Insha’ Allah I would like to take this course. Can you please register me? Jazak Allah khayran!

Almas

Muslim women have no need to subject themselves to what is a purely subjective and unrealistic standard of what society deems as beauty. Yes, while it’s true that there are hundreds of different types of clothing and hairstyles available for women to differentiate themselves with, Islam brings the focus away from that superficiality and instead beautifies and individualizes Muslim women through their faith, intellect, and their personality. Our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), said that: “God does not look at your body and face: rather He looks at your heart.”

Also, during the event a point was raised concerning the treatment of women in Islamic societies. In no way, shape, or form does Islam allow for domestic violence- and while there are Muslims out there who do not fully understand this and try to legitimize their violence by misquoting the Qur’an, we absolutely do not condone such behavior and stand in firm opposition against it.

We thank you for your input on our event, mr, and we hope that this helps to broaden your perspectives on the Islamic Faith.

Thank you for your concern about the event. Thankfully, the event went well and the MSA was able to raise a good amount of money for the Suffolk County Coalition.

Anyhow, just to respond to a few things- The event that was held had multiple purposes. One of them to to raise awareness about discrimination (any and all types- but to really touch upon the fact that discrimination can even be caused by a simple piece of cloth). Another was to raise awareness about women who are oppressed. In this regard, I believe the scarf is generally misunderstood by most people. Many take it to be a sign of oppression, whereas it is not. I think it was important for Muslim women to run this event to show that not only were they running an event for the most part (as opposed to thinking that Muslim women are just pushed to the side) but also that they were doing so to make a clear point- hijab is not oppression.

I think another point is also raised with this event because many people will claim that Islam is a religion that condones domestic violence. It does not. Unfortunately, there are people that do not understand their religion that have continued to follow cultural practices that allow this type of abuse. To add on top of that, there are many people that try to quote a translation of the Quran to prove the point that beating your wife is supported by the religion.

This, however, is not the case. Not only is it inaccurate due to improper translations (Arabic is a complex language that people do not always translate correctly) but also it is inaccurate due to the statements by the Prophet Muhammad (may peace and blessings be upon him) saying things that clearly indicate that “beating” is not permissible. You see, for Muslims, there are generally four sources that are consulted to come up with any type of law. The top two sources are the Quran and the Hadith (the sayings or actions of the Prophet*). For instance, the Quran tells Muslims to pray, however the Hadith tell Muslims how to pray (the actions in prayer, the times, etc.). They are both used in conjunction. There are other conditions and rulings that I could expound upon further, but for the sake of brevity will not do so here.

The reason I bring this up however, is again to bring light to the fact that Muslims are trying to spread the message that domestic abuse is in opposition to what their religion teaches and again, it makes a strong statement when Muslims are raising funds for those who are truly oppressed (such as women who are victims of domestic violence).

Also, women of many different backgrounds and opinions attended and signed up for the event. If you had attended the event, you would notice that at no time did the organizers suggest that people should wear this scarf permanently. In fact, many of the girls who were Muslim and had worn headscarves prior to the event made it known that this was indeed their own free choice, not something that was forced upon them.

Many of those participants spoke about how they were shocked that one piece of cloth could garner so much attention, even if they only wore it for a half an hour. One attendee even spoke about the fact that because she wore baggy clothing (and she was not Muslim) she felt pressured. She felt that society was not accepting of a different way of dress but after coming to the event, she felt more comfortable about not caring what people think and felt better about dressing the way she wanted to dress as opposed to what society saw as the norm.

mr- you said that “It [the hijab] teaches that a person’s identity, value and dignity comes from what they wear. ”

In fact, I feel that this is the exact opposite of what hijab does. I believe that it takes away the emphasis from clothing and allows people to be seen and noticed for their ideas and personality as opposed to what they wear. I’m not sure if you’ve read any of the studies that speak about how women who wear make-up as opposed to women who don’t are more likely to get jobs. The same is true for women who dress a certain way. Certainly, we must be able to realize that whether people intend it or not, a lot of emphasis is placed on clothing. Hijab doesn’t teach people to hide, but it emphasizes that people should not be judged on outer appearances.

Perhaps you’ve heard of Muhammad Ali, the boxer? He once told his daughter about how the things that are most precious in the world are the things that are protected. He said to his daughter:”… everything that God made valuable in the world is covered and hard to get to. Where do you find diamonds? Deep down in the ground covered and protected. Where do you find pearls? Deep down at the bottom of the ocean covered up and protected in a beautiful shell. Where do you find gold? Way down in the mine, covered over with layers and layers of rock. You’ve got to work hard to get to them.”
He looked at me with serious eyes. “Your body is sacred. You’re far more precious than diamonds and pearls, and you should be covered too.”

The point is- our bodies are sacred. They’re not things for everyone to look at and gaze at. We should have enough self respect for ourselves to not be looked upon as objects. We’ve got to face the reality and see that women are often objectified and subconsciously taught to fit into unrealistic body images.. this is oppression, to me.

I know that I’ve probably not covered all of your points, but because this comment has become rather lengthy, I’ll end it here.

Thanks to our generous donations and our participants, we were able to raise about $1000. Thank you all!