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][quote=Anonymous]
There are not billions of Muslims.  More like 1.5 billion.

Yes, many Muslims read the Quran--more like memorize it--without the slightest idea of what it means.  But if you Arab and literate, as Ms. Arafa is, it is not so different from an English speaker reading Shakespeare because written Arabic has changed very slowly relative to written English.  With a few aids, you certainly can understand it.

[b]I gather you are not a native Arabic speaker as you seem so in awe of what you present as a document accessible only to those with special knowledge.  This is a form of gnosticism, and is totally contrary to the spirit of the Quran.[/b]

Interpretation is a different matter altogether.  There are many, many interpretations possible. I repeat that true Islamic theologians find the matter of women covering of no consequence as it is such a peripheral issue and so non-central to Islam.

History of fashion is an altogether different matter. The relevant historical fact here is that the hijab is very recent in origin and generations of women did not cover their hair without anyone suggesting they were in violation of Islamic dictates.

You prefer Mr. Yusuf's version. So much so that you linked him twice--no link to Leila Ahmed, who herself does not wear hijab, so--just guessing here--I am pretty sure she does not think it's necessary to enter heaven.  (I can't believe you really said that.  Really?  No hijab, no heaven?)
[/quote]

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.

[b]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." [/b]

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. [/quote]

+1 to everything, especially the part that is bolded.[/quote]

Well maybe to prove us wrong you should study the Quran and islamic history and then come back and tell us if you hold the same opinion. [/quote]

Words fail.

You're talking to me. I did, however, do two semesters of Islamic history in college (as part of a Middle Ages history major). I have also read the Quran, including tracking the changing historical context as the Quran was revealed. Willing to bet I know more about it than you do. I haven't been posting much on this thread, but if academic creds are an issue for you, than as a non-Muslim I may have better creds than you. [/quote]

+1 here.  Words fail me too, and I am betting I also have better creds than you.

I did many semesters of Islamic history and studied classical Arabic, reading medieval texts including the Quran.  Not in its entirety, to be sure, and it's been many years.  But I can read the Arabic in it yet today, sometimes needing the help of a dictionary and my old grammar books.

Despite this, or maybe because of this, I absolutely refute the view that one needs to be scholar to properly understand Islam.  This feeds directly into the hands of the neo-Islamists whose agenda is to cow Muslims into believing they must rely on and follow the dictates of a priestly scholar class to be true Muslims as a way of gaining power over them. This is distinctly contrary to Islam, but it is a clever way to usurp political authority over susceptible people.[/quote]

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