The Islamic veil or hijab refers to the
loose-fitting, plain and opaque outer garments which cover a Muslim woman’s
body. While basically identical to the clothing depicted in traditional
Christian representations of Mary (may God praise her and her son), and every
nun who has sought to emulate her since, the hijab is readily singled
out as sign of extremism, the supposedly inferior status of Muslim women, Those
who see Muslim women as little more than sex objects are dismayed at the
phenomena of educated, professional or, in any case, ‘free’ Western women
turning to Islam. The claim that female converts are either brainwashed
fanatics blinded by their veils or suppressed victims frantic to be liberated
is no longer accepted. Although, sensationalist and often politically-motivated
reports of oppressed Muslim women in some contemporary backward societies still
enforce the negative stereotype. What follows is a brief look at the
status of women in Islam though comparing the role of the veil in both Islam
and Christianity.
“Whoever works righteousness, man or woman, and has faith, verily , to
them We will give a new life, good and pure. And We will bestow on such
their reward according to the best of their actions.” (Quran 16:97)
In what would form part of a ‘New Testament’, St. Paul
obligated the then common practice of the veil for all women:
‘And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head
uncovered dishonors her head - it is just as though her head were shaved.
If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it
is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or shaved off, she should
cover her head. A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image
and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For man did not come
from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman
for man. [1]
For this reason, and because of the angels, woman ought to have a sign of
authority on her head.’ (I Corinthians 11:4-10)
St. Tertullian (the first man to formulate the
Trinity), in his treatise, On the Veiling of Virgins, even obliged its
use at home: ‘Young women, you wear your veils out on the streets, so you
should wear them in the church; you wear them when you are among strangers,
then wear them among your brothers.’
So Islam didn’t invent the veil, it merely endorsed
it. However, while Paul presented the veil as a sign of man’s authority,
Islam clarifies that it is simply a sign of faith, modesty and chastity which
serves to protect the devout from molestation.
“O Prophet! Tell your wives and daughters and the believing women
that they should cast their c1oaks over their bodies (when outdoors) so that
they be recognized as such (decent, chaste believers) and not molested...”
(Quran 33:59)
The 19th century Orientalist, Sir Richard Burton,
observed how:
‘The women who delight in restrictions which tend to
their honor, accepted it (the veil) willingly and still affect it, they do not
desire a liberty or rather a license which they have learned to regard as
inconsistent with their time-honored notions of feminine decorum and
delicacy. They would think very meanly of a husband who permitted them to
be exposed, like hetaerae, to the public gaze.’
In truth, the Muslim’s veil is but one facet of her
noble status a status due in part to the tremendous responsibility that is
placed upon her. Simply put, woman is the initial teacher in the building
of a righteous society. This is why from the most important individual
obligations upon a person is to show gratitude, kindness and good companionship
to their mother. Once, the Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings
of God be upon him, was asked:
“O Messenger of God! Who from amongst mankind
warrants the best companionship from me? ‘The Prophet replied: ‘Your
mother.’ The man asked: ‘Then who?’ The Prophet said: ‘Your
mother.’ The man asked: ‘Then who?’ The Prophet repeated: ‘Your
mother.’ Again, the man asked: ‘Then who?’ The Prophet finally
said: ‘(Then) your father.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim)
While the mother is given precedence over and above
the father in kindness and good treatment, Islam, like Christianity, teaches
that God designated man to be the natural head of the household.
“…And they (women) have rights (over their husbands) similar (to the
rights of their husbands) over them according to what is equitable. But
men have a degree (of responsibility) over them…” (Quran 2:228)
In Islam, man’s authority is in proportion to his
socio-economic responsibilities, [2]
responsibilities which reflect the psychological and physiological
differences with which God created the sexes.
“…And the male is not like the female...” (Quran 3:36) [3]
Marriage is the means by which both sexes can fulfill
their different but complementary and mutually beneficial roles.
“And among His signs is that He created for you mates from among
yourselves; that you may dwell with them in serenity and tranquility. And
He has put love and compassion between your hearts. Truly in that are
signs for those who reflect.” (Quran 30:21)
‘Islam’s appeal, wherever it has triumphed, has been
in its simplicity. It requires submission to some basic, straightforward
rules which are easily kept, and in return it offers that most wonderful and
rare commodity, peace of mind ... its discipline, safety and certainties have
an appeal for girls lost in the churning seas of permissiveness, whose own
families have been weakened by the crumbling of the two-parent family, the
absence of fathers and the impermanence of husbands, if there are husbands in
the first place rather than boyfriends and “baby-fathers”. And in most
societies it is the women who sustain religions in the home and among
children.’ (Peter Hitchens, Will Britain Convert to Islam? Mail on
Sunday, 2/11/03)
“…They (your wives, O men) are a garment for you and you (men) are a
garment for them…” (Quran 2:187)
Sex itself is not taboo in Islam. On the
contrary, lawful sexual relations are regarded as deeds of charity!
Renowned scholar and former nun, Karen Armstrong, writes:
‘Mohammed certainly did not think that women were
sexually disgusting. When his wife had her period he used to make a point
of reclining in her lap, of taking his prayer mat from her hand, saying for the
benefit of his disciples, “Your menstruation is not in your hand.” He would
drink from the same cup, saying, “Your menstruation is not on your lips” ...
The harsh sexual punishments meted out to sexual offenders in some Islamic
countries is because sexuality is valued and the ideal has been debased, not,
as in the past in the West, because sexuality is abhorrent.’ (The Gospel
According to Woman, 1986:2)
The Church’s traditional justification for man’s
authority is one it inherited from Judaism: the inherent evil of woman!
According to the bible, Satan seduced Eve to disobey God by eating from a
forbidden tree and Eve, in turn, seduced Adam to eat with her. When God
rebuked Adam for his disobedience, Adam blamed Eve, and so God condemned her:
“I (God) will greatly increase your pains in
childbearing; with pain you will bear children. Your desire will be for
your husband and he will rule over you.” (Genesis 3:16)
It was this image of Eve as a deceiving temptress that
left a negative legacy for women throughout both Judaism and Christendom.
Paul, himself a once vehemently anti-Christian Jew, wrote in the bible: ‘A
woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I don’t permit a
woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For
Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam wasn’t the one deceived; it was
the woman who was deceived and became a sinner, but women shall be saved
through childbearing.’ (I Tim. 2:11-5) [4]
Again, the Islamic conception of woman is radically
different. The Quran clarifies that Satan was the only deceiver in the
story of the Garden, while Adam and Eve receive equal blame for their
disobedience. There is not the slightest hint that Eve was the first to
eat the forbidden fruit or that she tempted Adam to do so. Both Adam and
Eve committed a sin, asked God for His Forgiveness, and He duly bestowed it:
“They said: ‘Our Lord! We have wronged our own souls and if You
forgive us not and do not bestow upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be
lost.” (Quran 7:22-23)
Linguistically, the Quranic terms for ‘womb’ and
‘mercy’ are synonymous. This is because, rather than God’s punishment,
childbirth in Islam is seen as one of His countless blessings. Besides,
the notion that God condemns the innocent is quite blasphemous! And,
while Christianity holds every newborn baby to be a sinner - the fruits of its
mother’s punishment, Islam teaches that all children are born innocent and
sinless upon the fitra: a natural monotheistic and righteous
disposition. Hence, one who embraces Islam is said to revert back to
their natural religion. It is only the child’s immoral upbringing that
converts it into a rebellious sinner.
“Whosoever works evil will not be requited except with its like; and
whosoever works righteousness, whether male or female, and is a true Believer,
such will enter Paradise, wherein they will have provision without limit.”
(Quran 40:40)
Paul’s words, earlier, also show how Eve’s sin was
used to justify limiting women’s educational aspirations. In Islam,
however, women are equal to men in the pursuit of knowledge. The Prophet
said:
“The seeking of knowledge is compulsory upon every
(male or female) Muslim.” (Ibn Maja)
Furthermore, the most honored position one can reach
in Muslim society is that of a scholar [Islam has no Priesthood]. The
Prophet’s wife, Aa’isha, from whom leading Companions acquired knowledge, is
but one example of learned women who continue to greatly influence Islamic
society. As were several female teachers of the celebrated sage, warrior
and master of the Islamic sciences, Ibn Taymiyya (d. 1328).
“…Are those who know equal to those who know not? It is only
those with understanding who will remember.” (Quran 39:9)
Many of the resurgent pre-Islamic cultural practices
that have tragically come to be associated with Islam, such as forced
marriages, female genital mutilation, bridal (as opposed to groom-paid)
dowries, honor killings and the criminalization of rape victims, only
resurfaced following the disruption caused by colonialism and the resulting
disconnect between the common Muslims and their sources of knowledge. It is
always the learned scholars of Islam, men and women, who are the first victims
of any imperialist purge. Nevertheless, in light of the Quran and Sunnah,
the veil of misinformation cloaking the true status of women in Islam is easily
removed. Moreover, Islam continues to grow faster than any other way of
life with women, accounting for some 75% of all European and American reverts -
ironic, given the widespread Western prejudice that ‘Islam oppresses women!
‘Westerners despairing of their own society - rising
in crime, family breakdown, drugs and alcoholism - have come to admire the
discipline and security of Islam. Many converts are former Christians,
disillusioned by the uncertainty of the church and unhappy with the concept of
the Trinity and the deification of Jesus.’ (Lucy Berrington, “Why British women
are turning to Islam”, Times, 9/11/93)
These women have acknowledged the same truth that led
the Christian Negus of Abyssinia to embrace Islam following a speech in which
the Companions informed him: ‘God’s Messenger forbade us to speak evil of
women.’ (Ibn Hisham)
“Verily, those who slander chaste women; innocent unsuspecting
believing women: they are cursed in this world and the next. And for them
will be a great torment.” (Quran 24:23)
Today, many nuns and devout women of the Orthodox,
Catholic, Near Eastern and African churches still wear the Christian
veil. The Muslim woman too wears her hijab, declaring her faith in
humility and servitude before God. Only those given divine sanction - her
immediate family and other believing women - may view her bodily beauty.
In effect, she is saying: ‘Judge me for my faith, not my body - I give you no
other choice.’ When faithfully implemented, as it was by its earliest
adherents, Islam offers women the freedom, dignity, justice and protection that
have long remained out of their reach. Mankind inherited from the Prophet
a great Islamic tradition when he said:
‘The best of you (men) are those who best treat their
women.’
While Christian women inherited a tradition of
misogyny from both Jewish rabbinism and Greek thought. It was Western
woman’s reaction to this poor status afforded to her and to her ‘sexploitation’
that led to the rise of the feminist movement.
“The believing men and women are protectors of one another. They
enjoin the good and forbid the evil; they establish prayer and give alms (to
the needy); and they obey God and His Messenger. These, God will have
mercy on them. Lo! God is Mighty, Wise.” (Quran 9:71)
Islam granted women contractual rights, conjugal
rights, the right to inherit, to initiate divorce, to independently own and
control wealth and property, to set up and run businesses, to earn and receive
equal pay, to retain their maiden names, etc., over 1400 years ago while the
democratic West granted similar rights only in the last 50 years of the 20th
century! In fact, besides casual abortion, much of what feminists still
fight for had already been sanctioned by Islam. Not to mention that
Western-style emancipation – essentially women copying men – has not only
imposed impossible demands on the weaker sex, but has also left womanhood
without any intrinsic value. As for the veiled Muslim celebrating her
womanhood, she is but a reflection of chastity, humility and dignity, a mirror of
her devotion to and belief in God - factors which liberate, not subjugate - and
for this she can expect a great reward.
“For Muslim men and women, for believing men and women, for devout men
and women, for truthful men and women, for patient men and women, for humble
men and women, for charitable men and women, for fasting men and women, for men
and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in
God’s praise: for them has God prepared forgiveness and a great reward.” (Quran
33:35)
[1] Islam teaches that God is not a man, but
the Creator of man (and woman); and He created both sexes for one noble
purpose: “I have not created jinn (spirits) and humans except that they may
worship and serve Me (alone).” (Quran 51:56)
[2] Hence, the Muslim man is granted a greater
share of inheritance than the woman. He is legally bound to provide for and
maintain all the females of the household from his personal wealth while the
woman’s wealth is hers alone to spend, invest or save as she pleases.
[3] Dr. Alexis Carrel, the French Noble
Laureate, reinforces this point when he writes: ‘The difference existing
between man and woman do not come from the particular form of the sexual
organs, the presence of the uterus, from gestation or from the mode of education.
They are of a more fundamental impregnation of the entire organism ...
Ignorance of these fundamental facts has led promoters of feminism to believe
that both sexes should have the same powers and the same responsibilities. In
reality, woman differs profoundly from man. Every one of the cells of her body
bears the mark of her sex. The same is true of her organs and, above all, of
her nervous system. Physiological laws ... cannot be replaced by human wishes.
We are obliged to accept them just as they are. Women should develop their
aptitudes in accordance with their own nature, without trying to imitate
males.’ (Carrel, Man and the Unknown, 1949:91)
[4] The Church’s founding fathers, men who
formulated Christian belief and canonized the Bible, supported this view:
‘Don’t you know that you are each an Eve?’ God’s sentence on this sex of yours
lives in this age: the guilt must of necessity live too. You are the Devil’s
gateway: you are the unsealer of the forbidden tree: you are the first deserter
of the divine law: you are she who persuaded him whom the devil wasn’t valiant
enough to attack. You destroyed so easily God’s image, man. (St. Tertullian)
“Woman is a
daughter of falsehood, a sentinel of Hell, the enemy of peace; through her Adam
lost paradise.” (St. John Damascene)
‘God created
Adam Lord of all living creatures, but Eve spoiled it all. Women should remain
at home, sit still, keep house and bear children. And if they (women) grow
tired or, even, die (from giving birth), it does not matter. Let her die from
in childbirth; that’s why they are there.’ (Martin Luther).
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