TO VEIL OR NOT TO VEIL, THAT IS THE QUESTION

The Oprah Show did an introduction of Islam on October 5, 2001, which
was called Islam 101. Oprah, whose program is broadcast to most of the
world, wanted to introduce Islam to the American public. "Since our
world was horribly shaken three weeks ago," she told her viewers, "all
eyes have focused on a part of the world and a set of beliefsthat many
of us know very little about. We're told that terrorism violates the
teachings of Islam, but what is Islam? Who are Muslims? What are their
practices?"
This was promising. Moreover, Oprah was friendly and open to what
Muslims, who constituted the majority of the audience during that
show, had to say. Even the expert she had asked to the show,
anthropologist Akbar Ahmed, was Muslim. But did we discuss the meaning
of being Muslim, or the problem ofviolence, or even the rage caused by
American foreign policy in the region? No, the Muslim audience had
more pressing things to discuss. The show provedto be a mirror of our
intellectual bankruptcy, amirror of our true obsessions and fixations,
because after a quick discussion of what Islam was about, the show
veered off to discuss women in Islam, particularly the dress code. The
"after show" segment, which the program puts daily on its website
after the live recording in the studio, was entirely about "Hijab."
This was both insightful and disheartening. It seemed that the gender
question in Islam had become the central issue and what Muslim women
wear the core of the debate on Islam, both internally andexternally.
It was disgraceful to see how our contemporary discourse as "modern
Muslims" has become so focused on the scarf at the expense of the real
paradigms that define Islam, its history and its universal values.
It is truly sad to see a certain culturally and historically specific
edict with controversial roots and implications--becoming the raison
d'être for contemporary Muslims while the larger parameters of Islam
and its challenges are rendered into obscure shadows in the
background.
In a pervious show, a woman from Oprah's audience, asked if
Muslimwomen could take off their scarves, at least until things calmed
down. Oprah had to apologize in this show for that question after a
big amount of mail from Muslims was sent to her (When did Muslims
start writing so much mail? If it is about the Hijab, I guess, we will
write). But,Oprah did not have to apologize for something the very
religious establishment in the Middle East had raised in the last few
weeks. This was a legitimate question, although it wasreceived with
hostility, even when it came from Imams in the form of affirmative
fatwas in the larger community, published in Al Majalah magazine a
couple of weeks ago-- allowing women to remove their scarves in the
wake of recent events.
I understand Muslim women's sensitivity regarding the recent fatwas or
the question on Oprah's show. They feel this is who they are and they
are not about toquit when the going getstough. They perhaps even feel
somewhat betrayed by such fatwas, since wearing the Hijab has not
always been easyanyway in a society which has equated it with gender
oppression and fanaticism. But for Muslim women living in North
America, keeping the Hijab in the current crises has also represented
a spirit of defiance against racism and ignorance. This shows the
contextual nature of Hijab, which could be a symbol of oppression or
courage and independence, depending on the circumstances. In fact, an
American women organization called for American women to cover their
hair on October 8th as a sign of solidarity and protest against racial
harassment.
Nevertheless, it is obviousthat the scholars acted out of concern and
open mindedness. But I also find it interesting how, for the first
time since the Hijab has become central to our identity in the last
few decades, the scholars suddenly realized the relativity
andconditional nature of the verses dealing with covering, and the
principles of recognition and safety implied in them. --In the case of
early Islam, free women were asked to cover to be distinguished from
slave women while slave women were not allowed to. I do not thinkthe
well-meaning Muslim women in Oprah's audience knew anything about this
or even wanted it aired in front of Oprah.
I have always hesitated to discuss the issue of Hijab in public, or
its controversial historical roots I had come across in my reading of
classical Islamic texts for fear of falling into the same holeof
centralizing this marginal edict of Islam. I also did not want to
associate myself with an issue that I consider marginal, yet so
sensitive to the entire Ummah. In fact, I adopted a culturally
specific code ofdress for myself. I cover in Muslim circles and the
Middle East and do not in the West. If I do otherwise, I will put too
much time into having toexplain why I am not wearing it or why I am
wearing it, depending onwhere I am. By adopting a chameleonic way of
dressing, --and not a chameleon character-- I have reduced the amount
of time and energy spent discussing the scarf while creating
adifferent context to discuss things other than what I am wearing. I
alsodid this because, while I believe in modesty, I do not define
myself through the scarf, nor shy away from it. It is simply a way of
dressing that can be beautiful, empowering and protective but also, at
times, limiting, misleading and impractical. In addition, I felt, by
discussing the juristic and historical facts, which informed
mydecision, I would be digging out some trivial nuance while invoking
tremendous opposition from the community.
But after the Oprah Showlast Friday I was so disturbed that I realized
this issue, at least regarding its centrality inour contemporary
discourse, has to be questioned. Muslim women are still forming their
identities and no one should have the finalword on how we should come
to terms with beingMuslim in this age.
It was interesting to see the Muslim women in Oprah's audience appeal
to the ideals of pluralism and civil liberties in defense of their
visibility and difference. However,when Queen Rania of Jordan appeared
via satellite, there was a murmur in the audience and some of the
Muslim women said that the Queen should be covered. Is it possible
that Muslims think it is acceptable to use civil liberties to practice
their truth, but if given the power to decide, they will coerce others
to wear and do what Muslims want? These kinds of questions are farmore
pressing. We have to create internal debates about liberties,
democracy and the need for various efforts of interpretation within
theMuslim communities. Such debates should replace the non-issues of
dress codes and small edict matters in mainstream Muslim communities.
We can no longer afford to have the scarf as the core of the debate on
Islam, nor as the symbol by which the level of a Muslim woman's piety
or commitment to Islam is measured. We can no longer afford to have
every opportunity and discussion about Islam turn into a conversation
on dressing, nor can we afford as Muslim women, in our communities, to
bejudged and awarded degrees and ranks of religiosity according to the
level of the dress code we abide by. The darker the color the better,
the bigger the garment the more pious. The race of ranking morally
high through fabric has no end in a path where the Taliban model seems
to be the only logical conclusion. It makes more sense to judge women
on mattersrelating to the basic tenets of Islam: regular prayer,
fasting, paying alms. But even such things were not acceptable to the
Prophet as criteria for assessing a person. Whenone of his companions
praised another companion, the Prophet said to him it was not enough
to see him going up and down in prayer atthe Mosque. The Prophet asked
him: Have you traveled with him? Have you seen him angry? Have you
dealt with him in matters of money?
When people are not noble enough to resort to the Prophetic method of
assessing a person, I try to bring them back to the basic
requirements, without getting lost in juristic and historical details,
by citing the storyof the Bedouin man who came to the Prophet and
asked him what makes a good Muslim. The Prophet then listed for him
the five tenets of Islam, while the Bedouin was saying, at each
tenet,he would do it, but would not do more, nor less. After the
Bedouin left, the Prophet said, "The Bedouin will succeed if he is
truthful."
Interestingly, an African American woman in the "after show" segment
asked precisely about this, how the list of the basic commands and
prohibitions of Islam, which the show presented at the beginning, did
not deal with the scarf, and I guess for her, did not reflect the
level of Muslims' obsession with it. But it is not enough to have such
questions thrown at us from others.Muslim women need to start thinking
for themselves and learn the difference between a command and what a
social practice open to different interpretations.
The challenge, however, is that most Muslim women are not equippedto
stand up and provide an alternative juristic view of the matter, and
the scholars who do are not willing to discuss it inpublic out of
concerns of inflaming Muslim sensitivities about an issue which they,
and rightly so, believe is not apressing one. Even those who are brave
enough todissent like Jamal Al-Banna face rejection and opposition
from mainstream Muslims, despite being a scholar whose views are
rooted within traditional Islam.
The centrality of the scarfreduces Islam to a piece of garment and
places Muslims perpetually on the defensive explanatory panel.
De-centralizing and de-romanticizing the scarf, I am afraid, is fast
becoming increasingly urgent and necessary. The recent fatwas are
revealing. The scholars would not ask Muslim women or men, to
compromise easily in something they believed to be a core command of
Islam. The events of the last week have, it seems, started to urge us
to rethink our priorities andwhat defines being Muslim. This is in
itself a big step.
However, for the moment, until those who are politically and
juristically mature and sophisticated want to discuss this matter
openlywithout getting bogged down by the many implications and
problems it will raise, we will remain hostage to the centrality of
the scarf.And until something is done, we will be stuck with the rosy
and romanticized views of the sweet Muslim ladies on Oprah's show and
forever caught up in the centrality of the scarf.
For eternity the question will not be for us, Muslims, why our young
men are turning themselves and others into bombs, or why we do not
have democracy in Muslim societies, or whether American foreign policy
is based onprinciples of equality andliberty for all. The question
will be, it seems,for a long time: To veil or not to veil.

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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