The Truth of the Matter: Why some Muslim countries abandoned hijab in the 1900's.

So there has been a lot of controversy lately over what two "supposed" journalists said in the Washington Post.  I refer to them as "supposed" journalists because journalism takes investigation and should not be based off personal belief only.

In the article written by Asra Nomani and Hala Arafa it was stated that hijab is not required in Islam and part of this proof is in the fact that neither Egyptian or Indian women wore hijab for quite some time prior to the 1980's.

"Born in the 1960s into conservative but open-minded families (Hala in Egypt and Asra in India), we grew up without an edict that we had to cover our hair," (Nomani & Arafa, 2015).

So why exactly didn't Egyptian and Indian women wear hijab during this time?  According to Nomani and Arafa (2015) it was a result of the Iranian revolution and "well-funded Saudi clerics."  I have heard many stories about why women didn't wear scarves during this time.  The husband of one of my best friends even said it was because the Muslim Brotherhood rewrote the Quran.

Being married to and Egyptian and living in Egypt has given me a lot of insight.  Looking at pictures of my husband's family from this time, most of the women did not wear hijab.  It wasn't until the 80's that they began to do so.  While some people, such as Nomani & Arafa suggest that women didn't wear it because it wasn't required in Islam I got another story from talking to women who didn't wear the scarf during those times.

One woman, Sara (62 years old), told me that she went without wearing hijab most of her youthful years.  When I asked her why she did that she had a different perspective to explain.  "For a long time, Egypt was ruled by Europeans, the French and English.  During this time, and for some time after, Egypt was not a very religious country. After we became free it took some time to put things back to how they were supposed to be." (Translated from Arabic)

Another woman, Fatma (59 years old) told me a similar story. "When we were under English rule women who wore the veil were seen as simple.  Not because they were, but because the English were seen as sophisticated because they had money.  A lot of women chose to wear European clothes and take it off because they wanted to be seen as sophisticated.  We knew it was wrong but we didn't care so much then."

I spoke to seven women in total ranging from 55-79 years of age.  All of their stories were very similar. In fact, not a single woman told me that they believed it was because the hijab was never really required but I was told by every woman that it was removed as a symbol of status.

Similarly to Egypt, India was under British rule for hundreds of years.  When I first converted to Islam (2011) I spoke to an Indian woman at the mosque I attended and inquired about why she covers herself for prayer but not outside the mosque.  She told me that this was because in Indian culture, they do not wear a scarf all the time.  She went on to tell me she believes in Quran it is required for us to wear and encouraged me to continue doing so.

Hijab is uncommon in many predominantly Muslim countries such as Lebanon, India, and Morocco. All of these countries were at one time or another under European rule.  In Morocco, it is tradition that upper and middle class individuals don't wear scarf to distinguish themselves from the lower class.  This sounds very similar to the stories I was told by Egyptian women.

What does all of this mean, well, good journalism shows us that women in Egypt chose not to wear the scarf because of social pressure to fit in with the Europeans who ruled for quite some time not because it was never required in Islam. Many Europeans stayed living in Egypt until the revolution of 1952. According to the evidence it is easy to understand that it took some time before Muslim women in Egypt began wearing the scarf again due to social pressure.

Nomani and Arafa's article is insulting to every intelligent Muslim woman who follows God's command and is an insult to proper journalism.  As I have stated before, too many people want to blame Islam when they do not want to follow God's commands instead of just owning up to their sin.


Reference:

Nomani, A., & Arafa, H. (2015, December 21). As Muslim women, we actually ask you not to wear the hijab in the name of interfaith solidarity. The Washington Post. Retrieved December 27, 2015, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/12/21/as-muslim-women-we-actually-ask-you-not-to-wear-the-hijab-in-the-name-of-interfaith-solidarity/

Moderate, Liberal, or Salafi... Muslims in America

What happened to just being Muslim?  Lately, with all the anti-Islamic sentiment going on in the United States, Muslims themselves have become more and more separated from one another.  In some cases, turning against one another.

Please note that I am NOT trying to judge anyone in this post, please read everything to understand my point. While I hate the use of segregating terms, it is used here to distinguish between two extremes. 

Image from Al Arabia News
Diversity is common among Muslims in America, coming from different cultures around the world.

In a long conversation with my husband, we noticed that many Muslims (converts, born Muslims, and immigrants) tend to swing one of two ways in the United States. The diversity between Muslims is no problem in general, but these two groups are pushing so hard against one another that they are driving themselves further and further away from the meaning of Islam. No longer are we one Ummah, but a Nation divided against itself.

First you have the liberals.  Women who don't believe in wearing hijab, individuals who believe anything goes.  Some common beliefs of liberals are that homosexuality is accepted in Islam, practicing Christian holidays, drinking alcohol, associating with non-Maharam (people of the opposite sex outside your immediate family) outside of work, dating, adultery, etc.  Personally, I have nothing against these individuals.  I am NOT going to judge someone for their sins.  What bothers me is that instead of saying that what they are doing goes against Islamic beliefs, they say that anyone who doesn't believe in what they do is a 'Salafi' (or Wahabi).   Their attitude: We are right, they are wrong.  

Salafis, on the other hand, are closer to terrorist extremists.  They believe only in what has been written in Quran and Hadith taken literally as written.  They believe there is no interpretation outside of the exact way it is written.  Islam is divided into schools of fiqh (fiqh means the understanding or interpretations of Islamic laws).  Salafis believe that these schools of fiqh have moved Islam away from it's true meaning.

Salafis often seem like they are always judging others.  Salafis will argue this point, but from what I have experienced in the United States and Egypt, this is true.  They follow strictly the harshest views of Islam, including that Muslims should not befriend or associate with Christians.  Salafis think lower of women's rights, such as women can not hold public office, and must wear traditional Arab clothing (niqab and abaya-black).  Salafis are great at recruiting new Muslims to Islam but tend to paint a very black and white picture for them, often resulting in many leaving Islam.  To a Salafi, anyone who doesn't follow their strict rules is viewed as an infidel.  Again their attitude is, we're right, and you're wrong.

What we don't tend to see much of anymore is the moderate Muslims.  Again, while I hate the use of segregating terms, it is used here to distinguish between two extremes. Nothing more.  My husband and I view ourselves, and most of the people we associate with, moderate Muslims.   We believe that hijab is a requirement, we believe women can be educated, hold public office, and work (though her first duty is to God and her family). We believe Sharia has it's place in the world, but also acknowledge that religion is not supposed to be compulsory. We follow true Sharia in that is should only be used in judging Muslims, and not in judging others outside Islam. We believe homosexuality is forbidden and that associating with a non-Maharam outside of a professional setting is wrong.  We don't believe we are always right, and have the ability to have religious conversations, some other extremes do not.  We commit sins; everyone does.  The difference between moderate Muslims and the other two extremes is that we acknowledge that they are sins and do not represent Islam.  We are wrong, Islam is not, it is no one's fault but our own.   We do not blame one group or the other for our mistakes.  We pray that we become better Muslims and ask God to forgive us.

Muslims make mistakes; we are all humans.  No human is perfect, but our religion is.  Interpretations can be misguided and wrong (extremists of all ends of the spectrum come to mind).  Instead of fighting against one another and blaming each other, isn't it just easier to acknowledge we are sinners and ask God for forgiveness? Why do we have to segregate ourselves from one another? One extreme to another?  In a time where so many people are against peaceful Muslims, we are making it only harder on ourselves and non-Muslims to understand our religion by dividing.  Instead of spending so much time pushing against other Muslims, that time could be spent repairing our image and coming together to become better Muslims in the eyes of God.  Isn't that what matters most?  Not who is right and who is wrong?

Please note:  When talking about extremists I am not referring to Daash or ISIS/ISIL.  They are an entirely different extreme that can not be brought together and are a terrorist group. I do not support terrorism, Daash, or ISIS/ISIL.