Justifying Hijab Is Rank Nonsense!

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 14 June 2023 One reader, Shaheen is of the view that "Hijab is Farz mandated by the Quran and anyone who calls it not mandatory, is not a Muslim". The reader must read Tavleen Singh's latest column in The Indian Express (Sunday, June 11). In her article, " Fifth column by Tavleen Singh: No More Dog Whistles, Please," she trenchantly writes, " A Saudi woman astronaut has just returned from a trip to the International Space Station. In a country in which till just the other day women were not allowed to drive a car the changes that are taking place are miraculous. In India, Muslim women are marching firmly backwards. In Srinagar last week there were problems at a girls’ school because the principal said girls should not be covered in Arab style robes and headgear when they came to school. There was so much resistance over this that the poor principal backed down and requested his students to at least wear burqas and hijabs that were in the colours of the school uniform. For this to be happening in a state where women were allowed to pray in mosques and where a burqa was almost never seen before jihadism arrived, this is truly sad. " It's a matter of pity that in India, the Muslim women themselves are in favour of covering their faces and the irony is that they call it an expression of freedom! Sorry, this is a reverse expression of freedom. Their plight is aggravated by chauvinistic men who will say that, "not wearing a hijab is not always an expression of freedom." I'm afraid, subcontinental Muslims are the most fanatic and backward on many counts. Their understanding of Islam comes via Deobandi and Barelvi factions of Sunni Islam in South Asia. Because of abiding differences between them, these two sub-sects have built up walls of hatred and mistrust between them over time. As we say in Swahili, "Kef Betwe Rim Ze'no' Tona Empute" (When two elephants fight, grass suffers). The majority of bovine-brained Muslims of the sub-continent suffer because the clerics of these two sub-sects fight and issue prehistoric edicts that are mandatory. Is a woman's existence limited to wearing a hijab or Abaya? You're subjugated when you're willing to be subjugated. These women must realize that nowhere in their Quran, wearing a hijab has been mandated. It's not a Farz. Quran is the most ambiguous and interpretative book, written and compiled by many an amanuensis. That's why there're so many sects, sub-sects and a battery of armchair interpreters and exegetes, explaining its 6, 234 mostly obscure verses in their own way. There's no unanimity and uniformity. Here comes your own prudence and contemporary thinking that can enable you to think rationally. You cannot lead your life as per the diktats of a 7th-century desert book meant for the yokels of that era. The reader's name is Shaheen, which's a gender-neutral name. Yet, I assume that the reader is a female. Anyway, whether a male or a female, remember what Allama Iqbal said, "Nahin Tera Nasheman Qasr-e-Sultani Ke Gunbad Par/ Tu SHAHEEN Hai, Basera Kar Paharon Ki Chattanon Mein" (Your abode is not on the dome of a royal palace / You're a FALCON, live in the rocks of the mountains). Fly high, don't crawl and die wearing a hideous black mask throughout your life. This is not your destiny. Nor should you justify this idiocy, because to justify is to falsify. ---- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/justifying-hijab-nonsense/d/129991 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism