Hijab/headscarf for Muslims

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
See in Protestant Christianity we're allowed to interpret for ourselves what unclear passages of the Bible mean.

And in traditional Judaism, Catholicism, and Islam, we are not. It gets kind of tiresome that folks expect every other faith tradition to be just like Protestant Christianity (which BTW, historically still had limits on what you could believe).

I'm not Muslim, but my understanding was always that the Quran was supposed to be accessible without a priestly class to tell you what to believe. This explains why the (Sunni) Muslim theological leadership is very diffuse/diverse. But it doesn't explain the development of a (Sunni) priestly class in the first place.

I think that's what PP was getting at with the Protestant analogy, but I could be wrong.

That the Quran is not accessible without expert interpretation is clear on its face.

As for the development of a priestly class, the reason is only one no matter what the religion: job security.

Right. But I'm talking about the historical origins, which were in part a reaction to the growing priestly class in early Christianity (as well as disagreement with some of the early Christians' theological stances).

[Anonymous]

That the Quran is not accessible without expert interpretation is clear on its face.

How hard is it to understand a fairy tale?

[Anonymous]

Oppression

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In India before the past 2 decades, you pretty much NEVER saw educated Muslim women wearing either a hijab or a niqab. I still know many Indian Muslim women who would preeeetty much laugh scornfully at the idea of wearing either of those things.

It's just never been how Indian Islam was. It used to be that Indian Muslim girls were actually considered pretty racy and liberal by pearl-clutching Catholic and Hindu Indians. That's changing now, which is sad.

Are you saying this has changed? I grew up with many Muslim girls. Not one of them wore a hijab or niqab.

Unfortunately it is slowly changing. If you visit some Indian cities now, especially Delhi, you see more Muslim girls wearing a niqab or hajib. It's depressing.

Oh yeah. It's amazing how many women I saw in burqas/niqab last time I was in Delhi. I was astounded.

Yes, Indian Islam used to be very, very liberal. You can still see traces of old Indian Islam in Bollywood - I'd say more than half of Bollywood is Muslim and they live and foster the racy, sassy, sensual, confident, liberal Islam that used to exist in India.

True story: Back in the '60s in India, my mom's Muslim friend tried to apply for a job as a math teacher at a Catholic girls' school. The headmistress of the school, who was also an Indian Catholic nun (all the teachers were Indian Catholic nuns belonging to the same order) told her that she wouldn't hire a Muslim to teach the girls because Muslim women had a reputation for wearing short skirts, lipstick and running around with boys.

That's what Islam used to be like in India.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Covering (and its many levels) is due to a bastardized interpretation of the Quran.

So I ask this - Who - MALE or FEMALE - interpreted the Quran in this manner, forcing women to cover from head to toe?

I think we have an answer and it certainly won't receive approval from Gloria Steinem.

Sure. Whatever you say, o the mufti of DCUM.

Please enlighten us then.

The Quran discusses modesty. It encourages women to cover their heads and necks and to only show "flashy" accessories to their husbands and close family members.  still ridiculous, as it's "wisdom" from some ancient text

But do tell us how it went from head to full body armor.



This about says it all. What a twisted view.

^^ What a distorted, effed up quote that woman has in her sign. I do not believe hijab is inherently a relic of patriarchy, or about religion (for many it definitely is just cultural), but the above message absolutely conveys that a covered women is like covered candy - an object, with value measured in her appearance.

And also hypocritical - she's wearing makeup to spruce herself up. It boggles my mind when someone says they wear hijab for religious reasons, yet wear skinny jeans, or heals, or makeup, or drawing attention to their face or body with clothes & accessories yet still proclaim to be a hijabi for "modesty" reasons.

Wear hijab - that's fine. It's like an accessory and it means nothing in terms of morals or religiosity. If you like it, wear it. But comparing yourself to a wrapped piece of candy just highlights the effed-up-ness of why some people wear hijab.

[fwiw I come from a Muslim background, so this is certainly something I've seen and discussed a lot with others]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
^^ What a distorted, effed up quote that woman has in her sign. I do not believe hijab is inherently a relic of patriarchy, or about religion (for many it definitely is just cultural), but the above message absolutely conveys that a covered women is like covered candy - an object, with value measured in her appearance.

And also hypocritical - she's wearing makeup to spruce herself up. It boggles my mind when someone says they wear hijab for religious reasons, yet wear skinny jeans, or heals, or makeup, or drawing attention to their face or body with clothes & accessories yet still proclaim to be a hijabi for "modesty" reasons.

Wear hijab - that's fine. It's like an accessory and it means nothing in terms of morals or religiosity. If you like it, wear it. But comparing yourself to a wrapped piece of candy just highlights the effed-up-ness of why some people wear hijab.

[fwiw I come from a Muslim background, so this is certainly something I've seen and discussed a lot with others]

The right term for his is a half-jabi.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I started wearing the hijab few years ago, and I was happy and very much satisfied with my decision. I never felt the scarf would hinder anything in my life or make me a subject to discrimination...but lately with all what's going on in the world with ISIS and the heated media against Muslims makes me angry because my religion got hijacked. I have to admit that I'm becoming way more sensitive to my surrounding now...there are times I get dirty looks here and there or sometimes people assume that I'm dumb or less educated...it bothers me.

Those of you wearing the scarf, what are your thoughts? Have you had any bad experience lately?

Those of you who are non Muslims, what are your thoughts when you see a woman wearing the scarf? Are you scared of Muslims?

Just left Safeway in Herndon after another great friday night live. Beautiful night. Many families out in herndon, lots of people, wearing summer clothes. Everyone having fun and dressed in shorts and light clothes.

And then in Safeway, a couple walked in, the man in t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers, dressed casually. The woman covered in head to toe with a black sheet. She had a 1 inch slit for her eyes. Walking behind the man, following him into Safeway about 10:00 at night, shuffling behind him.

So my immediate reaction was to race over and unchain this poor soul that is forced to cover head to toe in the heat, while her husband wears what ever he wants. Anyone that does this must be brainwashed or forced. No one in their right mind would cover themself head to toe in a black sheet in summer. Especially when their partner is dressed in normal clothes. It makes no sense. No god would would tell all women to bundle themselves and then let all the men dress however they want. I sure hope my daughter NEVER marries into a religion like that.

Those were my thoughts.

10pm here is probably like the dead of winter in saudi arabia.

maybe she feels naked without being covered after doing it so long. who knows.

[Anonymous]

The Bible says in 1 Timothy 2:9 that women should dress modestly.

1 Corithians 11:6 says women should cover their hair, at least during prayer. http://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/11-6.htm

[Anonymous]

These types crack me up. Some people like the hijab as a fashion accessory, which is fine. But don't do this and pretend you're wearing it for religious/modesty reasons. These can be cute & fashionable - but stop pretending that you're wearing it for Islam.

[Anonymous]

I was recently at a restaurant out of town and a girl walked in wearing the hijab, fully covering her head, ears, etc. Had on a skin tight black long sleeve shirt and shiny black leggings with a bodycon red dress on top. Full on makeup with matching red lips and red high heels.

It was so odd. I normally don't do double takes or stare at hijabi women and I've seen plenty with the heavy makeup and tight leggings, but this was just ridiculous.

I understand a woman's desire to look appealing so I get why many hijab wearing women wear expensive handbags, keep their nails painted etc, drive high end cars, basically really label oriented- it's at least some way for them to express themselves fashionably. But it's definitely beyond that and I'm seeing it more and more.

It's obvious the reason for the hijab has gone beyond supposed Quranic sanctioned modesty. It's a political statement and the newest 'rebel club' to join which I'm totally fine with, what's disturbing to me is how they hide behind religion as their biggest FU.


mod•es•ty (m?d??-st?)?
n. The state or quality of being modest.
n. Reserve or propriety in speech, dress, or behavior.
n. Lack of pretentiousness; simplicity.

So much of this hijab movement by women today in no way conforms to the definition of modesty. The gig is up. Own it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was recently at a restaurant out of town and a girl walked in wearing the hijab, fully covering her head, ears, etc. Had on a skin tight black long sleeve shirt and shiny black leggings with a bodycon red dress on top. Full on makeup with matching red lips and red high heels.

It was so odd. I normally don't do double takes or stare at hijabi women and I've seen plenty with the heavy makeup and tight leggings, but this was just ridiculous.

I understand a woman's desire to look appealing so I get why many hijab wearing women wear expensive handbags, keep their nails painted etc, drive high end cars, basically really label oriented- it's at least some way for them to express themselves fashionably. But it's definitely beyond that and I'm seeing it more and more.

It's obvious the reason for the hijab has gone beyond supposed Quranic sanctioned modesty. It's a political statement and the newest 'rebel club' to join which I'm totally fine with, what's disturbing to me is how they hide behind religion as their biggest FU.


mod•es•ty (m?d??-st?)?
n. The state or quality of being modest.
n. Reserve or propriety in speech, dress, or behavior.
n. Lack of pretentiousness; simplicity.

So much of this hijab movement by women today in no way conforms to the definition of modesty. The gig is up. Own it.

1000X this. In a weird way, this kind of hijab is a lot more like body piercings or even tattoo's (at least back in the day). It's a form of taking charge of your own identity as a rebellious socio-political statement. It has nothing to do with Islam. What's grating is that many women hide behind the facade of religion, though it obviously has nothing to do with modesty.

I'd say the same is true for niqab (worn in the US), although that's a harsher take.

There is absolutely nothing modest about covering your face in a solid black head-to-toe garb.

[Anonymous]

Non-muslim, non-PC response:

I have mixed feelings. I don't like it because I don't think the spread of Islam into western societies. I have no problems with individual muslims, but I do have a problem with Islam as an ideology laid down by Mohammed, who I think was a really despicable human being who murdered his religious opponents and encouraged is followers to do the same.

But I also personally like the actual headscarf it because I think western people generally dress like slobs nowadays, and the women often wear clothes that are too revealing. So I appreciate the purposeful modesty, as long as it is not over the top and extreme.

I wish there was a way muslim people could retain the good parts of their culture and ditch the bad. But ditching the bad would involve a massive reinterpretation of the Koran. It would be much better to simply shelve the whole thing and start fresh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Bible says in 1 Timothy 2:9 that women should dress modestly.

1 Corithians 11:6 says women should cover their hair, at least during prayer. http://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/11-6.htm

These are both letters of Paul, not Jesus' sayings as recorded by witnesses. Jesus let that woman with unbound hair annoint his feet.

[Anonymous]

If a woman wants to wear a headscarf--that's fine. I do have problems with that mask thing--I've only seen it once here in the US. The woman's face was covered with net.

[Anonymous]

Burning Burqas

This is what relief looks like.

No one in their right mind would wear these things voluntarily. Severe social pressure and oppression forces women to do this.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-incredible-photos-show-civilians-celebrating-freedom-in-syria-by-cutting-beards-and-burning-a7188991.html

and

http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/13/middleeast/syria-isis-manbij/