It had been ten years since she had set foot in a mosque. Being at
university had broadened her mind in many ways, one of them being her
reconnecting with Islam.
She had begun praying five times a day a month ago, and now felt ready to
pray in public, at the university’s Juma prayer.
She paused and stood a few feet away from the women’s entrance. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the silk scarf out of her purse and tied it
carefully on her head. Her ponytail stuck out a bit. She smoothed the
creases on her long-sleeved beige shirt and tugged at the bottom of it to
make it longer over her pants.
The prayer was great. She had never felt this sense of inner peace.
Afterwards, she tried mingling with the sisters, but nobody even looked her
way. A few of them even pretended not to hear her greeting. The only sister who did talk to her said in a huff: “You know your prayer is not accepted in those pants and that tiny thing you pass for a Hijab. I suggest you get more Islamic knowledge and dress properly before coming back here.”
The words stung her like a million bumble bees. Too numb to respond or
speak, she charged out of the hall. Never again would she associate with
these people, she told herself.
And never again would she return to Juma.
Are you shocked reading about this incident? Don’t be. It has been a reality
in almost every Muslim community in North America.
This harsh judgment and intolerance shown towards Muslim women who do not wear Hijab can lead to at least some Muslim women to become alienated from the Muslim community, and could lead to a loss of Islamic practice.
While Hijab is an obligation clearly ordained in the Quran and Sunnah, the
above-mentioned method of its enforcement and encouragement is not Islamic, according to Muslim scholars, researchers and activists. Muslims have to start seeing the issue from a different perspective, they say.
SOME ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT OF NON-HIJABI SISTERS
“I would say that the overwhelming majority of Muslim women I have met who don’t cover and who believe in God, believe they should cover, but believe they’re not ready yet,” says Sharifa Alkhateeb, vice-president of the North American Council of Muslim Women, in an interview with Sound Vision.
This reality indicates there is a seed of faith that needs to be nurtured
and encouraged. As well, it means these women need all the support they can get.
Abdalla Idris Ali is a member of the Islamic Society of North America’s
(ISNA) Majlis Shura, which debates Islamic issues and establishes policy for
the organization. He says what also has to be remembered is that many Muslim women are coming from cultures where the Hijab is not practiced, for whatever reason. These sisters should not be condemned. Rather, Islamic concepts like Hijab, should be explained to them.
Another possibility is that Muslim women who do not wear Hijab are coming
from families which are either not practicing Islam, or are downright
hostile to it.
In this situation, “it’s actually a celebration that a young Muslim woman
wants to pray Juma,” says Kathy Bullock, who started wearing Hijab two weeks after she converted to Islam.
“I think that’s where the tolerance comes in.”
Another reason some Muslim women may find Hijab difficult is because of the often negative ideas surrounding Hijab. For instance, that wearing Hijab kills marriage and job prospects. Muslim activists must seek to dispel such myths.
“There needs to be a lot more support for the women who decide to cover,”
says Bullock, who completed a PhD. about The Politics of the Veil from the
University of Toronto in January.
Bullock also gives a chilling warning to those who condemn non-Hijabi Muslim women: “We might be wearing Hijab but we might be doing something incredibly wrong which cancels out the reward [for wearing it].” One of these things she mentions is arrogance.
WHY ARE SOME MUSLIMS SO SENSITIVE ABOUT THE HIJAB?
Some Muslims seek to condemn non-Hijabis out of their understanding of the Quranic injunction of enjoining the good and forbidding the evil. Yet, they fail to take the right approach in doing it, in accordance with the example of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), which was one of kindness, gentleness and patience.
Interestingly, some Muslim men and women who criticize non-Hijabi Muslim
women seem to have different reasons for doing it and varying ways of
approaching a sister who does not wear Hijab.
“Unfortunately on the brothers’ side there is a push to make Hijab the
marker of Islamic identity,” says Bullock. She also emphasizes the hypocrisy
of many Muslim men criticizing Muslim women who do not wear the Hijab, while they themselves wear tight jeans or pants, or short shorts. These forms of dress are strictly prohibited for men in Islam. Yet, go to any Juma or Jamaah prayer, and these forms of unIslamic dress can be easily seen.
“I think some of the men put too much emphasis on the women instead of
looking at their own selves,” she says.
However, Alkhateeb thinks most of the men are less vigilant than the women about Hijab, partly because they figure the women are going to take care of it.
She argues that the majority of the Muslim men who are over concerned about with the issue of Hijab because they don’t trust themselves sexually, and fear their own reaction to a woman who is not covered Islamically.
For women, weak self-identity and faith could explain the harshness shown
towards non-Hijabi Muslimas.
“It is so difficult to maintain the practice of covering, emotionally,
psychologically on the job and in everyday life, you get so much negativity
from other people that the reaction of most of the practicing women and
activists is to develop a cocoon, a protective cocoon, and part of that
protective cocoon is in continually, verbally and in other ways rejecting
what is unlike yourself,” explains Alkhateeb.
“And that is to shore up your own self-identity. I think that part of the
reason they are so negative is because this is part of shoring up their own
self-identity and because there is a hidden fear that if they let down their
guard that they’ll stop covering. And if they allow any space in their mind
to alternative ways of thinking that their thinking will fall apart. And
that means that the underlying precepts and concepts are not strong.”
WHERE DOES HIJAB FIT ON THE ISLAMIC LADDER?
“While it is correct to say that Hijab is correct in the teaching of Islam
we tend to forget that there are many other basic issues, why the over
obsession?” asks Jamal Badawi, a member of the North American Fiqh Council.
Part of the reason some Muslims treat non-Hijabis so harshly is because of
their lack of understanding about where the obligation of Hijab ranks on the Islamic ladder.
A more correct approach would be gradual and would mean implementing more important aspects of Islam, like Iman (faith), and praying five times a day before moving on to requirements like Hijab.
“We fail to see any Ayah (verse of the Quran) pertaining to Hijab in the
entire Makkan revelation that was given to the Prophet, that’s almost 13
years. The injunctions about more detailed aspects relating to the righteous Muslim community were revealed during the Medinan period. Some in the middle, and later part of that period,” explains Badawi,
“This is a revealing lesson for us because it shows that Allah knew in
advance what injunctions He wanted to reveal,” he adds. "Yet He delayed the revelation of those matters until many, many years of preparation on the level of Iman, submission to Allah, love of Allah and the sincere desire to voluntarily obey Allah and His Messenger. Once that base was established it wasn’t difficult at all for the believing women to willingly abide by the injunctions of Allah. "
Badawi says this is similar to how the Islamic commandment forbidding
intoxicants was introduced.
“The same process of preparation took place to the point that when the final prohibition of intoxicants was revealed it wasn’t difficult for men to abide by that willingly and immediately.” He explains this was especially
difficult for Muslim men, who were the ones reported more likely to consume
alcohol than women at that time.
“Some well-intentioned Muslims seem to miss these lessons from the gradual revelation and become too legalistic to the point of doing more harm than benefit, notwithstanding their good intentions,” adds Badawi.
(continued in the following post)
anyways, :k: good job sister.