A SALUTE TO OUR BRAVE SISTERS WHO WEAR HIJAB
By Raeed N. Tayeh
http://www.masnet.org/articlesandpapers.asp?id=809
The proposed banning of religious symbols in French schools and the
French civil service is a cause for serious concern. There are no
illusions that the true target of this ban is the hijab (Islamic
headscarf), and through it, the Islamic way of life.
French President Jacques Chirac has stated that the move is necessary
to stop the spread of extremism. This notion of trying to curb
religious extremism with secular extremism is truly absurd. What is
more disturbing, however, is the attitude among French leaders that
Muslims have to make a choice between France and Allah (SWT).
Muslims in France have found that their faith and nationality are
compatible parts of their lives, as have the majority of Muslims in
the West. But, apparently, that is not good enough for the state,
which seeks absolute allegiance to the flag before all else.
Unfortunately, France is not alone in its zealous attack against the
values of practicing Muslims. Turkey, a Muslim country, bans the
hijab from all public institutions, including universities and
courts. And countries like Tunisia and Egypt also have poor records
when it comes to violating a woman's right to wear hijab.
This war is not a religious battle though; it is a political one.
Those in power fear change and sense an unfounded threat from
practicing Muslims, the menace du jour. In their war, secular zealots
are attacking what they believe is the most vulnerable part of the
ummah (community of Muslims): the hijab-wearing Muslim female.
In the West, these extremists feed off of their own ignorant
stereotypes about Muslim women being subservient in general, and
about hijab-wearing women being oppressed in particular. They
erroneously think that Muslim women truly yearn for the day when they
are "liberated" from the "tyranny of the veil" that is imposed on
them by men.
These protagonists are gravely mistaken if they believe that their
victory in reducing the practices and images of Islam in the home
will come through the shredding of the scarf, for they do not
understand the Muslim female.
Too often in the West, Muslim men take for granted the struggles that
Muslim girls and women go through everyday as they don the hijab for
the sake of Allah and go out into a half-naked world that fights for
the right of a woman to kill her unborn child, but could care less
about one who wishes to dress modestly and cover her beauty.
It takes real courage to go out in public, knowing that people will
stare at you, or maybe even harass you. This courage is not something
new either. The assertiveness of the Muslim woman in defense of her
faith has been inherited from those brave early Muslim women who
practiced their faith in the face of death, like Sumaya, Um Salamah,
Um 'Umara, and others.
Merve Kavaci took up the mantle of her brave ancestors as she
violated the ultimate taboo of wearing the hijab inside the Turkish
Parliament upon her election to that body of government. The scarf on
her head scared the political elite and military generals to such an
extent that she was thrown out of parliament and threatened with
imprisonment.
The mantle of courage has now been passed to the Muslim women of
Europe, and without a doubt, they are meeting the challenge. They are
leading demonstrations against the banning of the hijab in France,
and they are promising defeat at the ballot box for those politicians
who would dare infringe on their right to obey Allah's commandment of
hijab.
The fact that they are at the forefront of this issue, and many
others like it, is a source of pride for the Muslim ummah, and it
speaks volumes about who Muslim women really are.
To those brave sisters who make jihad everyday with their hijab, I
admire you, and I salute you.
By Raeed N. Tayeh
http://www.masnet.org/articlesandpapers.asp?id=809
The proposed banning of religious symbols in French schools and the
French civil service is a cause for serious concern. There are no
illusions that the true target of this ban is the hijab (Islamic
headscarf), and through it, the Islamic way of life.
French President Jacques Chirac has stated that the move is necessary
to stop the spread of extremism. This notion of trying to curb
religious extremism with secular extremism is truly absurd. What is
more disturbing, however, is the attitude among French leaders that
Muslims have to make a choice between France and Allah (SWT).
Muslims in France have found that their faith and nationality are
compatible parts of their lives, as have the majority of Muslims in
the West. But, apparently, that is not good enough for the state,
which seeks absolute allegiance to the flag before all else.
Unfortunately, France is not alone in its zealous attack against the
values of practicing Muslims. Turkey, a Muslim country, bans the
hijab from all public institutions, including universities and
courts. And countries like Tunisia and Egypt also have poor records
when it comes to violating a woman's right to wear hijab.
This war is not a religious battle though; it is a political one.
Those in power fear change and sense an unfounded threat from
practicing Muslims, the menace du jour. In their war, secular zealots
are attacking what they believe is the most vulnerable part of the
ummah (community of Muslims): the hijab-wearing Muslim female.
In the West, these extremists feed off of their own ignorant
stereotypes about Muslim women being subservient in general, and
about hijab-wearing women being oppressed in particular. They
erroneously think that Muslim women truly yearn for the day when they
are "liberated" from the "tyranny of the veil" that is imposed on
them by men.
These protagonists are gravely mistaken if they believe that their
victory in reducing the practices and images of Islam in the home
will come through the shredding of the scarf, for they do not
understand the Muslim female.
Too often in the West, Muslim men take for granted the struggles that
Muslim girls and women go through everyday as they don the hijab for
the sake of Allah and go out into a half-naked world that fights for
the right of a woman to kill her unborn child, but could care less
about one who wishes to dress modestly and cover her beauty.
It takes real courage to go out in public, knowing that people will
stare at you, or maybe even harass you. This courage is not something
new either. The assertiveness of the Muslim woman in defense of her
faith has been inherited from those brave early Muslim women who
practiced their faith in the face of death, like Sumaya, Um Salamah,
Um 'Umara, and others.
Merve Kavaci took up the mantle of her brave ancestors as she
violated the ultimate taboo of wearing the hijab inside the Turkish
Parliament upon her election to that body of government. The scarf on
her head scared the political elite and military generals to such an
extent that she was thrown out of parliament and threatened with
imprisonment.
The mantle of courage has now been passed to the Muslim women of
Europe, and without a doubt, they are meeting the challenge. They are
leading demonstrations against the banning of the hijab in France,
and they are promising defeat at the ballot box for those politicians
who would dare infringe on their right to obey Allah's commandment of
hijab.
The fact that they are at the forefront of this issue, and many
others like it, is a source of pride for the Muslim ummah, and it
speaks volumes about who Muslim women really are.
To those brave sisters who make jihad everyday with their hijab, I
admire you, and I salute you.
1 comment:
Would you like to Salute, our brave Brothers, in (NWFP) too 34-year old Sehr Jan, an Afghan refugee, died in childbirth on October 8 at Jalozai Camp near Peshawar, the capital of Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) bordering Afghanistan. On October 6, 19-year old Laila Jan gave birth to a dead baby in the same Camp. Sehr was the tenth mother to perish in childbirth, whereas Laila's baby was the 53rd victim of infant mortality since August 30 when the Islamist government of NWFP - Muttehida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) - banned male doctors and technicians from carrying out ultrasound examinations and using electrocardiographs (ECG) on female patients.
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