a very, very bad idea.
I’ve called on friend Joyce for moral support.
“You never go to Starbucks,” she scoffs.
Yeah, I think, and never in a hijab.
Won’t she be surprised.
Joyce bites her tongue when she arrives.
She knew I was doing this experiment but seeing is believing.
Joyce quickly deflates my hopes of an interview.
“Yeah, they’ll never hire you,” she says matter-of-factly.
“The reality is, if they’re going to choose between you and someone non-descript, that’s who they’ll choose.”
I explain, stealing explanations given by Muslim sisters, wearing a veil protects me from prying eyes of men with naughty thoughts, sort of equalizes the sexes by making me gender-neutral.
“Just try gaining 50 pounds,” offers Joyce.
“That will liberate you from being a sex object, too.” She, like many, doesn’t quite get this veiling practice.
“I automatically think the women are doormats or that their dad must have made her wear that,” she says.
“But maybe,” she muses, “she did decide to do it by herself.”
I’m still waiting for a coffee shop to call with a job offer.
• • • • •
HIGH-STRUNG WALK IN WILD WEST
I stepped out into the pouring rain and into a new world.
Looking every bit Muslim, I was venturing into the wild, wild west — the streets of Calgary.
I don’t know what I expected but a nervousness washed over me and, to be honest, I just wanted to head home for a glass of wine.
Tsk, tsk ... being Muslim, for now, I shouldn’t drink.
Just before my visual transformation, local Muslim Carol Kadri, her husband Nasser and I had an interesting chat.
It was made even better by the steady flow of coffee Carol poured along with a surprisingly candid conversation.
I say candid because I was asking about deeply personal stuff, matters of the heart and she made me feel very much at ease.
I think she enjoyed an opportunity to explain how and why a Muslim woman might choose to live her life.
And she seemed pleased, not offended, I want to go behind a veil to get a glimpse of the world from a Muslim woman’s perspective.
We looked at dozens of hijabs in every colour imaginable, fabrics of all sorts and many styles.
We decided on a cream-coloured one for me, with lacy trim.
And it’s user-friendly, wrinkle-resistant and machine washable.
Rather than folding it, pulling in the corners and pinning it at my chin, I can slip this over my head and I’m ready to go.
I looked in the mirror at a woman who looks like ones I’ve long been too ignorant or lazy to understand — and dare I say, judge.
And I have to go out into the world like this?
I’m not sure I have the faith needed to pull this off — or in this case, on.
MUSLIM LIKE ME — Part 3
Unveiling the reality
by Nadia Moharib
Calgary Sun
The perception is that these must be difficult times to be a Muslim in North America. Muslim militant groups are being blamed for a spate of terrorism around the globe over the last several years — from the 9/11 tragedy to the Beslan school atrocity in Russia. As North American security forces take greater steps each day to protect the continent from terror attacks, the Sun sent reporter Nadia Moharib, a Christian of Arab descent, onto Calgary streets dressed as a traditional Muslim woman to, as the saying goes, walk in another’s shoes. Here is her third report in our five-part series:
While I moved around the city behind the veil, pretty much unimpeded, a reality-check threatened to ground me.
It was my fault, perhaps, buying a plane ticket on company time — dressed in a hijab.
With a ticket to my long-anticipated trip to Australia in hand, I asked if I needed a visa.
“What is your nationality?” the travel agent asked.
“Canadian,” I replied.
She took my passport and I anticipated the visa would follow.
What ensued, however, were several panicked phone calls from the agent, checking and re-checking my nationality.
I pointed out repeatedly that she had my CANADIAN passport but by her fourth phone call, over a three-day period, I was starting to panic that my visit Down Under was in serious jeopardy.
I did get the visa but not without some major anxiety.
Serves me right for shopping for personal adventures while on the payroll.
And I don’t think it would have been a hassle had I been without the veil.
With no vacation on the line, it occurred to me, a border run might be one spot where an apparent Muslim woman might get some hassle.
And with the hypersensitivity to terrorists-at-large these days, I would surely be a victim of stereotypes labelling me as trouble.
I have to admit I wasn’t comfortable venturing into the States.
It’s bad enough having an Arab name; now I’m in a hijab.
It was a long way to drive looking for rejection, only to find none.
My dark-skinned brother-in-law stole the limelight while border control guards on both sides gave me nary a second glance.
Heck, they didn’t even check my knapsack for explosives.
We stopped on the dark side, I mean the south side, for a cup of gumbo in Montana and found everyone terribly friendly.
Nope, not a look or comment on my scarf.
On the way back I was just as invisible, while my three-year-old niece, insisting her name was Devyn Leaf-giver (not true), caused a bit of commotion.
As for me — nothing.
So much for my theory.
• • • • •
FACTS ABOUT MUSLIMS
We’ve all heard them and sadly, many believe stereotypes rather than knowing the facts. Here are some common Muslim misconceptions:
PERCEPTION: Arab and Muslim refer to the same people.
REALITY: Arabs speak Arabic as a native language and identify themselves as Arabs, while Muslims practice the religion of Islam. Many Arabs are not Muslims and not all Muslims are Arabs.
PERCEPTION: Islam is an extreme religion.
REALITY: The often-demonized religion is not so different from Christianity and Judaism.
PERCEPTION: Islam oppresses women.
REALITY: Islam historically offered major reform for women and granted them rights — including the right to agree to a marriage partner — to education and a share of family inheritance. But things are interpreted differently in different places. In Saudi Arabia, women vote, work and have access to education, but must wear a veil and are prohibited from driving cars.
PERCEPTION: Muslims are fanatics.
REALITY: While some Muslims have a very strict interpretation of how one should live as a Muslim, there is enormous diversity in the Islamic world on how the religion is practised.
PERCEPTION: Islam is violent.
REALITY: Most Muslims condemn violence and resent being presumed violent. News stories about “Islamic terrorism” often imply Islam upholds the idea of jihad as a holy war fought against nonbelievers. For most Muslims, jihad is the personal struggle to be a moral person. Some blame an uncritical media and reports of violence in the Middle East for perpetuating stereotypes.
MUSLIM LIKE ME — Part 4
Most Calgarians leave me be
by Nadia Moharib
Calgary Sun
The perception is that these must be difficult times to be a Muslim in North America. Muslim militant groups are being blamed for a spate of terrorism around the globe during the last several years — from the 9/11 tragedy to the Beslan school atrocity in Russia. As North American security forces take greater steps each day to protect the continent from terror attacks, the Sun sent reporter Nadia Moharib, a Christian of Arab descent, onto Calgary streets dressed as a traditional Muslim woman to, as the saying goes, walk in another’s shoes. Here is her fourth report in our five-part series:
GAME DAY ... A photo of Sun reporter Nadia Moharib at McMahon Stadium for the Labour Day Classic. Nadia dressed in traditional Muslim garb to gauge reaction from Calgarians.
— Al Charest, Calgary Sun
The bottle-blond almost missed the light change at a Macleod Tr. intersection because she was too busy mocking me.
She even leaned over to — I’m guessing her daughter — in the passenger seat and the pair, with no hint of subtlety, laughed and pointed until cars honked to signal the light had changed.
I guess Angela Mentis, a Muslim woman living in Calgary, has a point — parents teach their children intolerance.
For me, that was the worst of it — one ignoramus in an SUV. There were, however, also the jokesters who came out of the closet after I went undercover, punctuating sentences with “Allah” and others who said something by saying nothing at all.
Some didn’t return my greetings, others put change on the counter instead of my hand or rolled their eyes as I passed.
They were, fortunately, few and far between.
I have to say that in my brief time behind the veil, I was lucky enough to meet well-mannered people who let me be me.
Yes, more shocking than a veiled Muslim woman walking the streets of Calgary is perhaps that citizens here are actually, at least outwardly, tolerant. Not what one might expect from the so-called home of the redneck.
And that’s pretty much the case everywhere, from coffee shops, bookstores, grocery stores, parks, bus stop benches, to the bank, roads and jogging paths.
That’s not to say it’s a perfect world — and I saw that with the bottle-blond — but it’s not all that bad, either.
Strangers stop to help when I trip and fall and one thoughtful man at an Edmonton Tr. cafe suggested the breakfast bagel, minus the ham — (most Muslims don’t eat pork.)
I recruited my sister, Samia, to shadow me as I made my way through a day in a hijab.
Surely, she would witness all the glares made behind my back.
She rightfully thought it a wasted exercise.
“I don’t know what you’re expecting, but if you’re expecting a reaction you’re not going to get it,” Samia said. “You’re not alone, there’s lots of you out there.”
“You are,” she added, as a dark-skinned man at a pizza pick-up counter took a shine to me, “going to get a date out of this.”
I drove around the gun shop three times, before working up the nerve to go in.
The owner, a grey-haired man with a brush-cut, looked up at me like I could be either a hunter or a woman in a veil. There was no outward reaction to my scarf. I had been working up the courage to buy a gun when I decided instead to use the phone.
When the friendly fellow happily offered it, I realized my work was done — there was no discrimination to be found here.
Outside, I sat at a bus bench and the woman sitting there walked away. Thinking this might be a snub, I watched her finish a cigarette.
I hadn’t realized, rather than being offended, she had gotten up so as not to offend me with her smoking.
Our conversation was light and easy. A new mother, she said she was pleasantly surprised the transit system has accommodated her and her monster-size carriage.
“People are so helpful,” she said.
“I know it’s the smallest thing but it renews my faith in humans.”
Sort of like this assignment — a pleasant contradiction to preconceived notions of being ridiculed as an apparent Muslim woman.
• • • • •
“I cannot sit by and let the world think Islam is a killing religion. These radicals are doing things God is against. Muslims do not believe in violence. If the culprits are Muslim, they have twisted the teachings of Islam.”
— former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali
“These acts of violence against innocents violate the fundamental tenets of the Islamic faith. The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace.”
— U.S. President George W. Bush
“If a man like Muhammed were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems that would bring it the much needed peace and happiness.”
— George Bernard Shaw
“Everything made so much sense ... When I read the Qur'an further, it talked about prayer, kindness and charity. I was not a Muslim yet, but I felt the only answer for me was the Qur'an and God had sent it to me.”
— former pop star Cat Stevens, now known as Yusuf Islam
MUSLIM LIKE ME — Part 5
Modest choice liberating
by Nadia Moharib
Calgary Sun
The perception is that these must be difficult times to be a Muslim in North America. Muslim militant groups are being blamed for a spate of terrorism around the globe during the last several years — from the 9/11 tragedy to the Beslan school atrocity in Russia. As North American security forces take greater steps each day to protect the continent from terror attacks, the Sun sent reporter Nadia Moharib, a Christian of Arab descent, onto Calgary streets dressed as a traditional Muslim woman to, as the saying goes, walk in another’s shoes. Here is her final report in our five-part series:
GUIDED BY GOD ... Carol Kadri stocks shelves at the Garden of Islam store she owns. Kadri says her decision to wear a hijab was the first step in accepting Islam when she decided to convert. According to her, wearing the head scarf has freed her from preconceived notions of womanhood.
— Jack Cusano, Calgary Sun
She drives a car.
She runs a business.
She’s raising a family and no one but God tells her what to do.
And that includes her decision to wear a veil, something Carol Kadri believes sets her free.
The 41-year-old mother of five is a born-again Muslim, a Catholic who “reverted” as a teen and has never looked back.
Her transformation involved giving up Christmas and eating pork, pulling on a veil, and later, a jilbab and loose clothing.
“The hijab is the first step,” recalls Carol, who today owns more veils than socks.
“I believed that I had accepted this religion and whatever it told me to do I would and it said to cover my hair and my body.
“I felt wonderful doing what God wanted me to do.
“All of a sudden, I entered a different world where I knew people would have to look at me as a human being, not for my body,” she says, adding her professor at the time asked if she’d forgotten to wash her hair.
Her husband of 21 years, Nasser, says the biggest misconception is that it is man, not God, asking women to dress modestly.
“Now you see them on the streets everywhere, accepted as part of society,” says Carol, noting she’s now in good company.
“It’s not a jail and it gives me comfort I’ve never felt before.”
The majority of people who say anything simply ask why, and many Muslim women relish the opportunity to offer explanations.
“We’re all the same — we all have hopes and desires and dreams,” says Carol.
“Yes, there are some sacrifices involved, but without it I would feel like a part of my body was missing … I take orders very seriously when it is coming from the man who made me.”
And while some believe the hijab is a sign of oppression — Carol says it all depends which God gets you dressed in the morning.
Some other women are “manufactured” — bowing to the secular fashion gods who demand they be thinner, younger and embrace a specific kind of beauty.
Angela Mentis covered up after accepting Islam into her life after taking a job teaching at an Islamic school.
Out of respect she wore a veil to work.
“It was hard,” she says.
“I would put it on in the parking lot.”
Soon she was brave enough to put it on at home and keep it on until she returned after a day’s work.
Then she took a closer look at the religion behind the veil.
“Every success I have had has to do with my talents and abilities, not what I look like,” she says.
Mentis’ outer beauty is reserved for those who are permitted to see her without her veil — her husband, other women and relatives.
That said, she only has to look back to her former life to understand how others might not comprehend the practice.
“I just felt they were not doing it of their own accord,” she says.
“It made me feel sorry for them.
“Now, going outside without the scarf, I would feel naked,” she says.
“And I have a lot of empathy for the non-Muslim women. They are missing out.”
While she’s met intolerant, hateful people, comments she’s encountered have more been borne of ignorance and curiosity.
Do you have hair under there?
Do you take it off to shower, to sleep?
“I say I have to shower with it and then I blow-dry it,” she jokes.
Others have told the Calgary native to go back to her country and a doctor, who asked very slowly, “Can you drive a car?” proved some people assume a veiled woman is not so bright.
Her mocking answer, delivered in a mimicking slow manner, was to tell him “I have a university degree.”
Hannah, 15, has by choice, worn one since age 10.
And while the world cannot sway her from that choice, she admits to a bit of stage-fright at the recent prospect of her first day at a mainstream high school.
“I’m wondering what it’s going to be like,” Hannah says.
“If I’m not accepted, that’s fine. If I am, great.”
Mentis says there’s simple logic behind the veil.
“Women are beautiful and there’s a reason women need to be covered,” she says.
“Look at how men look at women — a woman in a short skirt says, ‘Look at me and abuse me,’ ” she says.
“How many men turn around and go, ‘Look at that hot scarf?’ ”
That’s not to say Muslim women do not appreciate their bodies.
“I’m not ashamed of my body, I’m proud of it and respect it and (I’m) free to beautify myself for my husband,” says Mentis, who works out at Spa Lady.
“Some of the women covered up are so beautiful,” she adds.
“We get dressed up, wear perfume and makeup. You don’t need to show it to everyone.”
• • • • •
ALLAH MISUNDERSTOOD
Faith not terrorist
Abdu Souraya doesn’t worry so much about what people say — it’s what goes unsaid that has him concerned.
That anxiety is heightened when he thinks of his young children and how they might fare in a world where Islam is perhaps, despite being one of the fastest growing religions, one of the most misunderstood.
“You’re seeing my face,” the lawyer says while discussing horrific acts done in the name of his religion.
“I cringe when I see things like that and I wonder how others will react.
“People don’t come out and say things, but I’m concerned by what they think … I don’t want my children to be judged (like) a book by its cover.”
Headlines link Islam to horror from suicide bombings, to barbaric beheadings.
For most, the inhumane horrifying events of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks are the epitome of evil done in the name of Allah.
Good Muslim men and women living throughout the world, however, say the actions of a few extremists acting in the name of their religion are “hijacking” Islam.
“Like anybody with a conscience, I do not want to see anybody slaughtered,” says Muslim Council of Calgary’s Hatim Zaghloul.
“Capturing civilians is totally wrong … by all means, we consider it non-Islamic.”
He also says extremism results from incorrect interpretation by “crazy leaders.”
“It would be wrong to judge Islam in light of the behaviour of some bad Muslims shown in the media,” says Yusuf Islam, former folk musician Cat Stevens.
“It’s like judging a car as a bad one if the driver of the car is drunk and bangs it into the wall.”
• • • • •
VAIL-URE TO SEE THE OTHER SIDE
My so-called feminist side is offended.
But if I’m a so-called feminist, then every woman should be free to do as she pleases.
After going under cover, literally, I’m no closer to understanding a woman’s choice to cover up.
But unless veiling is imposed on me, I don’t have to accept it.
The one who has to is the woman who pulls on the veil.
She has to live with it.
And if it makes her feel happy, protected and Allah-abiding then who am I — or any woman — to question it?
With no disrespect intended — I guess I do.
I know many Muslim women who choose to veil of their own volition, but I’m still not buying into the rationale behind it.
Why would God, he/she, give us sunshine if it not to kiss our bodies and a cool summer breeze if not to blow through our hair?
And it isn’t Islam I have a problem with, but with the idea that women ought to be covered up for their own good and the good of society.
For Christians, for instance, Corinthians says we should cover up or shave our hair.
I believe, whether it’s Christian, Muslim or any other religion, it’s a faith-based coverup for man-made, not Allah- or God-given, restrictions on women.
One of my biggest issues is the apparent inequality of it all.
While I don’t think I could ever be convinced of the merits to veil, I would be much further on my way if men had to pull one on, too.
Instead, you see women behind veils and men, eating up everything western, walking at their side in blue jeans and T-shirts.
And while wearing a hijab is a choice for many Muslim women, we all know that for many it is not.
Why must beauty be blacklisted, anyhow?
Are we to put a Venus de Milo under a burqa?
And is not the beauty of nature God-given for all to enjoy?
I like to think of myself as open-minded.
A bit delusional, perhaps, but I strive to play devil’s advocate and at least try to see both sides of the issue.
I did spend 10 days in a hijab, trying to put myself in the head of a Muslim woman.
Other women can do what they please, veil if they want, it’s just not me.
And that’s the beauty of Canada — I can have an opinion.
And all women, ideally, have choice.
Freedom for me means blue jeans, a T-shirt and my hair in a ponytail.
Not because I want to conform to anyone else’s way I should look, but because I don’t think any woman — conventionally beautiful or not — should have to hide.
But there are two sides to every story.
And what I see as anti-woman, many Muslim women see as the very opposite.
One told me she ‘feels sorry’ for us who don’t veil — “you don’t know what you’re missing.”
Maybe not, but perhaps now I have a better idea.
Difficult times
by Nadia Moharib
Calgary Sun
The perception is that these must be difficult times to be a Muslim in North America. Muslim militant groups are being blamed for a spate of terrorism around the globe over the last several years — from the 9/11 tragedy to the Beslan school atrocity in Russia. As North American security forces take greater steps each day to protect the continent from terror attacks, the Sun sent reporter Nadia Moharib, a Christian of Arab descent, onto Calgary streets dressed as a traditional Muslim woman to, as the saying goes, walk in another’s shoes. Here is her first report:
It doesn’t matter that it’s likely the last of the hot days in Calgary.
I’ve modestly got my legs and arms covered in clothing.
And I top it off by pulling on the veil hanging on the back of the bathroom door.
To be honest, I don’t know if this is how one keeps a hijab, a veil worn by Muslim women, but it didn’t work so well on a hanger.
After a few days, I easily get the morning routine down pat.
I simply line up the hijab’s seam with my chin and pull it over my head so the white lace frames my face and hides my hair, ears, neck and chest.
It’s become a bit easier to walk outside, inside this veil. But that’s not to say I like it.
Mostly, I suspect, it’s because this isn’t really me.
I am not the Muslim I appear to be.
It’s not so bad meeting strangers, but I have to wonder what my neighbours think of my latest fashion statement.
Neighbour Wendy typically sees me sitting on the front porch sipping red wine — so I imagine the new look, suggesting I’m a practising Muslim, is no doubt a bit odd.
“Are you going to a mosque?” she asks me without skipping a beat.
I feel myself blush and think I should offer an explanation, but then that would be an admission that I’m an imposter.
• • • • •
In some ways, I might be the most appropriate person among my fellow reporters to look into life from behind the veil.
On the other hand, as a non-Muslim woman, long baffled by the practice, I may be the least suited.
Suited or not, it’s my job to dress up in a hijab and head out in public.
The idea is to find out if and how a seemingly Muslim woman might be treated differently in a world where Islamic terrorists — not law-abiding, clean-living Muslims — make the news on a daily basis.
Readers are now fed a seemingly daily diet of car bombings, school slaughters and suicide bombers from around the world — all in the name of a perverted form of Islam.
Instead of trying to live someone else’s life, I’m living mine, on the surface anyhow, as a Muslim, which means doing pretty much everything in the veil.
Of course, it comes off when I go to the pub, out of respect to the woman who gave it to me in good faith so I could get the slightest glimpse into how the world greets her.
For the most part, strangers barely blink at my new look.
I even went out for a run in the hijab, an XL sweatshirt and long pants — yes, it was hot — but certainly not a head-turner for anyone I crossed paths with.
That’s sort of telling of the typical reaction I’ve been getting around town.
The biggest problems have been the pragmatics of it all.
I’ve had to rid “Good Lord” from my vocabulary, to take off the Celtic cross around my neck and make sure to hide the tattoo of a Coptic cross — the Christian religion of my father — on my wrist.
Do you put the phone receiver over or under your hijab?
Do you tuck it in when you eat sloppy food?
Do I put it in the dryer or on the clothesline?
• • • • •
Many Muslim women I’ve spoken to dismiss assumptions this “modest” dressing, veiling and sometimes wearing loose clothing, jilbab, to appear proper and modest — is imposed on them.
They say it wouldn’t be possible to put it on if a woman’s heart wasn’t in it, if it wasn’t something she chose to do.
And they are offended the veil is often seen in the West as a symbol of Muslim women’s subordinate role in society.
The Qur’an states both sexes are equal in the eyes of God.
It says good women cover themselves up, mostly to protect themselves from harm by evil men driven to sin by a woman’s beauty.
In all fairness, it asks men to avert their eyes from women.
Many women say, rather than imposing a burden, the hijab sets them free to be respected and protected.
The interpretation of the Qur’an’s request for women to dress modestly, however, varies around the world.
The hijab can be loose scarves, veils or full-length coverings, such as the burqa worn by many Afghan women.
There is also so-called “Islamic dress,” — a loose coat worn with a scarf tied over the hair.
The waters on this much-debated topic — to veil or not to veil — even among Muslims, are a bit murky.
There is, I’ve found, a difference between cultural traditions and religion and how Islam is interpreted by women.
No doubt about it, Islam, especially in the world post-Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, is a maligned and misunderstood faith.
University of Calgary Professor Karim-Aly Kassam says there is great diversity in how adherents interpret the religion.
Unfortunately, extremists exist.
“Islam is an old religion — you acquire stereotypes over 1,400 years,” says the professor, who has a degree in Islamic studies.
“People have been at war with people who are Muslims; one way to attack someone is to create a stereotype.”
But that is, for the majority of Muslims, just that.
“It’s like saying all Catholics are the same and all Protestants are the same and that is rubbish,” he says.
“Charles Manson used the cross and he murdered innocent people and the Ku Klux Klan uses the cross to promote hate.”
Recent increased interest in women wearing veils may in many cases be a reaction to bad press on Islam.
Recently in France, schoolgirls proudly, if defiantly, donned headscarves despite a controversial ban on the religious wear.
Wearing one anywhere these days may have nothing or little to do with faith and be more a reaction to a sense of besiegement, Kassam says.
For some, a hijab is a way to say “I’m Muslim” and proud.
“It’s an important way to respond to the events around them and defend their faith ... and if it brings judgments to them, then they have the courage to face it,” he says.
And many Muslims here bristle at unfair media emphasis on the actions of a small number of extremists.
“Not every Christian criminal is referred to by their religion but every Muslim criminal is referred to as a Muslim,” says Muslim Council of Calgary chair Hatim Zaghloul.
“It is very sad to see what happens to the civilians (targeted by extremists,) and, at the same time, I’m sad for the religion that some people are hijacking its image.”
Calgarian Angela Mentis wears a veil to obey her God but also to send an important, and these days much-needed, message to others.
“It shows you are Muslim,” she explains proudly.
MUSLIM LIKE ME — Part 2
Hijab no barrier to work
by Nadia Moharib
Calgary Sun
The perception is that these must be difficult times to be a Muslim in North America. Muslim militant groups are being blamed for a spate of terrorism around the globe over the last several years — from the 9/11 tragedy to the Beslan school atrocity in Russia. As North American security forces take greater steps each day to protect the continent from terror attacks, the Sun sent reporter Nadia Moharib, a Christian of Arab descent, onto Calgary streets dressed as a traditional Muslim woman to, as the saying goes, walk in another’s shoes. Here is her second report in our five-part series:
Trying to get a job, decked in a veil, went better than expected. The friendly Starbucks baristas not only offered me an application but encouraged me, saying it’s a good time to apply.
It was much the same at Coffee Time — and I was chuffed.
I have every right to believe my hijab will not make me any less employable than I am without it.
Same person, different look.
I think my discomfort in this veil has, so far, more to do with me than with anyone else.
I try but fail to catch the eye of people eyeing me and am starting to think I’m searching for looks which don’t exist.
I did think one woman was staring but maybe she was staring at me because I was staring at her to see if she was staring at me.
I am, however, getting very, very hot underneath this hood.
Steaming coffee was a very, very bad idea.
I’ve called on friend Joyce for moral support.
“You never go to Starbucks,” she scoffs.
Yeah, I think, and never in a hijab.
Won’t she be surprised.
Joyce bites her tongue when she arrives.
She knew I was doing this experiment but seeing is believing.
Joyce quickly deflates my hopes of an interview.
“Yeah, they’ll never hire you,” she says matter-of-factly.
“The reality is, if they’re going to choose between you and someone non-descript, that’s who they’ll choose.”
I explain, stealing explanations given by Muslim sisters, wearing a veil protects me from prying eyes of men with naughty thoughts, sort of equalizes the sexes by making me gender-neutral.
“Just try gaining 50 pounds,” offers Joyce.
“That will liberate you from being a sex object, too.” She, like many, doesn’t quite get this veiling practice.
“I automatically think the women are doormats or that their dad must have made her wear that,” she says.
“But maybe,” she muses, “she did decide to do it by herself.”
I’m still waiting for a coffee shop to call with a job offer.
• • • • •
HIGH-STRUNG WALK IN WILD WEST
I stepped out into the pouring rain and into a new world.
Looking every bit Muslim, I was venturing into the wild, wild west — the streets of Calgary.
I don’t know what I expected but a nervousness washed over me and, to be honest, I just wanted to head home for a glass of wine.
Tsk, tsk ... being Muslim, for now, I shouldn’t drink.
Just before my visual transformation, local Muslim Carol Kadri, her husband Nasser and I had an interesting chat.
It was made even better by the steady flow of coffee Carol poured along with a surprisingly candid conversation.
I say candid because I was asking about deeply personal stuff, matters of the heart and she made me feel very much at ease.
I think she enjoyed an opportunity to explain how and why a Muslim woman might choose to live her life.
And she seemed pleased, not offended, I want to go behind a veil to get a glimpse of the world from a Muslim woman’s perspective.
We looked at dozens of hijabs in every colour imaginable, fabrics of all sorts and many styles.
We decided on a cream-coloured one for me, with lacy trim.
And it’s user-friendly, wrinkle-resistant and machine washable.
Rather than folding it, pulling in the corners and pinning it at my chin, I can slip this over my head and I’m ready to go.
I looked in the mirror at a woman who looks like ones I’ve long been too ignorant or lazy to understand — and dare I say, judge.
And I have to go out into the world like this?
I’m not sure I have the faith needed to pull this off — or in this case, on.
MUSLIM LIKE ME — Part 3
Unveiling the reality
by Nadia Moharib
Calgary Sun
The perception is that these must be difficult times to be a Muslim in North America. Muslim militant groups are being blamed for a spate of terrorism around the globe over the last several years — from the 9/11 tragedy to the Beslan school atrocity in Russia. As North American security forces take greater steps each day to protect the continent from terror attacks, the Sun sent reporter Nadia Moharib, a Christian of Arab descent, onto Calgary streets dressed as a traditional Muslim woman to, as the saying goes, walk in another’s shoes. Here is her third report in our five-part series:
While I moved around the city behind the veil, pretty much unimpeded, a reality-check threatened to ground me.
It was my fault, perhaps, buying a plane ticket on company time — dressed in a hijab.
With a ticket to my long-anticipated trip to Australia in hand, I asked if I needed a visa.
“What is your nationality?” the travel agent asked.
“Canadian,” I replied.
She took my passport and I anticipated the visa would follow.
What ensued, however, were several panicked phone calls from the agent, checking and re-checking my nationality.
I pointed out repeatedly that she had my CANADIAN passport but by her fourth phone call, over a three-day period, I was starting to panic that my visit Down Under was in serious jeopardy.
I did get the visa but not without some major anxiety.
Serves me right for shopping for personal adventures while on the payroll.
And I don’t think it would have been a hassle had I been without the veil.
With no vacation on the line, it occurred to me, a border run might be one spot where an apparent Muslim woman might get some hassle.
And with the hypersensitivity to terrorists-at-large these days, I would surely be a victim of stereotypes labelling me as trouble.
I have to admit I wasn’t comfortable venturing into the States.
It’s bad enough having an Arab name; now I’m in a hijab.
It was a long way to drive looking for rejection, only to find none.
My dark-skinned brother-in-law stole the limelight while border control guards on both sides gave me nary a second glance.
Heck, they didn’t even check my knapsack for explosives.
We stopped on the dark side, I mean the south side, for a cup of gumbo in Montana and found everyone terribly friendly.
Nope, not a look or comment on my scarf.
On the way back I was just as invisible, while my three-year-old niece, insisting her name was Devyn Leaf-giver (not true), caused a bit of commotion.
As for me — nothing.
So much for my theory.
• • • • •
FACTS ABOUT MUSLIMS
We’ve all heard them and sadly, many believe stereotypes rather than knowing the facts. Here are some common Muslim misconceptions:
PERCEPTION: Arab and Muslim refer to the same people.
REALITY: Arabs speak Arabic as a native language and identify themselves as Arabs, while Muslims practice the religion of Islam. Many Arabs are not Muslims and not all Muslims are Arabs.
PERCEPTION: Islam is an extreme religion.
REALITY: The often-demonized religion is not so different from Christianity and Judaism.
PERCEPTION: Islam oppresses women.
REALITY: Islam historically offered major reform for women and granted them rights — including the right to agree to a marriage partner — to education and a share of family inheritance. But things are interpreted differently in different places. In Saudi Arabia, women vote, work and have access to education, but must wear a veil and are prohibited from driving cars.
PERCEPTION: Muslims are fanatics.
REALITY: While some Muslims have a very strict interpretation of how one should live as a Muslim, there is enormous diversity in the Islamic world on how the religion is practised.
PERCEPTION: Islam is violent.
REALITY: Most Muslims condemn violence and resent being presumed violent. News stories about “Islamic terrorism” often imply Islam upholds the idea of jihad as a holy war fought against nonbelievers. For most Muslims, jihad is the personal struggle to be a moral person. Some blame an uncritical media and reports of violence in the Middle East for perpetuating stereotypes.
MUSLIM LIKE ME — Part 4
Most Calgarians leave me be
by Nadia Moharib
Calgary Sun
The perception is that these must be difficult times to be a Muslim in North America. Muslim militant groups are being blamed for a spate of terrorism around the globe during the last several years — from the 9/11 tragedy to the Beslan school atrocity in Russia. As North American security forces take greater steps each day to protect the continent from terror attacks, the Sun sent reporter Nadia Moharib, a Christian of Arab descent, onto Calgary streets dressed as a traditional Muslim woman to, as the saying goes, walk in another’s shoes. Here is her fourth report in our five-part series:
GAME DAY ... A photo of Sun reporter Nadia Moharib at McMahon Stadium for the Labour Day Classic. Nadia dressed in traditional Muslim garb to gauge reaction from Calgarians.
— Al Charest, Calgary Sun
The bottle-blond almost missed the light change at a Macleod Tr. intersection because she was too busy mocking me.
She even leaned over to — I’m guessing her daughter — in the passenger seat and the pair, with no hint of subtlety, laughed and pointed until cars honked to signal the light had changed.
I guess Angela Mentis, a Muslim woman living in Calgary, has a point — parents teach their children intolerance.
For me, that was the worst of it — one ignoramus in an SUV. There were, however, also the jokesters who came out of the closet after I went undercover, punctuating sentences with “Allah” and others who said something by saying nothing at all.
Some didn’t return my greetings, others put change on the counter instead of my hand or rolled their eyes as I passed.
They were, fortunately, few and far between.
I have to say that in my brief time behind the veil, I was lucky enough to meet well-mannered people who let me be me.
Yes, more shocking than a veiled Muslim woman walking the streets of Calgary is perhaps that citizens here are actually, at least outwardly, tolerant. Not what one might expect from the so-called home of the redneck.
And that’s pretty much the case everywhere, from coffee shops, bookstores, grocery stores, parks, bus stop benches, to the bank, roads and jogging paths.
That’s not to say it’s a perfect world — and I saw that with the bottle-blond — but it’s not all that bad, either.
Strangers stop to help when I trip and fall and one thoughtful man at an Edmonton Tr. cafe suggested the breakfast bagel, minus the ham — (most Muslims don’t eat pork.)
I recruited my sister, Samia, to shadow me as I made my way through a day in a hijab.
Surely, she would witness all the glares made behind my back.
She rightfully thought it a wasted exercise.
“I don’t know what you’re expecting, but if you’re expecting a reaction you’re not going to get it,” Samia said. “You’re not alone, there’s lots of you out there.”
“You are,” she added, as a dark-skinned man at a pizza pick-up counter took a shine to me, “going to get a date out of this.”
I drove around the gun shop three times, before working up the nerve to go in.
The owner, a grey-haired man with a brush-cut, looked up at me like I could be either a hunter or a woman in a veil. There was no outward reaction to my scarf. I had been working up the courage to buy a gun when I decided instead to use the phone.
When the friendly fellow happily offered it, I realized my work was done — there was no discrimination to be found here.
Outside, I sat at a bus bench and the woman sitting there walked away. Thinking this might be a snub, I watched her finish a cigarette.
I hadn’t realized, rather than being offended, she had gotten up so as not to offend me with her smoking.
Our conversation was light and easy. A new mother, she said she was pleasantly surprised the transit system has accommodated her and her monster-size carriage.
“People are so helpful,” she said.
“I know it’s the smallest thing but it renews my faith in humans.”
Sort of like this assignment — a pleasant contradiction to preconceived notions of being ridiculed as an apparent Muslim woman.
• • • • •
“I cannot sit by and let the world think Islam is a killing religion. These radicals are doing things God is against. Muslims do not believe in violence. If the culprits are Muslim, they have twisted the teachings of Islam.”
— former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali
“These acts of violence against innocents violate the fundamental tenets of the Islamic faith. The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace.”
— U.S. President George W. Bush
“If a man like Muhammed were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems that would bring it the much needed peace and happiness.”
— George Bernard Shaw
“Everything made so much sense ... When I read the Qur'an further, it talked about prayer, kindness and charity. I was not a Muslim yet, but I felt the only answer for me was the Qur'an and God had sent it to me.”
— former pop star Cat Stevens, now known as Yusuf Islam
MUSLIM LIKE ME — Part 5
Modest choice liberating
by Nadia Moharib
Calgary Sun
The perception is that these must be difficult times to be a Muslim in North America. Muslim militant groups are being blamed for a spate of terrorism around the globe during the last several years — from the 9/11 tragedy to the Beslan school atrocity in Russia. As North American security forces take greater steps each day to protect the continent from terror attacks, the Sun sent reporter Nadia Moharib, a Christian of Arab descent, onto Calgary streets dressed as a traditional Muslim woman to, as the saying goes, walk in another’s shoes. Here is her final report in our five-part series:
GUIDED BY GOD ... Carol Kadri stocks shelves at the Garden of Islam store she owns. Kadri says her decision to wear a hijab was the first step in accepting Islam when she decided to convert. According to her, wearing the head scarf has freed her from preconceived notions of womanhood.
— Jack Cusano, Calgary Sun
She drives a car.
She runs a business.
She’s raising a family and no one but God tells her what to do.
And that includes her decision to wear a veil, something Carol Kadri believes sets her free.
The 41-year-old mother of five is a born-again Muslim, a Catholic who “reverted” as a teen and has never looked back.
Her transformation involved giving up Christmas and eating pork, pulling on a veil, and later, a jilbab and loose clothing.
“The hijab is the first step,” recalls Carol, who today owns more veils than socks.
“I believed that I had accepted this religion and whatever it told me to do I would and it said to cover my hair and my body.
“I felt wonderful doing what God wanted me to do.
“All of a sudden, I entered a different world where I knew people would have to look at me as a human being, not for my body,” she says, adding her professor at the time asked if she’d forgotten to wash her hair.
Her husband of 21 years, Nasser, says the biggest misconception is that it is man, not God, asking women to dress modestly.
“Now you see them on the streets everywhere, accepted as part of society,” says Carol, noting she’s now in good company.
“It’s not a jail and it gives me comfort I’ve never felt before.”
The majority of people who say anything simply ask why, and many Muslim women relish the opportunity to offer explanations.
“We’re all the same — we all have hopes and desires and dreams,” says Carol.
“Yes, there are some sacrifices involved, but without it I would feel like a part of my body was missing … I take orders very seriously when it is coming from the man who made me.”
And while some believe the hijab is a sign of oppression — Carol says it all depends which God gets you dressed in the morning.
Some other women are “manufactured” — bowing to the secular fashion gods who demand they be thinner, younger and embrace a specific kind of beauty.
Angela Mentis covered up after accepting Islam into her life after taking a job teaching at an Islamic school.
Out of respect she wore a veil to work.
“It was hard,” she says.
“I would put it on in the parking lot.”
Soon she was brave enough to put it on at home and keep it on until she returned after a day’s work.
Then she took a closer look at the religion behind the veil.
“Every success I have had has to do with my talents and abilities, not what I look like,” she says.
Mentis’ outer beauty is reserved for those who are permitted to see her without her veil — her husband, other women and relatives.
That said, she only has to look back to her former life to understand how others might not comprehend the practice.
“I just felt they were not doing it of their own accord,” she says.
“It made me feel sorry for them.
“Now, going outside without the scarf, I would feel naked,” she says.
“And I have a lot of empathy for the non-Muslim women. They are missing out.”
While she’s met intolerant, hateful people, comments she’s encountered have more been borne of ignorance and curiosity.
Do you have hair under there?
Do you take it off to shower, to sleep?
“I say I have to shower with it and then I blow-dry it,” she jokes.
Others have told the Calgary native to go back to her country and a doctor, who asked very slowly, “Can you drive a car?” proved some people assume a veiled woman is not so bright.
Her mocking answer, delivered in a mimicking slow manner, was to tell him “I have a university degree.”
Hannah, 15, has by choice, worn one since age 10.
And while the world cannot sway her from that choice, she admits to a bit of stage-fright at the recent prospect of her first day at a mainstream high school.
“I’m wondering what it’s going to be like,” Hannah says.
“If I’m not accepted, that’s fine. If I am, great.”
Mentis says there’s simple logic behind the veil.
“Women are beautiful and there’s a reason women need to be covered,” she says.
“Look at how men look at women — a woman in a short skirt says, ‘Look at me and abuse me,’ ” she says.
“How many men turn around and go, ‘Look at that hot scarf?’ ”
That’s not to say Muslim women do not appreciate their bodies.
“I’m not ashamed of my body, I’m proud of it and respect it and (I’m) free to beautify myself for my husband,” says Mentis, who works out at Spa Lady.
“Some of the women covered up are so beautiful,” she adds.
“We get dressed up, wear perfume and makeup. You don’t need to show it to everyone.”
• • • • •
ALLAH MISUNDERSTOOD
Faith not terrorist
Abdu Souraya doesn’t worry so much about what people say — it’s what goes unsaid that has him concerned.
That anxiety is heightened when he thinks of his young children and how they might fare in a world where Islam is perhaps, despite being one of the fastest growing religions, one of the most misunderstood.
“You’re seeing my face,” the lawyer says while discussing horrific acts done in the name of his religion.
“I cringe when I see things like that and I wonder how others will react.
“People don’t come out and say things, but I’m concerned by what they think … I don’t want my children to be judged (like) a book by its cover.”
Headlines link Islam to horror from suicide bombings, to barbaric beheadings.
For most, the inhumane horrifying events of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks are the epitome of evil done in the name of Allah.
Good Muslim men and women living throughout the world, however, say the actions of a few extremists acting in the name of their religion are “hijacking” Islam.
“Like anybody with a conscience, I do not want to see anybody slaughtered,” says Muslim Council of Calgary’s Hatim Zaghloul.
“Capturing civilians is totally wrong … by all means, we consider it non-Islamic.”
He also says extremism results from incorrect interpretation by “crazy leaders.”
“It would be wrong to judge Islam in light of the behaviour of some bad Muslims shown in the media,” says Yusuf Islam, former folk musician Cat Stevens.
“It’s like judging a car as a bad one if the driver of the car is drunk and bangs it into the wall.”
• • • • •
VAIL-URE TO SEE THE OTHER SIDE
My so-called feminist side is offended.
But if I’m a so-called feminist, then every woman should be free to do as she pleases.
After going under cover, literally, I’m no closer to understanding a woman’s choice to cover up.
But unless veiling is imposed on me, I don’t have to accept it.
The one who has to is the woman who pulls on the veil.
She has to live with it.
And if it makes her feel happy, protected and Allah-abiding then who am I — or any woman — to question it?
With no disrespect intended — I guess I do.
I know many Muslim women who choose to veil of their own volition, but I’m still not buying into the rationale behind it.
Why would God, he/she, give us sunshine if it not to kiss our bodies and a cool summer breeze if not to blow through our hair?
And it isn’t Islam I have a problem with, but with the idea that women ought to be covered up for their own good and the good of society.
For Christians, for instance, Corinthians says we should cover up or shave our hair.
I believe, whether it’s Christian, Muslim or any other religion, it’s a faith-based coverup for man-made, not Allah- or God-given, restrictions on women.
One of my biggest issues is the apparent inequality of it all.
While I don’t think I could ever be convinced of the merits to veil, I would be much further on my way if men had to pull one on, too.
Instead, you see women behind veils and men, eating up everything western, walking at their side in blue jeans and T-shirts.
And while wearing a hijab is a choice for many Muslim women, we all know that for many it is not.
Why must beauty be blacklisted, anyhow?
Are we to put a Venus de Milo under a burqa?
And is not the beauty of nature God-given for all to enjoy?
I like to think of myself as open-minded.
A bit delusional, perhaps, but I strive to play devil’s advocate and at least try to see both sides of the issue.
I did spend 10 days in a hijab, trying to put myself in the head of a Muslim woman.
Other women can do what they please, veil if they want, it’s just not me.
And that’s the beauty of Canada — I can have an opinion.
And all women, ideally, have choice.
Freedom for me means blue jeans, a T-shirt and my hair in a ponytail.
Not because I want to conform to anyone else’s way I should look, but because I don’t think any woman — conventionally beautiful or not — should have to hide.
But there are two sides to every story.
And what I see as anti-woman, many Muslim women see as the very opposite.
One told me she ‘feels sorry’ for us who don’t veil — “you don’t know what you’re missing.”
Maybe not, but perhaps now I have a better idea.
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star_munir
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Who said wearing burqa is a sin ? are you out of your mind ?
You people are right that burqa has nothing to do with islam .. all that matters is Pardah .. Burqa is not the only Pardah although its a better way of covering ..
Wearing Cloths which doesnot attract opposite sex is also a pardah ..
Wearing loose cloths in which your figure is not visible is also a pardah ..
Covering your hairs is must ..
You people are right that burqa has nothing to do with islam .. all that matters is Pardah .. Burqa is not the only Pardah although its a better way of covering ..
Wearing Cloths which doesnot attract opposite sex is also a pardah ..
Wearing loose cloths in which your figure is not visible is also a pardah ..
Covering your hairs is must ..
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star_munir
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Wearing burkha/Purda/veil etc is not a good thing and it is Sin. Whats the difference between hijab/burka/Purdah and veil?
I also not agree that covering hairs is necessary.
In one book also I read that a boy and girl can even not shake hands..and if they do so hands will be burnt in fire of hell....Do you believe in these things..........
I also not agree that covering hairs is necessary.
In one book also I read that a boy and girl can even not shake hands..and if they do so hands will be burnt in fire of hell....Do you believe in these things..........
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star_munir
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It's sin according to you but not according to Islam .. Burqa is a dress . It is used as a Pardah . Pardah is to cover your hairs and skin.
Whoever said this that it's not a good thing, I disagree with him or her.
“O; Prophet! Tell thy wives and thy daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks close round them (when they go outside). That will be better, that so they may be recognized and not molested”. (33:59).
Whoever said this that it's not a good thing, I disagree with him or her.
“O; Prophet! Tell thy wives and thy daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks close round them (when they go outside). That will be better, that so they may be recognized and not molested”. (33:59).
As I have said this before on an another post to you that:Sooper wrote:It's sin according to you but not according to Islam .. Burqa is a dress . It is used as a Pardah . Pardah is to cover your hairs and skin.
Whoever said this that it's not a good thing, I disagree with him or her.
“O; Prophet! Tell thy wives and thy daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks close round them (when they go outside). That will be better, that so they may be recognized and not molested”. (33:59).
This is my take on many of the religious doctrines i.e. Toura, Bible, Quran and Farmans that they are reviled/written the in a time or region or during a social condition(s) at that time.
It is also my opinion that The Books- are written with the use of metaphors and sometimes it is very difficult to ascertain what was the meaning behind it, all we can do is to translate it in to the language that we understand and as you may very well know that the tone or sometimes the words its-self gets lost in the translations. Also when looking at The Books and the scriptures you must not just understand the language but one must research the time when it was written and what were the human conditions, the cultures, the values systems, the social and political conditions and on and on.
***JUST today, when the Pop's passing was announced the words translated from Italian to English lost a few tones but this is that it was said "Our beloved Holy Father John Paul II has returned to his home. Let us pray for him." It does not mean that he went to Poland nor it means that John Paul is God since he was referred to as 'Holy Father'. The reason I am pointing out to you is that because you can understand in today's rhetoric and literature may not mean the same in even in next two hundred years.
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star_munir
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Re:“O; Prophet! Tell thy wives and thy daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks close round them (when they go outside). That will be better, that so they may be recognized and not molested”. (33:59).
As you know that Ismailism is esoteric faith or batini mazhab. Women are told not to wear Zahiri burkha but to wear "sharam ka burkha" [Sharam means lajja or shyness] in eyes of heart. That means there must not be any thing bad in heart. The most important thing is heart.
As you know that Ismailism is esoteric faith or batini mazhab. Women are told not to wear Zahiri burkha but to wear "sharam ka burkha" [Sharam means lajja or shyness] in eyes of heart. That means there must not be any thing bad in heart. The most important thing is heart.
Burka Ban in Holland
Choosing rights over religion
No liberal democracy should tolerate misogyny
Calgary Herald
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Faced with Islamic extremism, the Netherlands is redefining cultural and religious tolerance. The move highlights the conflict between the state's duty to protect public safety and human rights, while at the same time maintaining the right to freedom of religion.
Western nations have happily embraced a broad diversity of cultures, and in most respects it has been to our benefit. But when a hostile minority within a religion seeks to destroy the values on which a nation is built, lawmakers have a duty to push back.
It is in this context that Holland's decision to become the first nation to ban the burka in many public places -- such as shops, public buildings, cinemas, trains, buses and airports -- must be viewed.
Italy has had a law against hiding one's face in public since 1975. Perhaps other countries never saw a reason to follow suit. Until now.
The crackdown on burkas and other Muslim attire was proposed by Rita Verdonk, the minister of integration in Holland's right-libertarian coalition government. The public safety argument advanced by her may seem implausible on the surface -- although a suicide bomber with a belt of explosives, is not entirely implausible -- but less so in the context of growing public anxiety in that country over a large, unassimilated Muslim immigrant community from North Africa.
Holland has had to deal with a series of national tragedies: the assassination of gay politician Pim Fortuyn, who campaigned against Muslim immigration; the murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh, who released a controversial film on the Muslims' treatment of women; death threats to two MPs after publicly condemning Islamic fundamentalism.
The Dutch feel like a nation under siege. Many must feel their progressive embrace of multiculturalism has been repaid with violence. It is little wonder their political leaders' are seeking to redraw the lines.
The complexity of the issue is enhanced by the burka itself: to adherents of conservative Islam, a symbol of religious freedom; to many others, though, a symbol of religious oppression.
Although the burka is seen by many as a symbol of respect and modesty, as the world saw through the Taliban in Afghanistan, it has too often been also used as a means of oppression.
The Islamic rule of modest dress does not require a head-to-toe burka. If women were free to choose their apparel, not all would choose to cloak themselves in such a garment. In western countries, a hijab -- a scarf worn on the head -- is enough to meet the Muslim standards of modesty.
Holland's measures may be extreme, but the decision to put human rights first is not.
The small number of radical Muslim men who wish to keep their wives in subjugation should not enjoy state sanction of it. In private homes and mosques, these women can dress as they will. In public places, however, they should conform to the reasonable standards of modest public dress practised by moderate Muslims. No liberal democratic country should feel it must tolerate misogyny.
© The Calgary Herald 2005
No liberal democracy should tolerate misogyny
Calgary Herald
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Faced with Islamic extremism, the Netherlands is redefining cultural and religious tolerance. The move highlights the conflict between the state's duty to protect public safety and human rights, while at the same time maintaining the right to freedom of religion.
Western nations have happily embraced a broad diversity of cultures, and in most respects it has been to our benefit. But when a hostile minority within a religion seeks to destroy the values on which a nation is built, lawmakers have a duty to push back.
It is in this context that Holland's decision to become the first nation to ban the burka in many public places -- such as shops, public buildings, cinemas, trains, buses and airports -- must be viewed.
Italy has had a law against hiding one's face in public since 1975. Perhaps other countries never saw a reason to follow suit. Until now.
The crackdown on burkas and other Muslim attire was proposed by Rita Verdonk, the minister of integration in Holland's right-libertarian coalition government. The public safety argument advanced by her may seem implausible on the surface -- although a suicide bomber with a belt of explosives, is not entirely implausible -- but less so in the context of growing public anxiety in that country over a large, unassimilated Muslim immigrant community from North Africa.
Holland has had to deal with a series of national tragedies: the assassination of gay politician Pim Fortuyn, who campaigned against Muslim immigration; the murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh, who released a controversial film on the Muslims' treatment of women; death threats to two MPs after publicly condemning Islamic fundamentalism.
The Dutch feel like a nation under siege. Many must feel their progressive embrace of multiculturalism has been repaid with violence. It is little wonder their political leaders' are seeking to redraw the lines.
The complexity of the issue is enhanced by the burka itself: to adherents of conservative Islam, a symbol of religious freedom; to many others, though, a symbol of religious oppression.
Although the burka is seen by many as a symbol of respect and modesty, as the world saw through the Taliban in Afghanistan, it has too often been also used as a means of oppression.
The Islamic rule of modest dress does not require a head-to-toe burka. If women were free to choose their apparel, not all would choose to cloak themselves in such a garment. In western countries, a hijab -- a scarf worn on the head -- is enough to meet the Muslim standards of modesty.
Holland's measures may be extreme, but the decision to put human rights first is not.
The small number of radical Muslim men who wish to keep their wives in subjugation should not enjoy state sanction of it. In private homes and mosques, these women can dress as they will. In public places, however, they should conform to the reasonable standards of modest public dress practised by moderate Muslims. No liberal democratic country should feel it must tolerate misogyny.
© The Calgary Herald 2005