al-firaushah

“An Afternoon with the Hijjabed”

This is a short student film (8:29) from Multimedia University, near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The video is a collection of interviews with five women, all of whom wear a tudung to one extent or another. Each of the women answer a series of questions (e.g., “what is aurat?” “why do you wear the hijjab?” and so on) to the best of their abilities. The film is interesting in that it captures a cross-section of women who cover themselves for different reasons. You have the very traditional Zulaikha who wears both the tudung and niqab, Natasha, who wears a scarf that covers almost nothing for the least satisfactory reasons, and three others who all wear a traditional tudung although one, Wawa, a student, apparently would take hers off in public given the right circumstances (i.e., when she’s with friends). Perhaps the line I liked the best is from the cigarette-smoking art director, Leyla, who said, “I am a Muslim woman, and I’m not afraid to show it.”
An Afternoon with the Hijjabed

French Convert on Becoming a Muslim

Click on the link to a short video excerpt (1:17) of a French woman being interviewed about her becoming a Muslim.
French Woman Talks About Becoming Muslim

Pondering the Ways and Whys of Islam

The following article appeared recently in the Monterey County (California) Herald. Although I’m not particularly fond of naming talks or articles “Entering (or Inside) the [Insert Group’s Name Here] Mind,” I liked what Mr. Provost had to say. It’s refreshing to see a (presumed) non-Muslim giving accurate information about Islam to the public instead of misinformation presented by yet another hysterical Islamophobe.

Would David Koresh be considered a representative Christian? Are members of the IRA Christian terrorists?

These comparisons are worth pondering when looking at how Islam is often portrayed by the news media, according to John Provost, philosophy instructor for Monterey Peninsula College’s Gentrain program, who spoke Wednesday at MPC on “Entering the Muslim Mind.”

News reports of the fiery deaths that culminated in the FBI siege of Koresh’s Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, in 1993, and the ongoing war between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, didn’t link Christianity and terrorism, he noted, but the actions of Muslim fanatics, and conflicts between Shia and Sunni Muslims, are joined in the phrase “Islamic terrorism.”

That’s a mistaken view, Provost said, and holding it won’t help get a clear view of the problem or work toward a resolution of the conflict between Islam and western secularism.

The fact that a suicide bomber believes that his act makes him a martyr bound for heaven doesn’t make that belief true, Provost said, and most Muslim scholars reject that doctrine as “a gross distortion of the Qur’an.”

Martyrdom isn’t foreign to Christianity either, he said, and suicide bombers represent “a dark side of Islam that is hard to explain.”

But it is the hallmark of the fanatic to seize on a particular aspect of doctrine and apply a literal interpretation that justifies such an action, he said.

“We need to be careful how we speak about religion and politics,” he said.

Islam, Judaism and Christianity all sprung out of the Middle East and all trace their lineage to Abraham, but as they have spread to other areas of the world, all three changed as they assimilated into other cultures, Provost said.

Islam began in Arab culture, and its sacred language is Arabic, but a Muslim in Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan or Afghanistan is not like a Muslim from Arabia, Iraq, Syria or Egypt. All adhere to the “Five Pillars of Islam” — the fast of Ramadan, recitation of the creed that “There is no God but God and Mohammed is His prophet,” prayer fives times a day, the giving of alms and making the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Islam does not recognize a separation of church and state, he said. Islam is society and culture, and therein lies the root of conflict and misunderstanding between Muslim and Westerner.

“How can you be Muslim in a modern, secular society?” Provost asked rhetorically. “It isn’t easy. It’s not easy to be Christian or Jewish either.”

He noted that Islam enjoyed its Golden Age under the Caliphate, advancing in art, literature, philosophy, science, mathematics and medicine, while Europe floundered in the Dark Ages.

Islam then entered its own dark age as Europe became resurgent after the Renaissance, and by the 1800s, nearly all Muslim nations had been colonized by Europeans, Provost said. Now they are independent and trying to find their own way.

Europe’s example, he noted, isn’t particularly admired by Muslims, who cite the 100 million killed in the wars of the 20th century as a path they don’t want to follow.

Muslims feel threatened by Western capitalism and culture, the flood of goods and ideas that they feel undermine their own civilization.

“You don’t need troops to invade a country,” Provost said. “You can do it with MTV, advertising, Marlboros, Levis, Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonald’s.”

Muslims find this cultural imperialism “very offensive. It destroys their culture and what they feel is important. It’s why they feel attacked. There’s a reason why they call us the Great Satan.”

A strong belief system with rules and laws can be a source of comfort and support to those caught up in the rapid changes of modern life, he said.

While liberal westerners decry the status and treatment of women in Muslim countries, Provost said a study of Mohammed’s writings shows a relatively progressive view of women for his time. It was he who first preached their rights to education, inheritance, property, a dowry as a hedge against divorce, and he limited marriage to four wives in a highly polygamous culture, and then only “if the husband could treat each wife the same.”

The practical result, he said, is that 95 percent of Muslim marriages are monogamous.

While news media portray women clad in burqas, Muslim women in many countries dress as stylishly as any westerner. The Quran only requires “modesty,” Provost said, not the complete cover-up that some adherents of Islam demand. Cultures change the observance of all religions.

It has been less than 100 years since American women got the vote, he noted, and Christianity allowed slavery for 1,900 years before it was abolished.

“To live up to the founders of your religion, you have to be changed. You have to walk the talk.”

Source

Does Islam require 4 witnesses for rape victims?

MENJ has a nice, concise refutation of the assertion that Muslim women who were raped require four witnesses. Check it out.

Response to Steve regarding Sania Mirza

This is a response I made to “Steve” regarding my Sania Mirza post on my main blog. I’ve decided to post my response here, in addition to the main blog, as I thought my comments might be helpful for those who are interested in learning about Islam.

Steve wrote: “I think a reasonable person can debate what kind of clothing is acceptable under Islam. I know dozens of Muslims who ruitinely wear shorts and skirts, and at the same time affirm most of the basic principles of Islam.”

Those shorts-and-skirts Muslims must be young. Yeah, I’ve heard of cases up in Malaysia where a young woman might go out in public wearing something skimpy but also wearing a hijab. Go figure. Still, there are clearly defined dress codes for both Muslim men and women. Those women who wear the shorts and skirts are not following the dress code. While they may “affirm most of the basic principles of Islam,” Islam is not a “pick and choose,” cafeteria-style religion. Muslims should (ideally) follow all aspects of Islam as much of the time as possible. As my wife would say, “We strive to be better Muslims.”

“That being said, whats at issue is whether or not the actions of this tennis player is worthy of a ‘fatwa.’”

A fatwa in and of itself is merely an opinion, and does not necessarily have to be obeyed. Most people who ask for a fatwa normally ask for themselves (i.e., they have a particular situation they would like resolved, and they are looking for guidance in the form of a fatwa). That someone asks, “What about the type of clothing a female tennis player wears in public, like Sania Mirza?” seems a little odd, but is still not out of the realm of the ordinary. In that regard, Ms. Sania is worthy of a fatwa, as is any other Muslim in the world.

“I completely agree that an Islamic council should be more worried about things like Wahhabism or the Mujahadeen than tennis attire.”

In all honesty, the vast majority of fatawa that are issued deal with very mundane, daily life issues. There’s nothing wrong with an Islamic council dealing with the bigger issues (many Muslims wish they would), but most of their work deals with very small issues.

“However, it is the position of some Islamic scholars that if the purpose of rules and regulations regarding attire is to not attract attention to ones self, then covering up in conditions such as western society and or tennis courts might actually defeat the intended purpose of such modesty…”

Possibly, but… The purpose of the dress code, of course, is for modesty; it’s not necessarily to not attract attention to one’s self. While a pro female tennis player might attract attention initially by, say, wearing a sweat suit instead of a skirt and blouse, don’t you think the fuss might die down fairly quickly (within a year’s time at the most)? Is women’s beach volleyball popular because we value the women as athletes…or because they wear bikinis? Was Anna Kournikova as popular as she was because of her tennis skills (her having never won a Grand Slam tournament) or because of her looks?

Separate Entrances

A non-Muslim visitor to Safiyyah’s blog (SAFspace) questioned why mosques had separate entrances for men and women. The answer is simple, really. The women’s entrance leads to the women’s bathroom. Everyone, male and female, must wash themselves prior to prayer. (These are ritual ablutions, known as wudu.) The separate entrances not only allow both sexes the privacy they need; they also allow men and women not to come into contact with each other prior to prayer. In one Islamic school of thought, the Shafi’i, any man and woman who touch each other, even accidentally, after doing wudu but prior to prayer, must both do wudu again. So the separate entrances minimize any potential contact. Finally, having separate entrances to the prayer hall allows men and women to begin focusing on the activity at hand - prayer (salat) - instead of focusing on each other. For Muslims, salat is something Muslims take seriously. One’s concentration must be on Allah (swt), not the opposite sex.

Hijab (Part 1; Insha’allah I’m sure there will be more… :) )

erey wrote: “I would say it is the muslim world more than the western media that seem to be fascinated with hijab. Half the conversations between muslims around women is all about hijab. Should I/should I not, must I/I don’t have to. There seems to be more conversation amoung muslims regarding a head scarf than nonmuslims talk about their hair.”

I can see where you might think this but, from my perspective, this is more a case of culture shock. The conversations about hijab are more common among Western Muslims (especially converts) than they are with Muslims living elsewhere in the world. For example, here in SE Asia, discussions about hijab (or tudungs, as they’re called here) are rare among individuals or in the media. There’s no real need for the “fascination” as so many women wear the tudung on a daily basis.

“She was further manipulated by the muslim men around her into this idea that because she is a muslim she has to wear the clothes of a arab woman.”

Leaving aside your questionable issue of “manipulation,” you need to realize that wearing hijab or tudung does not mean a woman is wearing the clothes of an Arab. It doesn’t even really mean that a woman is wearing Muslim clothes. What is a nun’s habit other than a form of hijab? Wearing a hijab or tudung means that a woman fears Allah (swt) in the positive sense. It’s too bad non-Muslims can’t seem to grasp that fact.