Hijab the politics Of the Muslim Veil (Our Story Our Voice) 2007
Published 2012-02-24
What is the big deal over a womans head dress? The hijab identifies women as followers of Islam, with it also comes tremendous responsibility. The hijab is not merely a covering dress, but more importantly, it is behavior, manners, speech and appearance in public. The headscarf is an outer manifestation of an inner commitment to worshipping. It symbolizes a commitment to piety and is a form of spirtual beauty. It is also a symbol of human cultural diversity.
Europeans through the lens of cultural supremacy and sheer arrogance assume that the values of Europeans should be the values of the world. And unless the rest of the world is struggling to be more like them, the world is backward and oppressed.
This is the continuation of the tradition in orientalist thinking which misunderstood everything in African culture it saw. It is ironic that the issue of "liberation" in the West is anchored almost exclusively to sex: Freedom is an expression of excessiveness and amorality.
And while they would say "choice" when it comes to Western societies, the word is "coerced, and brainwashed" for Islamic communities. However, the majority of Hollywood actresses and singers always end up 1/2 naked in FHM and the like to appease the sexualization and commodification of Western markets. Yet this is not labelled as a form of denigration and oppression. There is a serious social expectation in Western societies to sexualize women, from Rihanna to Beyonce, all of them express themselves with degrees of nudity.
So what is the real issue the West has with the Hijab? The Hijab is a cultural political symbol of the face of the rise of Islam. Every year more of the West sees women wearing this "alien" dress on their high streets. It is a political sign of a world they have always been at odds with. But now the Muslim is again in Europe, but not with weapons of war, but weapons of culture. Now in the UK we see White skinned British girls walking down Oxford street in hijab. A serious threat to the "Europeanization" which is being diminished in the face of multiculturalism.
All Comments (2)
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Where in Quran does it say women must cover their hair??? Allah speaks of the body cover, not the hair. Allah also says Quran is completed in full details yet most Muslims choose to add to Quran by following hadith which came 200yrs after the passing of our prophet man written doctrine! Allah words is of perfection! hadith is filled with lies and contradictions QURAN ALONE IS ENOUGH BECAUSE ALLAH SAYS SO! May Allah guide us all.
