Muslim women speak out against the hijab as an element of political Islam
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Anonymous
But it's not like there are NO scholarly views supporting the covering of women. In fact, the last few centuries of Muslim theological thought is replete with writings on the subject, many coming to the very same conclusion that some form of covering is required. Are all of them wrong and Nomani right? Really? What are her theological credentials, other than really, really wanting something to be what she wants? |
Anonymous
| Nomani is someone who broke pretty much every single Islamic rule. And that's fine, it's a free country. She doesn't really have to be a Muslim. What's not fine is insisting that a religion - a completely voluntary club, as it were - HAS to approve of everything you want just because you really, really want to have freedom to do these things and still think of yourself as an observant Muslim. Pick one. Own it. |
Anonymous
Nomani has had numerous boyfriends she slept with, publicized this, and then went on to have a child out of wedlock and is proud of it. She is shunned by the vast majority of the Muslim communities. Not necessarily because she slept around and had a child out of wedlock, but because she insists that Islam is the way she sees it through the foggy, cracked lenses of her eyeglasses. She was born into a Muslim family but simply wants to live a non Islamic lifestyle. Hence her dilemma. Nomani should life her lifestyle but she should at least stop trying to validate it under Islam. Given her lifestyle and misunderstanding about Islamic principles, I doubt any practicing Muslim pays attention to her articles, other than to be annoyed with them. Modesty is a requirement in Islam. In Islam, anything that can be perceived attractive and appealing to someone of the opposite sex should be hidden or played down, and that applies to men and women equally. Hair is commonly perceived as an adornment. Women beautify their hair, spend thousands of dollars on their hair every year, use it to attract people of the opposite sex. Thus, it is better to cover it or down play its beauty. This is not a petty issue in Islam. Modesty is important in Islam. The absence of modesty may lead to sin. Is hair covering required in Islam? Well if modesty is required, and hair is seen as an adornment, then yes, hair covering is required in Islam. At minimum it is better to cover one's hair or at least down play its beauty. In other words, don't color your hair, straighten it, leave it cascading down your back to show it off or intentionally try to look pretty. We all know this is commonly done by women to their hair to look pretty and this is what Islam asks you not to do. Does the Quran mention that hair must be covered? No, it doesn't. It refers to the head veil but it doesn't ask women to cover their hair. It simply asks women to dress modestly and cover adnornments. But lets not for one minute think the Quran doesn't require modesty in dress. |
Anonymous
Leila Ahmed is an academic religious scholar. One need not be a practicing Muslim to be a religious scholar. How can I say this in a way you will understand? The bottom line is that the Quran is considered by Muslims to be the word of God. As such, it's understanding and interpretation for others is a crucial matter and can not be left to individuals like Asra Nomani. Nomani should continue to write about the number of men she has bed, how proud she is to have her child out of wedlock, and perhaps how proud her father and mother are of her. But for the love of God, she should stop trying to interpret the word of God to the many millions (so very sorry, not billions) of Muslims who are actually trying to live an islamic lifestyle. |
Anonymous
Is Asra Nomani's name continually brought up because her lifestyle is considered unsavory? What about her co-author Hala Arafa? It's odd that you invoke Leila Ahmed as an authority for your view when the article cites her as one of the Muslim scholars supporting the interpretation they set forth of the particular Quranic verse in question. Leila Ahmed is a serious academic on Islam and its history. That is way more than can be said for any of the various so-called scholars whose views on Islam are disseminated on the internet telling women they must wear the hijab or face damnation. |
Anonymous
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Asra Nomani's name is continually brought up because her decisions and her actions make it clear her judgment is lacking. First, you have a baby out of wedlock and then you drag your three-month old baby to hajj, despite very obvious physical and infectious dangers of doing so? Risking your infant being squashed to death or infected with god knows what? Who does that? Like she has extra babies?
The woman's deranged. |
Anonymous
A scholar - religious or not - should view texts w/in their context. Let's look at Jewish law, for example. Do you know why camels aren't kosher? b/c the were more important in another role - carrying items God didn't step in and say - "Hey! The camel is unclean! Don't eat it, or you'll suffer the consequences!" In fact, if you strip away "God's word," you'll be able to find historical or cultural evidence (sometimes conflicting) to support these outdated rules that were created to keep the masses under control. Furthermore, if I'm a religious scholar, my lens is already skewed, as I'll always look for ways to DEFEND my religion - no matter how outdated these "laws" are. We laugh at the thought of the world being flat, yet we embrace head coverings for women! We once believed in sea monsters. The earth was the center of the universe. Remember when women were diagnosed with hysteria? lol! And yet in some synagogues men and women are still separated b/c women are a distraction. And according to one Islamic "scholar," women stay behind men during prayer b/c it's not appropriate for a woman to bow down in front of a man - sharing a nice view of her ass. all man-made rules How can we move forward in society if we're anchored down by these rules written AGES ago? It's frightening to follow such ignorant practices! |
Anonymous
MLK plagiarized. Should that overshadow the good he did? Nelson Mandela wasn't faithful. Should that overshadow the good he did? Face it, PP; you have no point. |
Anonymous
MLK did not advocate for truth in penmanship, and Mandela didn't chair a Faithful Spouse Club. Their good deeds were unrelated to their sins and are thus not overshadowed by them. Should you be able to push for reforms in Judaism while snacking on a bacon sandwich? |
Anonymous
YOU aren't anchored down these rules so why don't you move forward already? Is someone holding a gun to your head to follow these "ignorant practices"? Who died and made you vice president in charge of deciding what other people should do? |
Anonymous
There are hundreds of Islamic scholars out there who can match Leila Ahmed degree for degree, and view covering as necessary. Plus, I really don't think you are qualified to sort the serious from the un-serious. You are armed with nothing but your ardent wish of "how things ought to be" and it just isn't a good yardstick for measuring pedigrees in Islamic scholarship. Just because someone says things you don't like doesn't make them unqualified. |
Anonymous
The beard is for emulating Mohammed. Who was modest, it goes without saying, but modesty isn't the first reason for the beard. |
Anonymous
This, a million times. The whole point of the Quran was that, supposedly, Christians and Jews had got it wrong, so God was finally going to send something so clear that the average person would be able to read and understand immediately. There was supposed to be no need for a hierarchy of theologians to interpret things, at least among the Sunnis. Which is why it's so annoying to read on DCUM, quite frequently, that "if you disagree, it's because you haven't spent years learning Quranic Arabic and history." In Islam's early days and for centuries thereafter, many women didn't veil because they worked in the fields or at manual tasks, and a veil would have been impossible to manage. The veil was actually a symbol of class status. |
Anonymous
But it was you, or a PP of your views, who trotted out Leila Ahmed as supporting the view that the Quran requires the hijab. That is not her view based on her reading of the texts, and she is far from alone. But the PP somehow felt her credentials were impressive enough to cite her in defense of the view that the hijab is required. Most of what passes for Islamic scholarship is a joke and is mired in mind boggling literal mindedness that has never experienced critical thinking. This is particularly true in the Middle East where the very bottom of matriculants to universities enter the school of religion because their grades are so low none of the other schools can accept them. They best and brightest go into medicine and engineering; the worst and dimmest go into religion. If it weren't so pathetic, it would be laughable that people look to these so-called scholars for a deeper understanding of their religion. The situation is different in the West, where there is a long tradition of some of the brightest going into the liberal arts, including theology, and bringing rigorous critical analysis to bear on their disciplines. And this tradition comes to us by way of the Renaissance, which in turn was heavily influenced by the great Muslim thinkers who preceded it. Unfortunately, Islamic scholarship has been in serious decline since. |
Anonymous
damn straight I would as not all Jews keep kosher |