Reply to Muslim women speak out against the hijab as an element of political Islam

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

The Quran's mandate to lower one's gaze applied to both men and women. Since there is also a mandate to cover adornments, ornaments, and beauty, the hijab helps women to meet this requirement. Hair may indeed be worn to impress bosses or colleagues or peers, or it may be used to seduce. The point is that it not be used to make any impression or point because it distracts us and others from God and encourages a focus on egotistical interests. It needn't be used to seduce, but in many cases it has been. It suffices that it is often used in ways that take us farther away from God. This is often true with many physical aspects of our body. A very athletic woman who desires to wear shorts to show off her athletic legs, only to be admired by her workout group is still placing importance on egotistical interests based on appearance or beauty. This is still not modesty.

Islam never purported to advance linear equality between men and women. Islam advances justice between men and women to promote a moral society. Men ARE different from women. As such, their rights and responsibilities will differ. Western society deems this shameful because it can only see justice as based on linear equality. One can not evaluate Islamic guidelines and law on western ideology; they are based on entirely different principles.

[/quote]

You again wrongly assume the worst motives, in this case about our woman athlete, and your assumptions again lead to restricting women's choices relative to men's. An athletic woman isn't necessarily "egotistical" to wear shorts. No, she wears shorts because sweats are too hot for summer running, because trailing sportswear would be caught in a bicycle or other machinery, or because you can't swim well in a burquini. Or--and this is important--she simply wants to feel the sun on her skin, get her vitamin D, and enjoy the warm rays of sun.

Others have pointed out the inequity: men are free to wear shorts. Most of us have seen the covered woman walking with the guy in shorts and the open short. Male soccer players wear shorts--but in some Islamic countries the women aren't allowed to watch them play. You can keep explaining about both sexes lowering their gazes. But hijab =/= gaze. And the hijab IS applied unequally.

I can think of so many worse "egotistical interests" than a woman's hair, and hair seems low on the list. Sports cars, McMansions, the bride's flashy gold jewelry at Muslim weddings, anything really showy. None of this is haram so long as the prescribed percentage is given to charity.

Finally, the rules promote an *Islamic* idea of morals. Many of us prioritize other moral values above a woman's purity.[/quote]

First of all, no, men do not have the freedom to wear anything they like. They can not walk around the beach in Speedos, for example. They also can not wear shorts above the knee. Yes, there is some in equity in coverage of the body parts between men and women. Islam sees this as necessary because women have more private areas and also because of the biochemical differences between them. Most Muslims aren't ashamed of this. They recognize the differences and accept the differences in dress code. NonMuslims would like Muslims to feel shame about their acceptance of such inequality, but most do not. Thankfully.

That said, the Quran does not mandate the covering of hair, but speaks in very broad terms about modesty and covering up beauty. Sure, one woman's hair may be worn for beauty and another for practicality (hair in ponytail, no hijab because it's 90 degrees outside and she can't stand the coverage in such warm temperatures). The point is that in Islam, the intent of solely the man or the woman is not what prevails. What is deemed best for society is. And hair is OFTEN viewed, EITHER by the woman or the man as a thing of beauty.

Of course Islam would indeed promote islamic moral for Muslims. Whose morals should they otherwise promote for Muslims, western morals? [/quote]

Let's talk about modesty for a moment, how about that, pp.  Have you ever seen a group of Amish people?  In my mind, that is a group that values modesty by virtually any definition.  They wear plain clothes, in limited colors, with no jewelry.  They do not drive flashy vehicles or do anything to attract attention to themselves.  Both the men AND the women are held to a standard that makes them readily identifiable to the outside secular world.  I do not see anything like this in most Muslim communities.  Women in hijab are often accompanied by men wearing Western clothes, including shorts, they can be wearing flashy clothes, flashy jewelry, flashy makeup, driving flashy vehicles.  When I lived in Egypt there was even the phenomenon of wearing flesh-colored tight tops, covered by tank tops, so that from far away, you could barely tell that someone was not just wearing a tank top.  Other than covering hair, I rarely see Muslims that I would identify as modest.  I think limiting "modesty" to merely covering skin is a lot of the reason there is so much pushback on this thread to the idea of hijabs.  We may live in a society that does not really value modesty, but we have all seen modesty and hijabs are not a good example.[/quote]

So because some men aren't abiding by islamic guidelines of modesty, muslim women should give up modesty too? Is that your contention? [/quote]

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