So, to kickstart the blog and conversation, I chose to dive right into the controversial and sometimes misunderstood concept of the burqa. Honestly, I might not have a great deal of expertise on the subject & maybe Wajid can shed some light, but anyhow, the reason I chose to talk about it is the impending French vote on banning visual aids of religious orientation (which also includes a ban on Sikh pagdi's).
Considering how the west perceive the burqa as a metaphor for imprisonment this article was liberating (http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/02/04/france.burqa.ban/index.html?hpt=C2). Granted it is purely an individuals opinion (as opposed to a consensus) but then again this blog is about the meeting of personal opinions.
On doing some basic research, I find that Oumkheyr's statement - in the first line of the article, is false (Wajid - correct me if i'm wrong). The Quran simply "urges men and women to dress and behave modestly in society". Never does it state the burqa as a religious dress.
The burqa was the attire of the dessert people in the gulf - long before islam came into existence. Its purpose was to sheild the eyes and skin from the sun and sand. In that case shouldn't clothing be subjective to location as the purpose of the attire is lost in some other parts of the world. Over the centuries the dress has become synonymous with a religion as opposed to a location.
Considering that most people perceive the fair skin as a vital ingredient in idealistic beauty, I wouldn't be surprised if people wear it to avoid tanning. I see women in Chennai wearing elbow length gloves and scarves at the peak of the south Indian summer. go figure.
Anyways, getting back to the issue of religious tolerance and cultural relativity. If I were to dare to compare I would equate a burqa (in the east) to high heeled shoes(in the west). Both of which can be interpreted as tools of society. From what i hear burqas are suffocating and high heels are painful (really, i havent tried either). They are both worn by women to find social acceptance and a majority of the men think girls in either, directly or indirectly make them more attractive.
Anyways, I'm looking forward to reading the comments about this. It would be awesome to get a girls point of view - maybe a stiletto-wearing conservative muslim? Anyways, lets hope for freedom of expression, religion and fashion.
letting this thought marinate in my head for sometime, I think a burqa can also be compared to a mens neck tie. It is uncomfortable and suffocating expecially in hot weather. But it is professionally/socially expected at the upper echleons of the corporate world.
ReplyDeleteWow, why did you have to pick something so controversial as the first subject :D
ReplyDeleteWell if you are growing up in a muslim family, everyone is required to finish quran atleast once in life (and ironically many kids by the age of 10 learn whole quran by heart and yet have very little idea of what it means..due to a very simple reason, its in Arabic!) I read quran too, I know translation of many famous surahs/verses but unfortunately that’s about it. 99% people in Pakistan or probably rest in the world are the same way. Very few people have actually read tafseer-e-quran, which is translation and interpretation of Arabic verses of quran in English/urdu. Tafseer-e-quran/ hadith(saying of prophet) are one of the main factors that divide muslims into different sects. I may be oversimplying this fact because there are other elements that come into this equation as well. For example Shia’s school of thought go with teaching of Ahl-e-bait/Imams who are family of prophet where as Sunni ‘s main point of reference are sahaba (companions of prophet) and their sayings documented by historians. Then within these two major sect, there are more branches based on many important scholars who interpreted quran and hidth differently than their peers and hence started a new sect like brahailwe and wahabi. So there is one quran but number of different tafseers by scholars belonging to different sects and infinite number of followers of each.
My mother and her family have wore hijab most of her life but never wore burqa. In shia sect , we have this concept of taqleed which means consulting a supreme leader (like pope in Christianity) who is supposedly an authority on islam on controversial subject which in simple words don’t have a solution. According to this group of scholars’ stand on burqa - women should only cover their head because there is no compulsion of covering the face –but that’s just one sect. Hardlines such as wahabis (practiced but Saudis and infamous talibans) follow abdul wahab..and his teachings apparently say to cover whole body except eyes.
I am more tempted to write a blog on it too since I am skipping so many major points here without them the discussion is incomplete. But the main problem here is that Quran is in arabic so you need to know arabic to understand the meaning of what is being said. Even than the translation of one verse can be interpreted in more than one way because its mostly very indirect way of speech especially with lot of references – which to be honest requires one to have sufficient knowledge of history, traditions (of times when it was revealed) and most importantly, an understanding of how to interpret metaphors instead of taking it literally. Incase of hijab all sect agree on atleast one thing – which is to cover the head. So coming back to your question, I personally feel women should have the freewill to decide on imperative issues like hijab. I think islam promotes a very rational way of thinking and there is definitely no place for hardliners such as wahabis. So, what I usually take is exactly what you said earlier which is to dress moderately. If a women feel comfortable and wants to cover her head for whatever reason, it’s her ‘right’ (and there shouldn’t be any laws to stop her from doing that. And yes traditions play a vital role in these things and sometime some of these traditions creep into human psyche and people start forcing their own beliefs over others on the name of religion.
Wajid - firstly, thank you for sharing all that information with us. I think i can speak on behalf of everyone else & say, that was more information than we expected. haha. but its all good.
ReplyDeleteSimilar to Islam, in Hinduism and Jainism (not to sure about others) the meanings of the historic texts have been lost with time(they were written in an abstract language in the first place). The sanskrit slokhas/verses are taught in schools and recited diligently by students with little understanding of what it all means. Its unfortunate but its true.
Also, I was tempted to write another blog just on how certain aspects become symbols of a religion where in fact its a symbol of a location. Or how these historic texts are accepted/discarded based on their literal meanings rather than on an understanding of the issues of the time.
Anyhow, the entry was not so much about a specific religion or sect but more so about the blanket topic of religious tolerance and freedom of expression.
yes wajid that was a lot of infrmation and certainly good to know your point of view. Since you have lived an experienced this around your mom, sisters and cousins it is a very eye opening point of view. Recently I saw My name is Khan and there is a pakistani actress called Sonia Jehan, who worked in the movie. Her character stops wearing the hijab after 9/11 for fear of racial outcasting, but then goes back to waering it. There is a really nice shot of her wearing it and she talks about how she felt a loss of identity when she was without it. Its almost as if the hijab is an extension of herself....
ReplyDeleteSo the freedom of allowing people to wear a certain garb or dress that is symbolic of their religious identity is something all societies should allow.
However, Niket since you made a comparison between high heels and the burqa and how they both are suffocating and uncomfortable i want to know this.....
Wajid do girls wear it for fear of being accepted in society and not come across as being too forward. Or do they wear it because they feel its part of their identity and culture. How much difference is there in wearing a hijab and a burqa ??
There are 2 things out here. Religious expression and sexual expression. As a woman any girl would want to be able to express herself sexually ...i.e look good and appear attractive, get attention from boys and be complimented for their clothes, style etc. This I hope everyone agrees is natural and part of human behaviour regardless of east or west.
On the other hand the religious expression shown by wearing the burqa or hijab and dressing moderately as Wajid puts it may conflict in varying degrees to sexual expression. If someone wears a Burqa its but obvious that you will be unable to express yourself as a girl would want to, among boys. It is however slightly possible if one wore just a hijab
All of us have seen muslim girls in the US who have lived a traditional life back home, come here and open up. I have seen muslim and Hindu girls in India, who appear conservative at home but go out to friends places, change into skimpy clothes and then go partying. Even girls in burqa's wear the best of clothes underneath. That is because girls love to dress and they do it for us guys !!
The question here is not whether the burqa or hijab should exist or not. I belive it should as then girls have the choice and freedom to waer it or not. However as a society or as men is it right to demand a certain type of behaviour. We can keep saying its their free will or right to choose if they want to wear it or not but we end up expecting a certain type of behaviour from them. That they should like you put it dress "moderately" is in a way asking women to conform to a certain type of behaviour. Assuming you live in a society where there is no risk to life by going out openly in clothes that are sexy and fashionable then is it okay to choose to wear those ?? do you feel muslim / hindu women have that right as well ??
On one hand the girls are reacting to their hormonal / behavioural insticts and expressing themselves as attractive and desirable women. Everyone wants to be fashionable and sexy...so is this wrong ?? because it is in direct conflict with what religion prescribes
Wajid and Niket. Waiting for ur opinions and I would also love to get a girls thought on this too....
I shouldn’t have used word hijab because it can refer to all degree of pardha covering head by a cloth/shawl, wearing a scarf covering the head (Arabic style) or wearing burqa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burqa). The connotation could be different based on what language/region. What I meant from hijab was covering of head with a shawl when go out in public. Almost like what western women do in winter season.
ReplyDeleteYes that’s partially true. It goes both ways though. I think majority of women just follow tradition (part of which is to get a nod of approval from the society). And especially if you are born in muslim family and living in muslim society, religion culture and traditions become one and same thing. A kid is taught to follow certain lifestyle (and it becomes part of her/his life without ever thinking about it).But there is a large group of women who observe pardah based on religious reasons too. But that’s the lot which either study or hangout with people who promote that understanding.
And going back 360 to what niket said, in certain parts of Pakistan (like NWFP ) not wearning a hijab is same as inviting people to question your character/ moral value. Whereas putting a veil and walking down downtown LA or SF, women would also get similar glances although it’s obviously because of different reasons. So it really comes down to do in rome –religion is just dragged into this whole discussion more than it’s share.
People like us who have seen these two society up close, these prejudices are very superficial. Contrary to popular beliefs, majority of these women who wear scarf/burqa are more liberal than liberal elites. And same can be true for the other lot who wouldn’t take a stand in a discussion questioning their own well appreciated beliefs.