Re: Turkey poised to lift hijab ban
I think your reply is balanced though it is a bit removed from how at least I perceive the Quran when considered in its totality. The history of Prophet Muhammad SAW life is important because Quran was not revealed to him wholesole in one instance but its revelation was much in relation to the events as they progressed in his life. The question would be when Quran was revealed in a time continuum then how can we compress its understanding to a single instance in time and disregard all the context surrounding the time period in which it was revealed. Ofcourse that context now is called history. The divergence on issues such as hijab are very recent which have stemmed when muslims starting abandoning the history associated with their religion and some trying to jump into the melting pot of other cultures.
And there is little doubt that conscienceness of these things stemmed because it has always been the same God sending messages to humanity to declare what is legit in their lives and what not. So almost every religion today which has a concept of god has orginated from the God's messages in one way or another and what is left for us to do is figure out which one is intact in its purest form and closest to what God wants from us. And you need the history behind each one of them to make that determination.
Given that you believe in this sort of analysis of the Quran, you should read Fatima Mernissi's book on the topic of women and the veil. And don't even start with that mumbo jumbo of "oh that feminist, blah blah blah". Be objective and be open to theories and research that people were brave enough to research and write about, and you'd be surprised what you uncover about what muslims have done over the centuries.
I don't ask you to believe it, but consider and respect the fact that many women do not want to wear the hijab, and that many many more don't want to wear the niqaab. Simple. Just like we who don't wear that suff respect those who do. And I ask that the clothing piece be not turned into a political propaganda piece to convince women to stay more at home, because ladies and gentlemen, this is the WORST time period for women to sit at home quiet and uninvolved in the affairs of mankind; affairs that affect their families' lives and their own personal lives (GOD FORBID, we see the woman as an indivudal aside from her family). I don't think that's asking for much.