I’ve been thinking about this particular subject quite a bit lately… women’s rights, especially Muslim women’s rights, is a big thing now. People like Irshad Manji, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Asra Nomani, and Amina Wadud are all aplauded by the Western media because they ‘dare’ to ‘speak out against discrimination of women in Islam’. People call them ‘heroines’, ‘examples of strong Muslim women’, etc. And why? Because under the guise of ‘reforming Islam’, they are trying to destroy it. They accuse the Qur’an and Sunnah of being ‘misogynistic’, of being discriminatory against women, of treating women as ‘second-class citizens’. And what’s worse is, many Muslims actually support them, too.
Reading about people like them makes me cringe. But sometimes I can also sort of understand where they’re coming from. In their calls for ‘reform’ they cite examples of things in the Muslim world that DO discriminate against women. But the thing is, those things are cultural practices, not accepted by Islam. Like honour killings, or forcing girls into marriage, or the ‘blood-on-marriage-sheet’ virginity test… all of these things are CULTURAL PRACTICES, not Islamic ones – even if people use the name of Islam to justify those practices. Yet it is because of these things that people the likes of whom I mentioned above get away with saying what they say and doing what they do.
And this raises a very important question: what are we going to do about it? By ‘we’ I refer to the Muslim Ummah in general, and Muslim women specifically.
There are two things that we must do: First, fully acknowledge that we DO have these problems. Many people refuse to believe that these things are happening, and others just turn a blind eye to it because, well, it’s one of those cultural taboo issues.
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The second thing we need to do is, after raising awareness of these isssues, we have to sit down and think about how to solve these issues, ISLAMICALLY. Then we stop talking and actually DO SOMETHING.
So: how do we solve these issues? We need people from the different cultures – Arab, Pakistani/Indian, African, etc. – to come forward, really learn about Islam and what it has to say on the different topics, and then go back out there and start teaching the people of their culture that many of the things they’re doing are Islamically incorrect. Forget about Da’wah to the non-Muslims; it is Muslims themselves who are in dire need of it. We need people who speak the language, know the culture, and know how to communicate with their people. We need both men and women to do this job, because both men and women play a role in carrying out these cultural traditions.
Furthermore, we need to establish Islamic support groups, so that those people – especially girls – who feel that their family or whoever is trying to impose unIslamic things on them have others to turn to, people who will sympathize with them, try to help them, improve their situation, and at the very least, will show true Islamic love for them, thus strengthening the bonds of Islamic brother- and sister-hood.
Also, I think that Muslim women – REAL Muslim women, who really practice Islam and wear proper hijaab (as in, not just a flimsy little piece of cloth paired with tight pants and shirts and faces caked with makeup) – need to start getting really active in their local Muslim communities. We need more women studying Islam (as in, actually going to Islamic universities) and providing strong foundations for their Muslim communities, especially in working with fellow
Muslimah women and teenagers, who have a LOT of problems that need to be addressed and dealt with. Women whose role models are the Ummahaat al-Mu’mineen (Mothers of the Believers, used to refer to the wives of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him), the Sahaabiyyaat (female Companions of the Prophet), Maryam Umm-‘Eesa (Mary, mother of Jesus), and Aasiyah the wife of Fir’aun (the Pharoah mentioned in the story of Moses): these are the women whom the Ummah is in desperate need of. Stop taking Oprah, J. Lo, and Tyra Banks as your role models, and start taking the great Muslim women of the past as your role models!
O Muslim women, where are you? Why do you not aspire to be like those women whom God has said were the best women in the world? Aasiyah, Maryam, Khadijah, Fatima… chosen by God and purified and raised in status above all other women!
Where are the Aasiyahs, the Maryams, the Khadijahs, the Fatimas, of today? You want to know why Muslim women are viewed as poor, oppressed, brainwashed slaves? It’s because we, the Muslim women of this Ummah, have strayed from the Qur’an and Sunnah. It is because WE have stopped aspiring to be like the great women of Islam in the past. It is because WE have been content with seeking the material things of the Dunyah, of this world, that will be of no use to us when we die. It is because WE have stopped seeking that which will lead us to Paradise. It is because WE have allowed others to take advantage of us; because WE have not educated ourselves regarding our roles, our rights, our responsibilites, in Islam.
If we are to blame anyone, we must blame ourselves. No one is responsible for our situation but ourselves. So now, let us stop complaining about our situation, and do something about it. Let us educate ourselves about our religion, and let us go out and do as the Ummahaat al-Mu’mineen did, as the Sahaabiyyaat did. Go out there, and educate others. Work with your fellow sisters in Islam, teach them their religion, help solve their problems, provide support, and strengthen the bonds of sisterhood in Islam. And in this way, we will improve ourselves, and the Ummah, and THEN we can expect our sad situation to change for the better – insha’Allah. After all, God helps those who help themselves.
May Allah help us all become better Muslims, and help us help make the world a better place, and improve our situation as an Ummah, and make us successful in this world and in the Hereafter… Ameen!
Announcements2 weeks ago
dua4me.com
July 21, 2007 at 6:13 PM
May Allah help our mothers, sisters, and daughters to aspire towards becoming the Aasiyahs, Maryams, Khadijahs, and Fatimas of today
ibnabeeomar
July 21, 2007 at 9:26 PM
i think this should be required listening for all muslims (men and women) especially in the west. insha’Allah i hope the notes from this lecture can be transcribed and posted online, this is one of the best talks i have ever heard on this topic:
Yaser Birjas – Do Women Really Know Their Rights?
Abu Muhammad
July 21, 2007 at 9:30 PM
May Allah reward you.
I’ll link to this article on injil.co.uk insha-Allah now.
Pingback: Injil » Blog Archive » Muslim Women & Activism
Amad
July 21, 2007 at 11:25 PM
It is indeed a problem when the major discourse in the news about “Women rights” in Islam is run by the non-hijabi, usually non-practicing women. There was a recent “women’s conference” somewhere in America and along with respectable women leaders such as Ingrid Mattson, there were the wackos as well such as Mohja kahf (the MWU “sex ‘d”-writer). Most of the women there incl. the organizer seemed to be the proggie kind. In fact these were the same organizers who put together the future Muslim leaders thing, attended by our own YQ, but overwhelmed in number by the proggies incl. Manji, Aslan and the regular cast of characters.
It is important for Muslims to take back the initiative that these proggies are riding, who are deliberately mixing Islam and culture in order to fool people into thinking that they are the “reformers”. What they need to reform first is their own brains!
hnao
July 22, 2007 at 12:08 AM
salam
We have the same problem in Europe, and I think the solution is the same as you said:
A better education for the umma and take better models than plastic women in media.
May Allah help us
Moiez
July 22, 2007 at 1:15 AM
Subhanallah I gave a khutba this past Jumu’a on the identity crisis raging the west these days,
Most youth are looking at these all-stars and rock-stars as idols rather than looking at the people who should be being taken as role models, ask them who some famous hollywood actor is he/she will know the ins and outs of him/her but ask about some sahaba or rather some AMBIYA and they wont know nothing.
Two Words and that is: ISLAMIC HISTORY
The history of Islam is being thrown out the window, neglected, thrown in a safe with the swallowed by Bulls(Taken from Amad(the farmocracy experiment)) you name it, we need classes and seminars on Islamic history from Adam all the way till the Iraq War
nuqtah
July 22, 2007 at 5:52 AM
Nice post.
But one fundamental question remains to be answered: It’s all nice and dandy to call people “back” to quran and sunnah and “purge” them of “cultural” practices. How exactly are we SUPPOSE to follow quran and sunnah? What is the modus operandi?
I mean how different are those who call muslims from around the world being steeped in “bid’ah” and being “backward”. And the fuqaha being stagnant and not following “authentic” ahadith. How different are those with this self-righteous agenda from those who call islamic ‘texts’ mysoginist?
They seem like two faces of the same coin, namely, the ‘reformation’ of islam.
jinnzaman
July 22, 2007 at 10:42 AM
Assalamu alaikum
Two comments:
Firstly, the totality of the Western discourse on Islam is not one of peaceful co-existence but one of subjugation and exploitation which requires the constant dehumanization of the opponent which happens to be us. Thus, whether such atrocities exist in Muslim societies is irrelevant. The military-industrial complex that is the highest manifestation of globalized capitalism will simply fabricate myths or reinforce them in order to fulfill its goal of domination of the world’s resources. So keep in mind that no amount of dawah and promoting the good and forbidding the evil will please the kuffar.
Secondly, the source of the problem of infringement of rights of not only women but of parents and youth and spouses is not only one of jahiliyyah but also one of the nafs. Some people know what they are supposed to do but they take their nafs as a source of legislation. This is why tasawwuf is as important of a science as aqeedah and fiqh. It is only through the mastery of the outward and inward Sunnah of the Prophet (sallahu aalyhi wa sallam) that one can aspire towards spiritual ascension.
masalama
Hassan
July 22, 2007 at 12:02 PM
Salaam. Going back to Quran and Sunnah, and following understanding of sahabah, great imams and scholars of past and present is not equal to people who reject hadiths or re-interpret them to prove their progressive ideologies or their culture and madhab opinions.
AnonyMouse
July 22, 2007 at 8:30 PM
As-salaamu ‘alaikum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatu,
Sorry for not responding earlier!
Nuqtah:
I’m afraid I don’t really understand what you’re saying… what does saying that other Muslims are involved in bid’ah have to do with the point of the post (educating Muslim women and girls about their Islamic rights/ Islamic knowledge in general and getting them to implement it on a wide(r) community basis)?
In any case, I think that there are quite a few ways that it can be achieved – for example, in my old city, we had several sisters studying at Islamic universities (through correspondence @ AOU and others). We would then have these sisters teach the rest of us in the community, on various subjects that play an important role in all our lives (especially women’s issues – basic things such as tahaarah, our rights and duties, etc.).
It wasn’t a strict “listen/ read only” thing – it was very interactive, so that we all got to learn and understand on a very personal level.
Though still in its beginning stages, al-Hamdulillaah so many of us have benefited from this system!
Jinnzaman:
Personally, I don’t give two hoots whether the West is pleased with Islam/ Muslims or not. What I DO care about is when, by denying and not proactively working to solve issues that definitely do exist within our communities/ societies, we end up giving others (here referring to the proggies, apostates, etc.) a basis which they can use to spew their filth and mislead the masses.
True, they’ll always find something to criticize about (whether it’s valid or not); however, I think the trick is to just ignore their rubbish but also see if such criticisms do have a valid basis and what the Islamic (therefore OUR) viewpoint of it is – and what we should be doing about it.
And yes, absolutely we have to strive to implement the Sunnah both inwardly and outwardly! I for one don’t understand why it isn’t taken for granted that when someone says “acting upon Qur’an and Sunnah” they automatically mean within ourselves/ striving against our nafs *as well as* outward actions – it’s certainly something I’ve always thought was pretty obvious!
AnonyMouse
July 22, 2007 at 8:32 PM
(BTW Amad, I just finished reading Mohja Kahf’s book “The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf” and couldn’t believe it – I think I’ll be writing a review of it for MM!)
AnonyMouse
July 22, 2007 at 8:36 PM
Forgot this:
“They seem like two faces of the same coin, namely, the ‘reformation’ of islam.”
Absolutely not. The liberal proggies might want to change Islam; but for myself (if you meant to imply that I’m part of the other group, though I can’t understand why), may Allah destroy me if I want to change anything about Islam! Rather, first and foremost it is myself I want to change, and then to work with the MUSLIM community so that we can strive to better ourselves and live our lives in more accordance to the Qur’an and Sunnah.
For me, the phrase “reforming Islam” has HUGE implications – most of all that it means that we want to change the Deen that Allah has chosen for all mankind! When, in fact, it is not Islam that needs changing, but Muslims who do.
Hassan
July 23, 2007 at 12:01 AM
Progressives try to “reform” islam, as if it needs their help to be better religion, while we (the people nutqah trying to refer to) absolutely, positively believe in its perfection and awesomeness, and try to revive it in its pure form, minus the bidahs as islam that came to Muhammad PBUH and followed by sahabah does not need any invented matters in it.
Rashid
July 23, 2007 at 12:31 AM
Indeed an article with some serious thoughts and concerns!
May Allah grant us the wisdom to follow the righteous path!
nuqtah
July 23, 2007 at 5:09 AM
[quote]if you meant to imply that I’m part of the other group, though I can’t understand why), [/quote]
Nope I wasn’t really referring to you.
[quote]I’m afraid I don’t really understand what you’re saying… what does saying that other Muslims are involved in bid’ah have to do with the point of the post (educating Muslim women and girls about their Islamic rights/ Islamic knowledge in general and getting them to implement it on a wide(r) community basis)?
[/quote]
Basically, my question is how would you go about educating these women. When, someone, for instance you, who believes in a puritan and salafist view of islam and may accuse the very women of delving into bid’ah? How can one teach them while at the same time accusing them of wrongdoing. Doesn’t really build too much of a mutual trust in my opinion. And may even be self-righteous.
[quote]while we (the people nutqah trying to refer to) [/quote]
lol.
[quote] and try to revive it in its pure form, minus the bidahs [/quote]
Who decides what’s bid’ah?
Hassan
July 23, 2007 at 10:28 AM
Salaam, nutqah, the scholars who adhere to Quran and sunnah decide what bidah is based on the sources (Quran and Sunnah, practices of sahabah etc).
Wassalam.
AnonyMouse
July 23, 2007 at 2:19 PM
Well, I don’t consider myself as Salafi, or anything, really… and it’s actually funny you say that, because even at my old Islamic centre that’s what people used to call us – yet the Salafis themselves looked down on us! Al-Hamdulillah ‘alaa kulli haal…
“How can one teach them while at the same time accusing them of wrongdoing.”
It’s all a matter of attitude. We don’t go around denouncing others for participating in bid’ah. If we think they’re doing something wrong, we find sources to back up our beliefs, and then kindly advise them in a good manner – NOT getting all in their face and screaming at them and whatnot. If, even after that, they don’t leave it, then hey, that’s their business. I/ we have done our job of giving sincere (hopefully not self-righteous) naseeha, and we can’t force them or bully them into doing what I/we want them to.
As for how to educate these women, as I said above, having sisters study through an Islamic university is a wonderful thing – because they in turn can teach the rest of us who, for whatever reasons, can’t do the same.
It’s what we did at my old Islamic centre, and it worked wonderfully, al-Hamdulillaah. A partial result of our “system” was that we had a really close group of sisters, masha’Allah – with a LOT of mutual trust between us.
anon
July 23, 2007 at 8:44 PM
Does anyone here think that the surah which tells men to beat their disobedient wives (yes, as a last resort, but it is still wrong) is wrong? How can this not be considered misogynistic? Obeying your husband is not always wise. Husbands are not perfect and always right. And, no the original does not say with a miswak stick. That was inserted by a translator, if you can read Arabic, you know this.
AnonyMouse
July 23, 2007 at 9:27 PM
Anon, what does your question have to do with the topic post?
BTW, the miswak thingummy didn’t come from the mind of the translator, but is based on what a Sahabi said regarding his understanding of the aayah (which is the general understanding).
Abu Muhammad
July 24, 2007 at 6:21 AM
Whether you are a ‘Salafist’ or not, you will be labelled as such by those who perceive that you wish to follow the Quran and Sunnah.
These new terms were not invented by accident and one should be aware of their usage and the intent behind it.
Anyhow what’s the difference between a Salafi and a ‘Salafist’? Or a Muslim and an ‘Islamist’?
I think as Muslims we should be aware of how various entities categorise us.
Amad
July 24, 2007 at 9:10 AM
Let’s try to avoid this whole labels thing. We are Sunni Muslims, that should suffice for the label for all the blog’s editors/writers.
wasalam.
anon
July 24, 2007 at 11:02 AM
Anonymouse, the piece is on women’s rights. I think women should have a right not to be beaten. And what is the point of beating someone “symbolically”. To remind them of your superiority over them? I have known brothers who have use this verse to justify their violence.
AnonyMouse
July 24, 2007 at 2:11 PM
“And what is the point of beating someone “symbolically”. To remind them of your superiority over them? I have known brothers who have use this verse to justify their violence.”
Yes, Allah has given men a degree of responsibility over women – but in no way, shape, or form does this in any way condone physical (or verbal or mental/ psychological) abuse!
This is clear to ANYONE who bothers to sincerely understand the meaning of “qawwamoon”. Those who do use it is an excuse, should be thoroughly condemned and dealt with in an appropriate manner (be talked to by other brothers, and in extreme cases, police/ government intervention to stop further abuse).
Tia
July 24, 2007 at 11:03 PM
Jazakallahu khair for this thought provoking post.
Bint Amina
July 25, 2007 at 12:42 AM
JazaakiAllaahu Khayr
I especially like the end – that of placing the collective blame on ourselves. Too many a time, we look upon our sad state of affairs and hastily draw the blame upon others – deflecting the blame off ourselves.
Upon seeing such ills, we need to look intrinsically, turn back to Allaah ‘azza wa jall, make sincere du’aa and translate our beneficial knowledge into righteous actions – inshaaAllah.
Tasfiyah wa tarbiyah* are the tools which will inshaaAllah work towards restoring Islaam’s past glory.
*Also the title of Shaykh Al Albaanee’s book in which he discusses these two concepts. Very beneficial read – mashaa’Allaah.
Wa Salamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatu
nuqtah
July 25, 2007 at 9:47 PM
Lol. Don’t be surprised
*sarcasm*
The Wahhabi Misanthrope
July 26, 2007 at 11:01 AM
Good article, Mouse.
Sorry.
AnonyMouse
July 27, 2007 at 5:14 PM
It’s okay, MW… apology accepted… may Allah make things easier for you, ameen.
Ardit
August 1, 2007 at 1:40 AM
AnonyMouse!
I did traslate your work in albanian. Can i know your name?
May Allah bless you, very important topic.
salam
Disgusted
September 10, 2007 at 3:23 PM
Ugh…how disgusting!! Didn’t know God had given you the right to judge other Muslims. “REAL Muslim women??” How do you know who real Muslim women are?
Also, Hirsi-Ali, Manji, and Wadud have three very different messages. To place them in one category shows your ignorance. Please do more research before you write anything and spread hate.
AnonyMouse
September 10, 2007 at 3:40 PM
Disgusted:
There’s a Hadith in which the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said that we are Allah’s witnesses on earth.
(http://hadith.al-islam.com/Bayan/Display.asp?Lang=eng&ID=510)
Though it’s true that we don’t know what’s in people’s hearts, we go by their actions – that’s pretty much the basis of all human interaction.
Yes, I know that those 3 women have different messages – I mentioned them together because they all have something in common: they claim to speak for Muslim women, their messages are centered around Islam and women, and they all contradict the established message, the TRUE message, of the Qur’an and Sunnah.
For example, Hirsi-Ali does not even call herself a Muslim – she rejects Islam totally. Manji denies things within the Qur’an. Wadud blatantly contradicts the Sunnah.
These are things that are well known and evident once you do even basic research.
I’m sorry that you think I’m spreading hate, but I stick by what I said. I’m tired of seeing women who have no proper education of Islam, no true understanding of the Deen, coming out and making outrageous claims and acting as though they’re the spokespeople for all Muslim women.
I want an alternative: a woman who is strong and not afraid to speak out, but whose role models in every way are the great Muslim women of the past – the Ummahaat al-Mu’mineen, the daughters of the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam), and the Sahaabiyaat.
Umm Layth
September 10, 2007 at 5:18 PM
Hirsi Ali uses her apostasy to win the hearts of non-Muslims, with her claims of oppression as a child. Get your facts straight, Disgusted.
abu ameerah
September 12, 2007 at 12:36 PM
“Also, Hirsi-Ali, Manji, and Wadud have three very different messages.”
Uhh No. Actually all three share one very distinct message … KUFR!
Hirsi Ali: Has openly declared that she is not a Muslim…
Irshad Manji: Refers to herself as a “Refusenik” and does not believe that the Qur’an is the final revelation of Allah (AWJ)…
Wadud: Reviles the Sunnah…
Hypocritical birds of a feather (to say the very least) who seem to flock together if you ask me. Frankly, I don’t see how Muslims can even refer to the likes of Hirsi Ali and Manji as being Muslim.
Zahra
September 12, 2007 at 2:00 PM
>
I agree. Except we need waaay more than one. I want womEn to fill this role.
Anne
September 12, 2007 at 9:40 PM
Salaam,
I agree with whomever said you shouldn’t lump all those women in one group. Irshad Manji and Hirsi Ali are far cries from Mohja Kahf, Wadud, and even Nomani (even if I feel she does what she does more for her own self promotion than the deen). I do, however, feel we don’t keep to the original practice of the faith. In how many Mosques in the US could I stand up as a women in a group of people including men and argue my point like the sister who stood up to Omar when he tried to cap dowries? Very very few. If I could have a say or make a statement, I may possibly have to do so with a microphone or sending a piece of paper with some child to the men’s side or be completely cut off from saying anything. I do not wish to “reform” the faith but merely return to a place where women were publically living the deen and not banished to houses or back rooms. I have so many ideas, so many ways to improve outside perceptions of our community through charitable work, ways to make our Mosque function better, but I am voiceless and that isn’t keeping it old school and anyone who knows their deen knows it too. Amina Wadud, while pushing the envelope in a way I don’t always agree with, seems to want to return to the old ways not dissolve the faith into meaninglessness and it is a shame to stick her with Irshad Manji who finds nothing of the faith redeemable at all.
Pingback: muslimmatters.org » Misogynistic Women: Reinforcing Gender Injustice
Zeynab
November 13, 2007 at 11:14 PM
Salam waleykum.
“Muslim women – REAL Muslim women, who really practice Islam and wear proper hijaab (as in, not just a flimsy little piece of cloth paired with tight pants and shirts and faces caked with makeup)”
Um. I need to partially agree with Disgusted; we have no rights to judge other Muslims. Only Allah (swt) will judge us. This quote from your article is dripping with judgment.
Also, the fact that you didn’t stop at “who really practice Islam” and insisted on “wear proper hijaab” shows bias and intolerance on your part. If a Muslim woman does not wear a piece of cloth on her head (For whatever reason), but prays, and fasts, pays zakat, and goes to Hajj, is she not a REAL Muslim? I’m really offended by your assertion that hejab is the invisible sixth pillar of Islam.
Activism is important for all Muslim women, not just so we better our positions in society, but so that we better our positions in the world. We always complain (at least I do) that every non-Muslim thinks that all Muslim women are the same. But if we get mad at Muslim women who don’t believe exactly the same way we do for speaking out, then not only does that silence dialogue that can improve our community, but makes us look intolerant. We must encourage all types of Muslim women (whether we agree with their practices or not) to speak out. We DO have problems in our communities (evidenced by the quote you wrote about who is a “REAL” Muslim), and we need to speak out. Yes, our words will be used against us. But that shouldn’t stop our dialogue and the change it could bring, enshallah.
Zeynab
November 13, 2007 at 11:23 PM
Salam waleykum.
“Muslim women – REAL Muslim women, who really practice Islam and wear proper hijaab (as in, not just a flimsy little piece of cloth paired with tight pants and shirts and faces caked with makeup)”
Um. I need to partially agree with Disgusted; we have no rights to judge other Muslims. Only Allah (swt) will judge us. This quote from your article is dripping with judgment.
Also, the fact that you didn’t stop at “who really practice Islam” and insisted on “wear proper hijaab” shows bias and intolerance on your part. If a Muslim woman does not wear a piece of cloth on her head (For whatever reason), but prays, and fasts, pays zakat, and goes to Hajj, is she not a REAL Muslim? I’m really offended by your assertion that hejab is the invisible sixth pillar of Islam.
Activism is important for all Muslim women: it will help us gain what we deserve (equality and respect) in our own communities, but also non-Muslim communities. We’re all so tired of being lumped together (at least I am), “All Muslim women are the same.” But we’re not! If we try to silence women who identify themselves as Muslim who speak out just because we don’t agree with her, then not only does it make us ALL look intolerant (because, you know, we’re all “The same”), but we may be losing a valuable discourse that could lead to positive change.
inexplicabletimelessness
November 15, 2007 at 1:46 AM
As salaamu alaikum
Sister Zeynab, I don’t think sister Anonymouse’s article was meant at all to “drip with judgment” or personal, infused, purposeful bias, on her part.
Of course: nothing is black and white and there are all categories that people practice Islam in. As mainstream Muslims, none of us can argue that following the Qur’aan and Sunnah as much as possible isn’t the best way.
But in practical life, no one is perfect, we all make mistakes.
But there’s a difference between:
a) Someone who doesn’t believe in Hijab at all or that Allah made a mistake when legislating it (authu billah — this is kufr, disbelief, without a doubt)
b) Someone who doesn’t wear hijab but admits it is due to her own weakness in eeman and not because she thinks Islam needs to be modernized.
Because in some communities, the latter Muslimahs are (at times) more difficult to find and the former more “let’s-modernize-Islam-so-everyone-will-love-us” attitude is arguably more prevalent, I believe sister Anonymouse’s argument was reflective of that.
Allah truly knows best what is in our hearts. We can’t judge others, of course, but at the same time, we can gently and kindly advise others towards the beautiful religion of Allah, which is for all time, people and places.
wassalam.
Nabila
November 15, 2007 at 7:56 AM
Salaam aleikum
Can I be so forward and ask if I can translate this to Norwegian? If not, I will just link to it from my homepage. I run a page in Norwegian about muslim women, hijab and also soon, an organisation to support muslim women who are discriminated because of hijab.
You can get more info if you email me, inshaAllah!
Nabila
November 15, 2007 at 7:57 AM
…and ofcourse I will link in the article, to your orginal, and give you all the credits you deserve too, ofcourse.
Amad
November 15, 2007 at 8:58 AM
salam Sr. Nabila, not a problem at all. In general, any article can be disseminated for dawah with proper reference.
jak
AnonyMouse
November 15, 2007 at 1:46 PM
Jazaakillaahi khairan sis IT… you always know how to explain me better than I can explain myself! :)
Sis Nabila, for sure you can translate it! Al-Hamdulillaah, I’m delighted at the thought that it could be beneficial :)
Njia
May 2, 2011 at 6:51 PM
As salamualaikum
SubhanAllah your article is very inspiring! What a excellent point! We really do have to have a dialogue with different cultures in order to get rid of misconceptions from within our societies in the west and be an example to the Muslim majority countries.
However one part of the article I found disappointing is
“Muslim women – REAL Muslim women, who really practice Islam and wear proper hijaab (as in, not just a flimsy little piece of cloth paired with tight pants and shirts and faces caked with makeup)â€
Im am an Individual who believes in patience and growth, of the Inner Hijab and InshaAllah sisters in their own time will come to their own understanding of what they feel represents modesty.
Hijab, Bruqa, Nikab, becomes powerful when we have the right intentions.
For me my Hijab is the cherry on the cake :)
I was once a non Hijabi, and I found this comment hurtful.
Hijabi or Non hijabi we must encourage all of our sisters to come together, there should be no hierarchy.
Other then that JazakAllah Khair for the post! May Allah reward you for making us aware, may Allah swt help us move forward InshaAllah