Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Burn the Burqa

BURN THE BURQA
Mike Ghouse Jan 14, 2007


Taslima Nasrin’s article has appeared in Outlook India magazine and is produced below. I am inundated with requests to comment on the article.

Taslima is a rebellious writer and raises her voice when something appears unjust to her, and that is the right thing to do, to speak up. As a civilized society, we have to understand the issues raised by a member of the society instead of discarding it.

When Passion of the Christ was released, a few in the Jewish community members were up against the release, claiming that it will increase anti-Semitism. When the Swedish Paper placed the cartoons their newspapers, a few created havoc around the globe in the name of Islam. When the movie water was released, Deepa Mehta was criticized for her portrayal of widowed girls going into prostitution, in fact the movie was shot in Sri Lanka as the cast and crew was vandalized by a few in the name of Hindu faith in Varnasi. President Carter’s book is out linking apartheid to the treatment of Palestinians in Israel , you see what is happening to him. Just for speaking out what he believed.

No society or a culture is ever perfect. These are the dynamic values constantly changing with interaction within and without the various societies and sub-cultures. Screaming at Taslima, Deepa, Mel or President Carter will not let the problem go away.

There is always another point of view. Taslima has raised some legitimate points, while some of the items she has mentioned have no basis for it.

Modesty is part of every culture be it Indian, Middle Eastern, Hindu, Muslim, Christian or American… any way you cut it, modesty is always a part of most people’s life and culture. No matter how liberal a family is, an Indian Hindu girl or an American teen would be asked (or told) by the parents not to wear the mini-skirts and go in public.

The American public has no qualms in showing kissing and close encounters in the movies, whereas the Indian threshold does not allow that. If Aishwariya Roy kissed every hero in her movies, she will be treated as a slut by all Indians, and neither Abhishek would have considered marrying her.

Each society has a threshold, a level of acceptance within. A Punjabi girl (Hindu, Sikh or any one) would be reluctant to show off her belly and bosom than a girl from other parts of the country. Even living in the United States , how many parents would allow their daughter to wear bare minimum and be in the public.

Within the Muslim families there are different levels of threshold, remember, it has to do with culture, more so than religion (I will attend to it below). You might relate with different levels of thresholds within your own traditions be it Parsee, Jain, Buddh, Sikh, Christian, Jew or Hindu. In my family we hugged every time some one is happy or sad, in some families they just don’t do that, there is nothing wrong or right about it, it is just a different practice and how members of the families respond to and accept it. The customs and rituals with your own in-laws differ.

Reformers

Taslima has few qualities of a reformer and I admire that. Two years ago, when I was responding to her, I asked myself, how would my mentors have handled it? Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa understood that people just won’t change because you tell them to. Mahatma Gandhi did not order around people to change, instead he became a part of the people whom he wanted to bring the change, he gave up his western clothing and probably luxurious life and wore the simplest clothing that the masses can relate with and ate the simplest food that people can relate with. Mother Teresa did not order the volunteers to go take care of the lepers; she became part of the leper colony and brought about the change. Neither Mother Teresa, nor Mahatma Gandhi wanted publicity; they simply went about doing things that brought the results.

Taslima bombs herself out with her approach. She “tells” the women to drop or burn the Burqa as it is an instrument of oppression. No woman (no matter what faith) will reduce down the amount of clothing on her body because some one tells them to. My sister would not wear a mini-skirt even if I asked her to –even my daughter who was born and raised here would not do that, they are not comfortable with it. I can assure you, it is the same case with your own family. A woman who has worn the Burqa will not drop it or burn it – she will feel bare. If I tell you that I don’t like the way you eat and you must change, what are the chances of happening that?

Change has to come gradually, little by little. One must be comfortable with it; you just cannot give up what is part of you. Taslima fails to understand that or she is simply seeking fame by attacking other people’s practices. If she really wants change, she ought to consider becoming a part of the society and effecting the changes drip by drip.

Religious Angle

Qur’aan does prescribe modesty for both men and women, which is not the same as Purdah understood by Taslima. I don’t blame her for her misunderstandings; the entire Muslim community is waking up to the wrong translations of Qur’aan. Please review the power point on APOLOGY at http://www.worldmuslimcongress.com/ . As the Bhagvad Gita say “finding the truth is one’s own responsibility” I will send her the 15 different translations of Qur’aan so she can take the time to learn that it is not the Qur’aan, it is the translation that has the problem.

Taslima challenges Shabana Azmi assertion that Burqa is not mentioned in Qur’aan and quotes the following verse. "Tell the faithful women that they must keep their gaze focused below/on the ground and cover their sexual organs. They must not put their beauty and their Jewelry on display. They must hide their breasts behind Purdah. They must not exhibit their beauty to anybody except their husbands, brothers, nephews, womenfolk, servants, eunuch employees and children. They must not move their legs briskly while walking because then much of their bodies can get exposed." (Sura Al Noor 24:31)
I don’t know she got the above translation, here is another translation of the same verses and I have included a few more at the bottom.

“And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husband's fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or the slaves whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O ye Believers! Turn ye all together towards Allah, that ye may attain Bliss .”

Shabana Azmi is right in her assertion that “Burqa” in its present form was not in Qur’aan. However it has become a part of the Culture, as Taslima pointed out practice before Islam. Modesty is preached by all religions – each family decides its own threshold. My sister or my daughter will never wear clothing of Karishma Kapoor and most likely your family follows the same guidelines whether you are a Hindu, Muslim, Christian, and Sikh, or any faith.

The origins of Burqa she has quoted comes from a source that I am not familiar with. There are plenty of magazines and secret books written by people to demean customs and religions, you will find those books maligning every faith and religion.


Burqa as it is worn today is not prescribed in Qur’aan. Modesty is prescribed as any culture and society would. However, the practice has been around for a long time and for some women it is forced upon by their parents or husbands, but for most, it is their comfort zone and the women wear it of their own volition. We should resist and condemn any thing that is forced upon a people. However, if a woman is comfortable in a Burqa or Bikini , let it be her choice. It is neither backward nor forward; it is just their comfort zone.

Mike Ghouse is a thinker, speaker and a writer. He is president of the Foundation for Pluralism and is a frequent guest on talk radio, discussing interfaith issues. He has appeared on the local affiliates of CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS and FOX. He founded the World Muslim Congress on the belief we all have to live together and we might as well enjoy living it. He believes if people can learn to accept and respect the God given uniqueness of each one of the 7 billion of us, conflicst fade and solutions emerge. His articles can be found at http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/ , and http://mikeghouse.blogspot.com/
Mike can be reached at MikeGhouse@gmail.com.
© Copyright 2007 by Mike Ghouse

BURN THE BURQA
By Taslima Nasrin
http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20070122&fname=Col+Taslima+%28F%29&sid=1&pn=1

My mother used purdah. She wore a burqa with a net cover in front of the face. It reminded me of the meatsafes in my grandmother's house. One had a net door made of cloth, the other of metal. But the objective was the same: keeping the meat safe. My mother was put under a burqa by her conservative family. They told her that wearing a burqa would mean obeying Allah. And if you obey Allah, He would be happy with you and not let you burn in hellfire. My mother was afraid of Allah and also of her own father. He would threaten her with grave consequences if she didn't wear the burqa. She was also afraid of the men in the neighbourhood, who could have shamed her. Even her husband was a source of fear, for he could do anything to her if she disobeyed him. As a young girl, I used to nag her: Ma, don't you suffocate in this veil? Don't you feel all dark inside? Don't you feel breathless? Don't you feel angry? Don't you ever feel like throwing it off? My mother kept mum. She couldn't do anything about it. But I did. When I was sixteen, I was presented a burqa by one of my relatives. I threw it away. The custom of purdah is not new. It dates back to 300 BC. The women of aristocratic Assyrian families used purdah.

Ordinary women and prostitutes were not allowed purdah. In the middle ages, even Anglo-Saxon women used to cover their hair and chin and hide their faces behind a cloth or similar object. This purdah system was obviously not religious. The religious purdah is used by Catholic nuns and Mormons, though for the latter only during religious ceremonies and rituals. For Muslim women, however, such religious purdah is not limited to specific rituals but mandatory for their daily life outside the purview of religion.

A couple of months ago, at the height of the purdah controversy, Shabana Azmi asserted that the Quran doesn't say anything about wearing the burqa. She's mistaken. This is what the Quran says:

"Tell the faithful women that they must keep their gaze focused below/on the ground and cover their sexual organs. They must not put their beauty and their jewellery on display. They must hide their breasts behind a purdah. They must not exhibit their beauty to anybody except their husbands, brothers, nephews, womenfolk, servants, eunuch employees and children. They must not move their legs briskly while walking because then much of their bodies can get exposed." (Sura Al Noor 24:31) "Oh nabi, please tell your wives and daughters and faithful women to wear a covering dress on their bodies. That would be good. Then nobody can recognise them and harrass them. Allah is merciful and kind." (Sura Al Hijaab 33: 59)

Even the Hadis?a collection of the words of Prophet Mohammed, his opinion on various subjects and also about his work, written by those close to him?talks extensively of the purdah for women. Women must cover their whole body before going out, they should not go before unknown men, they should not go to the mosque to read the namaaz, they should not go for any funeral.

There are many views on why and how the Islamic purdah started. One view has it that Prophet Mohammed became very poor after spending all the wealth of his first wife. At that time, in Arabia , the poor had to go to the open desert and plains for relieving themselves and even their sexual needs. The Prophet's wives too had to do the same. He had told his wives that "I give you permission to go out and carry out your natural work". (Bukhari Hadis first volume book 4 No. 149). And this is what his wives started doing accordingly. One day, Prophet Mohammed's disciple Uman complained to him that these women were very uncomfortable because they were instantly recognisable while relieving themselves. Umar proposed a cover but Prophet Mohammed ignored it. Then the Prophet asked Allah for advice and he laid down the Ayat (33:59) (Bukhari Hadis Book 026 No. 5397).

This is the history of the purdah, according to the Hadis. But the question is: since Arab men too relieved themselves in the open, why didn't Allah start the purdah for men? Clearly, Allah doesn't treat men and women as equals, else there would be purdah for both! Men are higher than women. So women have to be made walking prisons and men can remain free birds.

Another view is that the purdah was introduced to separate women from servants. This originates from stories in the Hadis. One story in the Bukhari Hadis goes thus: After winning the Khyber War, Prophet Mohammed took over all the properties of the enemy, including their women. One of these women was called Safia. One of the Prophet's disciples sought to know her status. He replied: "If tomorrow you see that Safia is going around covered, under purdah, then she is going to be a wife. If you see her uncovered, that means I've decided to make her my servant.

"The third view comes from this story. Prophet Mohammed's wife Ayesha was very beautiful. His friends were often found staring at her with fascination. This clearly upset the Prophet. So the Quran has an Ayat that says, "Oh friends of the prophet or holy men, never go to your friend's house without an invitation. And if you do go, don't go and ask anything of their wives". It is to resist the greedy eyes of friends, disciples or male guests that the purdah system came into being. First it was applicable to only the wives of the holy men, and later it was extended to all Muslim women. Purdah means covering the entire body except for the eyes, wrist and feet. Nowadays, some women practise the purdah by only covering their hair. That is not what is written in the Hadis Quran. Frankly, covering just the hair is not Islamic purdah in the strict sense.

In the early Islamic period, Prophet Mohammed started the practice of covering the feet of women. Within 100 years of his death, purdah spread across the entire Middle East . Women were covered by an extra layer of clothing. They were forbidden to go out of the house, or in front of unknown men. Their lives were hemmed into a tight regime: stay at home, cook, clean the house, bear children and bring them up. In this way, one section of the people was separated by purdah, quarantined and covered.

Why are women covered? Because they are sex objects. Because when men see them, they are roused. Why should women have to be penalised for men's sexual problems? Even women have sexual urges. But men are not covered for that. In no religion formulated by men are women considered to have a separate existence, or as human beings having desires and opinions separate from men's. The purdah rules humiliate not only women but men too. If women walk about without purdah, it's as if men will look at them with lustful eyes, or pounce on them, or rape them. Do they lose all their senses when they see any woman without burqa?

My question to Shabana and her supporters, who argue that the Quran says nothing about purdah is: If the Quran advises women to use purdah, should they do so? My answer is, No. Irrespective of which book says it, which person advises, whoever commands, women should not have purdah. No veil, no chador, no hijab, no burqa, no headscarf. Women should not use any of these things because all these are instruments of disrespect.

These are symbols of women's oppression. Through them, women are told that they are but the property of men, objects for their use. These coverings are used to keep women passive and submissive. Women are told to wear them so that they cannot exist with their self-respect, honour, confidence, separate identity, own opinion and ideals intact. So that they cannot stand on their own two feet and live with their head held high and their spine strong and erect.

Some 1,500 years ago, it was decided for an individual's personal reasons that women should have purdah and since then millions of Muslim women all over the world have had to suffer it. So many old customs have died a natural death, but not purdah. Instead, of late, there has been a mad craze to revive it. Covering a woman's head means covering her brain and ensuring that it doesn't work. If women's brains worked properly, they'd have long ago thrown off these veils and burqas imposed on them by a religious and patriarchal regime.
What should women do? They should protest against this discrimination. They should proclaim a war against the wrongs and ill-treatment meted out to them for hundreds of years. They should snatch from the men their freedom and their rights. They should throw away this apparel of discrimination and burn their burqas.
(Nasrin, a Bangladeshi writer, currently lives in Calcutta )


A few more translations:

Sarwar : Tell the believing woman to cast down their eyes, guard their chastity, and not to show off their beauty except what is permitted by the law. Let them cover their breasts with their veils. They must not show off their beauty to anyone other than their husbands, father, father-in-laws, sons, step-sons, brothers, sons of brothers and sisters, women of their kind, their slaves, immature male servants, or immature boys. They must not stamp their feet to show off their hidden ornaments. All of you believers, turn to God in repentance so that perhaps you will have everlasting happiness.

Free Mind : And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and keep covered their private parts, and that they should not show-off their beauty except what is apparent, and let them cast their shawls over their cleavage. And let them not show-off their beauty except to their husbands, or their fathers, or fathers of their husbands, or their sons, or the sons of their husbands, or their brothers, or the sons of their brothers, or the sons of their sisters, or their children that come after them, or those who are still their dependants, or the male servants who are without need, or the child who has not yet understood the composition of women. And let them not strike with their feet in a manner that reveals what they are keeping hidden of their beauty. And repent to God, all of you believers, that you may succeed.

Yusuf Ali : And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husband's fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or the slaves whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O ye Believers! turn ye all together towards Allah, that ye may attain Bliss.

6 comments:

  1. Dear brother Mike Ghouse:

    Assalamu Alaikum,

    Please visit our website www.irfi.org

    where we have posted more than 80 articles on Hijab, headscarf, burqa, etc.

    I hope this will be beneficial to all of your members of Muslim World Congress.

    With best regards,

    Jazakallah,

    Ibrahim B. Syed

    President, Islamic Research Foundation International, 7102 W. Shefford Lane, Louisville, KY 40242, USA. Phone (Daytime) : (502) 287-6262 Evenings: (502) 423-1988 E-Mail: PRESIDENT@IRFI.ORG WEBSITE: http://WWW.IRFI.ORG

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dear Friends,

    As a western woman (from Ireland) who has worked for the UN & European Union in the Middle East, I agree with Mike completely. I did not have to wear a Burqa & no one forced me to do so, but in certain regions, I felt that wearing the Burqa was a sign of respect to the people - men, women, children - with whom I was working with. In these regions, I felt very comfortable in my Burqa. I do think modesty is something that must be respected & unfortunately, is something that globalization is having a negative influence upon.

    Dr Maura Sheehan
    Associate Professor, Economics
    Graduate School of Management
    University of Dallas
    Irving, TX

    In a message dated 1/16/2007 5:11:26 P.M. Central Standard Time, MIKEGHOUSE@aol.com writes:
    Modesty is prescribed as any culture and society would. However, the practice has been around for a long time and for some women it is forced upon by their parents or husbands, but for most, it is their comfort zone and the women wear it of their own volition. We should resist and condemn any thing that is forced upon a people. However, if a woman is comfortable in a Burqa or Bikini, let it be her choice. It is neither backward nor forward; it is just their comfort zone.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The decision of covering, whether it be purdah, wearing hijab, or conservative, modest "Western" dress should be the individual choice of each woman. In pre-revolutionary Iran women were not allowed to wear hijab; in Turkey women cannot wear hijab in government buildings. Requiring a woman to not veil is just as bad as requiring a woman to veil. Each woman should have the freedom to interpret what modesty means. In the end, she must navigate through the world and deal with whatever responses occur regarding her appearance. In May I will be traveling to Saudi Arabia, and while I have no problem wearing the burka, it is difficult to imagine what it will feel like to not have the freedom to remove it.

    Candace Bordelon, M.A.
    Texas Woman's University
    candacebordelon@twu.edu

    ReplyDelete
  4. ASSALAMWALIKUM
    WELL I AGREE Dr Maura Sheehan and offcourse u check irfi "hijab "is not compultion its our choice well as a muslim women and i wear burkha so my view it is safety to us and if u think in an practical way it safes us from day to day pollution and from evil eyes and hijab ,viel r the best sujjestion that r given to muslim women inorder to protect them self it is not a burden well i wanna give u an example
    that i u have a diamond just think kohinoor diamond then what u do as it is precious u safe it all around what ever u can do u safe it however it is just a stone so u effort to safe it what about "muslim women"it is more mosttttttt precious than that stone so we cannot lock ourself in bank all that sort that u use to safe precious diamond so we muslim women wear hijab, viel and well pardah shows the dignity of women "its our choice not compulsion"

    syeda siddiqua tabassum
    student of engineering
    electronics and communicational branch

    ReplyDelete
  5. No perfect culture indeed. That's why we all disagree about so little things because we have different culture and our culture is the barrier to bring different people together.

    --
    Solar Lights Outdoor

    ReplyDelete

MUSLIM SPEAKER

MUSLIM SPEAKER
Email to: SpeakerMikeGhouse@gmail.com

Voice of Moderate Muslims

Voice of Moderate Muslims
Voice of Moderate Muslims

Moderate Islam Speaker

Moderate Islam Speaker
Moderate Islam Speaker

quraan burning

Planned Muslim Response to Qur'an Burning by Pastor Jones on September 11 in Mulberry, Florida

PRESS RELEASE
August 19, 2013| Dallas, Texas

Mike Ghouse
Text/Talk: (214) 325-1916
MikeGhouse@aol.com

Mirza A Beg
(205) 454-8797
mirza.a.beg@gmail.com

www.WorldMuslimCongress.com


PLANNED MUSLIMS RESPONSE TO QUR'AN BURNING BY PASTOR JONES ON 9/11/13 IN MULBERRY, FLORIDA

We as Muslims plan to respond to pastor Terry Jones' planned burning of 3000 copies of Quran on September 11, 2013 in positive terms.

Our response - we will reclaim the standard of behavior practiced by the Prophet concerning “scurrilous and hostile criticism of the Qur’an” (Muhammad Asad Translation Note 31, verse 41:34). It was "To overcome evil with good is good, and to resist evil by evil is evil." It is also strongly enjoined in the Qur’an in the same verse 41:34, “Good and evil deeds are not equal. Repel evil with what is better; then you will see that one who was once your enemy has become your dearest friend.”

God willing Muslims will follow the divine guidance and pray for the restoration of Goodwill, and on that day many Muslim organizations will go on a “blood drive” to save lives and serve humanity with kindness.

We invite fellow Americans of all faiths, races, and ethnicities to join us to rededicate the pledge, “One nation under God”, and to build a cohesive America where no American has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of fellow Americans. This event is a substitute for our 10th Annual Unity Day Celebration (www.UnitydayUSA.com) held in Dallas, but now it will be at Mulberry, Florida.

Unwittingly Pastor Jones has done us a favor by invigorating us by his decision to burn nearly 3000 copies Quran on September 11, 2013. Obviously he is not satisfied by the notoriety he garnered by burning one Qur'an last year.

As Muslims and citizens we honor the free speech guaranteed in our constitution. We have no intentions to criticize, condemn or oppose Pastor Terry Jones' freedom of expression. Instead, we will be donating blood and praying for goodness to permeate in our society.

We plan to follow Jesus Christ (pbuh), a revered prophet in Islam as well as Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) – that of mitigating the conflicts and nurturing good will for the common good of the society.

We hope, this event and the message will remind Muslims elsewhere in the world as well, that violence is not the way. Muslims, who react violently to senseless provocation, should realize that, violence causes more violence, and besmirches the name of the religion that we hold so dear. We believe that Prophet Muhammad was a mercy to the mankind, and we ought to practice what we believe and preach. We must not insult Islam by the negative reactions of a few.

We can only hope it will bring about a change in the attitude of the followers of Pastor Jones, and in the behavior of those Muslims who reacted violently the last time Pastor sought notoriety – We hope this small step towards a bridge to peaceful coexistence would propel us towards building a cohesive society.

Like most Americans a majority of Muslims quietly go about their own business, but it is time to speak up and take positive action instead of negative reaction. May this message of peace and goodwill reverberate and reach many shores.

Lastly, we appreciate the Citizens of Mulberry, Florida, Honorable Mayor George Hatch, City Commissioners, police and Fire Chiefs for handing this situation very well. This will add a ‘feather of peace’ in the City’s reputation. We hope Mulberry will be a catalyst in showing the way in handling conflict with dignity and peace.

We thank the Media for giving value to the work towards peace rather than conflict.






URL- http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/08/planned-muslim-response-to-quran_18.html



Thank you.

CIVIL DIALOGUE

The people in Dallas are making an effort to understand and clean their own hearts first, when we are free from bias, it would be easy to share that with others. Islam teaches us in so many ways to "respect the otherness of others" and it is time we find simple practical ways of doing it.