...and for the better too!!! :)
A few nights ago Walker and I were watching CKCO TV News (Kitchener) and we heard aboutA DAY OF DIALOGUE WITH MUSLIM WOMEN. This conference fascinated the heck out of Walker and I, and we decided we just had to go. Not only did it sound like it would be educational, it was totally FREE, and included breakfast and lunch. I checked my GPS, and discovered that City Hall was only about $5 from the Greyhound Terminal. When you take as many taxis as we do, you don't measure in miles or kilometers, you measure distance in dollars. LOL
We arrived at 9:15 AM, and watched the introduction video at 9:30. There were a number of panels which educated us about various facets of Muslim life for women:
-Education, careers and leadership
-Right and responsibilities
-Religious duties and practices
-Islamic dress and hijab
-Marriage, divorce, and children
This was followed by a question and answer period from the audience, and then a "Human Library Session" where we met with various women in the Muslim community, and asked them questions. It was wonderful.
Among the most interesting discoveries that Walker and I made, was the real reason why some Muslim women wear the hijab.
First off, a lot of the extreme misogyny, violence, and other objectionable practices in "Islam" today are cultural, and not dictated by the Koran. Just as certain people have bastardized certain aspects of Christianity, extremists have bastardized Islam, and given it a bad name in the world.
The women in the panel explained that in pure Islam, Muslim dress is solely the woman's choice, and she wears it out of modesty. Where Christian head covering is done to show the world a woman's submission to her father, or her husband, in the Muslim religion it is done out of modesty. The woman we spoke to in the Human Library was wearing a full face Niqab. She was born in Canada, spoke English with no accent, and chose this style of dress herself. What actually struck me as liberating was that I didn't have to worry about facial expressions, and other visual cues, when speaking to her. Since she was behind a Niqab, she understood the necessity of speaking clearly and literally. Whereas I see freedom and liberation in exposing my face, and even going topless in the summertime when it's hot (that's legal here in Canada!), she sees liberation and freedom in covering herself, so as not to be swept up by fashion trends, and the pressure to look a certain way. Her choice!!! It's the choice of every Muslim woman. I saw some that looked just like me with no Muslim clothing, others weore jeans and sweatshirts with hijabs, some wore abayas and hijabs, face uncovered, others had their faces fully covered. Even though their faces were covered, they made sure their voices were heard. A number of them had one or more Ph.D's. There was no lack of education.
Since we were in Kitchener, we could not leave without going to Veslo, our favourite Serbian restaurant, for a snack. We ate light, since we'd already eaten at the conference.
I was also happy to be able to do some networking for my cookbook, when there. Several people around the tables during the short breaks between panels were talking about their careers, and Walker and I told them about our books. I happened to have a full case of business cards with me, and handed out about 12 of them. I also discovered, purely by accident, that my cookbook is available in the Apple iBooks store. I discovered this last night, when I needed a copy of my book in a hurry.
My optometrist had mentioned a lady who was going blind, who wanted to write a cookbook, and could she please ask me for advice. Of course!! I gave her my cellphone number, and told her to pass it onto the lady who wanted to contact me. Last night at the coffee shop, my phone rang. She was in town, and could we please get together. Walker and I had the weekend booked up, and she was leaving Guelph on Monday, so she decided to join me at Second Cup that evening. I wanted to show her my book, but did not have a copy with me. I decided to go to my page on lulu.com and get a PDF, but I could not get it to work. Then I noticed that it was available in iBooks. Great!! Even though I had to "buy" the book, I was able to get a copy instantly. I'll get most of what I paid back, in the form of a royalty payment. Not only did it serve me well last night, but I was able to show it to several people at the conference today. What a great networking opportunity. :)
Â
.
recommend
Facebook
Twitter
bookmark 
print
Comments: 31
And I really hope your post shows some people the truth about Islam and Muslim women. I mostly already knew what you were trying to explain - we have it all here in Germany due to many Turkish immigrants. The only thing that is against the law is the full face cover. But that is a law for ALL, and was not made for any religions.
That's a tough one. Atleast it's equal for everyone, and that it's just as illegal to wear a ski-mask in a bank.
Then, what if someone were to invent a kind of Halal technology to allow a Muslim woman to put her finger on a screen, and it could read a finger print, to verify her identity, or something? Would that be a violation of her privacy? I doubt a potential bank robber would want his or her identity verified, and this would mean that a Muslim woman would not have to show her face.
As for people seeing the truth about Muslim women, notice that I did not reveal the topic of this article until a few paragraphs in? I didn't want a few judgemental people to judge this article by its title. :)
In the Bible, the Apostle Paul, in the Epistle to the Corinthians, teaches that women were to cover their heads as a sign of submission to God--not to human men! Even more important was his stress on modesty. This is the same idea as the orthodox Jewish man who show his submission to God by wearing a kippeh all the time. Any idea that a Christian woman's head covering indicated submission to fathers and husbands was a later misinterpretation! Unfortunately, the misinterpretation has permeated Western culture an led to many misunderstandings, including that of Muslim women who choose to cover themselves.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians+11:3&version=NIV
Then she said that by un-covering her head, she dishonours her father/husband, and quoted this.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians+11:4-6&version=NIV
She said that she shows submission to God by being in submission to her husband, and that's what God commands of her.
I'm not stating this as fact, and I'm not contradicting you, I'm just telling you what she told me.
Where/how is it written/interpreted that head-covering is out of modesty, and not submission to a human male, if it's written that man is the head of woman? Again, not that I believe man is the head of woman. Actually my step-dad never believed that either, and that's one of the reasons why he left the Mennonites!
The one thing that still bugs me though about Christians and Muslims alike, is why so much emphasis is put on female modesty.
At the end of the day though, it all comes down to choice, as the ladies at the conference stated yesterday. The ironic thing about living as a woman is there are days and situations when I think a hijab, and even a niqab would be a great idea, and then other days when I'd rather have the option to go entirely NUDE. It really depends on the situation.
The beauty of our free society is that we all get to express who we are in many ways, including our dress.
I'd have to dig for the exact verse I was referring to above. However, I believe that modesty is the point of covering, not so much subjection to men. That concept is utterly repellent! Subjection to God is good; to other fallible human beings just because they have a dangly bit, no!
a) Keeps the sun off of my eyes.
b) Hubby can see me across a crowded room.
In the wintertime, Russian hat.
a) Keeps me warm
b) Hubby can see me across a crowded room.
Yesterday at the conference, it was pretty funny. I got up to use the washroom, and couldn't find mt table again, till hubby stood up. LOL
As for self-protection, in certain circumstances, I understand that perfectly, not out of fear, but because certain people don't deserve to observe the beauty of a woman's body, because they can't show her respect.
Going nude? Again a choice. A respectful nude beach in Europe would be great, the kind of place where nudity just happens, and no one reacts because they're all used to it.
Here in Guelph a woman named Gwen Jacob went topless, and got the laws changed in Canada. If a man can go topless than so should a woman. Afterall, what is a breast, but a lump of tissue with a nipple on the end, created for the nurturing of babies? And men have nipples too. No reason why we should have to hide ours, when theirs go free. Then there are those guys out there who, to put it diplomatically, have bigger breasts than I do!!! They still go topless.
Modesty should be modesty, and should not depend on gender. Either men put their shirts back on, or I take mine off!!!
There are Christian sects that treat women almost as badly. Just look at the FLDS!