My Hijab is for Me and for God

My Hijab is for Me and for God

1. WHAT IS JIHAD? UNDER WHAT CONDITIONS DOES ISLAM SANCTION THE USE OF VIOLENCE? WHAT WOULD YOU TELL SUICIDE BOMBERS WHO INVOKE ISLAM TO JUSTIFY THEIR ACTIONS?

I must admit that there are times before getting on an international flight to Washington Dulles Airport that I've been gripped by fear of the possibility that my flight could be hijacked by terrorists. I doubt I'm the only person who's experienced that kind of paralyzing fear when flying – especially post 9/11. However, the scenario in my mind often progresses a little further as I begin to imagine what my conversation with a Muslim who's hijacked my plane would sound like.

I've had my share of heated debates with Muslims who espouse extremist views in various parts of the Muslim world ( Jordan, Pakistan , India, Uganda , etc.) and am all too familiar with the reasoning they use to justify indiscriminate violence or terrorism against innocent Americans or Israelis.

"As long as they fight our people in Iraq , Somalia and Palestine , they should know that we will continue to fight them to the end," one Ugandan imam told my husband and me after we spoke at a local religious institution on behalf of the US Embassy in Kampala.

His words, which still reverberate in my mind like the ricochet of deadly gunfire, sound too similar to the words of Mohammad Siddique Khan, the leader of the 7/7 suicide bombers, who actually made good on his words recorded on an obscure videotape in Pakistan: "Until you stop the bombing, gassing, imprisonment and torture of my people we will not stop this fight. We are at war and I am a soldier. Now you too will taste the reality of this situation."

Although none of the "extremists" I've met would have ever acted upon their sentiments, the views they express seem to be the first step that could lead one to eventually justify and act upon violence. Their intense anger and sense of loss at the hands of the "West" completely distorts their logic. They are convinced that the US is on a crusade to destroy Islam and cite as proof the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and now, Somalia; the Muslims imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay; and the US 's unconditional support of Israel. They equate revenge with justice. Similar to right-wing bloggers in America, they view the world in terms of "us" and "them," failing to see beneath the superficialities of nationality, race or religion. Their words sound far too similar to Khan's – that as long as American troops are killing Muslim civilians, then American civilians are fair game.

Most of these Muslims with whom I've spoken never reference jihad or any other Islamic legal basis to justify their views. In fact, when confronted with the Islamic references, such as Prophet Muhammad's commandment to never kill innocent men, women or children, they falter and miserably fail to demonstrate how their position is in anyway Islamic.

When the U.S. Department of State sent me on an outreach tour to speak to Muslim youth in Uganda about my experience living as an American Muslim, nothing could have prepared me for the intense confrontation our panel would face with students at Makerere University after our talks. After the three of us (an African American imam, my husband and me) gave our brief speeches, the head of the East African Student Union got up and shouted at us, accused us of infiltrating the Muslim student body with "American propaganda" and suggested that we should be ashamed of ourselves.

For the next hour after the session officially and mercifully ended, my husband and I each confronted the young students who viewed us as "agents of American propaganda," including the East African Student Union president who shouted at us previously. Within a few minutes, we were each surrounded by a crowd of ten or so young, male college students, as we debated passionately Islam's position on terrorism, whether or not Bin Laden is a terrorist and a host of similar issues. It was one of the most intense debates I have ever had in my life. A deep sense of agony pierced my soul as I realized how misinformed and disconnected these young, naïve Muslim men had become from their own Islamic tradition. I was determined to change their perspective, not for my sake, but for the sake of reviving what I believe is the true spirit of Islam.

By the end of that constructive hour, the young college students all conceded that Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) to whom all Muslims look to as a role model, never resorted to terrorism under any circumstances. They also acknowledged that the Prophet's own example towards his enemies was one of mercy and forgiveness. For 13 years, he and his Muslim followers were ruthlessly tortured, harassed and some killed in Mecca . A three-year boycott against the Muslims kept them shunned from the rest of society. Any Meccans who traded, intermarried or interacted with them were prosecuted.

Nevertheless, ten years later, when the Prophet conquered Mecca with an army of more than 10,000, not a single drop of blood was shed. In fact, the Prophet dismissed the army general of his division for saying, "Today is the day of slaughter ( malhama in Arabic)." The Prophet reprimanded him and said, "Nay, today is the day of Mercy (marhama)." He granted amnesty to all Meccans who took refuge in the Kaba, the house of Quraysh's leader Abu Sufyan, or in their own homes.

The Prophet addressed the Meccans had who had sought refuge in the Ka'ba: "Verily I say as my brother Joseph said: ' This day there shall be no upbraiding of you nor reproach. May God forgive you. He is the most merciful of all" (Quran, 12:92). [1]

As the conversation progressed, I felt something profound taking place within some of these young men. They realized for the first time that denouncing and countering terrorism does not mean they are departing from their faith or people. As we quoted one Islamic reference after another, they recognized – somewhere in their consciousness – that our position was authentically grounded within Islamic textual sources. And as they began to admit that the Islamic injunctions of justice, mercy, and kindness are unconditional, they literally seemed to experience a sense of relief and liberation from the exclusivist and vengeful ideology that had held them hostage.

If, God forbid, my plane was ever hijacked by a so-called Muslim, would I ever be able to convince him or her out of it? Would I even have the opportunity to prove to him how misled and sinful his actions would be? I don't know, but the thought crosses my mind during those rare moments when I am suddenly gripped by an irrational (or maybe not so irrational) fear that my plane could be hijacked. Nevertheless, I think that kind of conversation would make a great script for a film one day. Of course, with the condition that the Muslim passenger who plays my part ultimately succeeds.

2. HOW DOES ISLAM DEFINE APOSTASY? IS IT PERMISSIBLE FOR A MUSLIM TO CONVERT TO ANOTHER FAITH? HOW CAN LAWS AGAINST APOSTASY AND BLASPHEMY BE RECONCILED WITH THE KORANIC INJUNCTION OF "NO COMPULSION IN RELIGION"?

Apostasy is not my area of expertise, so I leave it to the religious authorities on this blog to respond to this question. Nevertheless, as I've understood it from religious scholars, the Islamic ruling on punishing apostates historically related only to those apostates who were guilty of treason against the Muslim state.

3. WHAT ARE THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN ISLAM? HOW DOES ISLAM'S VIEW OF MALE-FEMALE EQUALITY DIFFER FROM THE WESTERN VIEW?

The greatest issue I have when people often discuss the topic of 'women's rights in Islam' is that they rarely resort to Islam's primary sources of law to assess Islam's treatment of women. Rather, they reference the oppressive practices of one group or another – the Taliban in Afghanistan, Saudi authorities that ban women from driving, Bedouin tribes that commit honor killings – and use such aberrations to judge Islam's treatment of women. If we are going to be objective, then it is only fair to judge Islam by its own sources, which are the Quran and the Prophetic Tradition (the sunna), primarily.

If we look at these two primary sources of Islam, we find a worldview that establishes equality between men, women, and all human beings for that matter. God says in the Quran, verse 49, 13: "O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other (not that you may despise (each other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of God is the most God-conscious of you. And God has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things)."

This verse establishes that all human beings are considered equal in the eyes of God. You are not judged by the conditions in which you are born, such as gender, wealth, race or any other superficial, external characteristic which has nothing to do with your own merit as a human being. Rather, God says that the only thing that can make one person better than another is his/her level of God-conscious. The beautiful thing about that is that no one can judge another person's God-consciousness. This is private, something that can never be measured by another human being. Therefore, according to the Quranic paradigm of human equality, it is impossible for anyone to claim superiority over anyone else.

Furthermore, the Prophet (pbuh) who is considered a role model for all Muslims, said, "All people are equal like the teeth of a comb. There is no merit of an Arab over a non-Arab or a white over a black person or of a male over a female. Only God-conscious people merit a preference with God." The Islamic paradigm establishes an even playing ground between all human beings; everyone has the potential to be the best of humanity, regardless of one's gender, race, religion, economic status, educational level, etc.

Second, the gender paradigm of Islam is best encapsulated by verse 9:71 in the Quran, in which God describes the relationship between men and women in a society as that of " awliyaa" of one another, which can be loosely translated as "partners" or "guardians." God says in this verse, "The Believers, men and women, are partners (awliyaa) one of another: they enjoin what is just, and forbid what is evil: they observe regular prayers, practice regular charity, and obey God and His Messenger. God will pour His mercy over them, for He is Exalted in power, Wise."

The word "awliyaa" denotes far more than just a partnership. A "wali" (singular of awliyaa) is someone you can trust with the most valuable of your possessions. It is someone whom you would trust to act on your behalf during your absence. You would trust this person's judgment and competence. The word ' wali' denotes a very high level of trust between you and that person. The fact that God uses this term, "awliya," to describe the nature of men and women's relationship in a society is very noteworthy, because it demonstrates that women, just like men, are to be trusted in their competence, judgment and ability to guide human beings and to help keep society in check. As this verse demonstrates, men have no level of moral authority over women. Women, just like men, have an obligation to keep their male counterparts in check and to remind them of God whenever they go astray. In this verse, God makes it clear that both genders hold this responsibility.

Islamic law provides women with a plethora of rights, from the right to financial autonomy (the right to make and keep her own earnings, own property, barter, trade, sell, obtain or grant loans, etc); the right to be maintained financially in a marriage (according to Islamic law, the man has the responsibility to provide for the needs of the family; if the woman chooses to work, she is not obliged to spend a single penny for the maintenance of the household; if she does, it is considered charity); the right to inherit; the right to seek an education; the right to consent to her marriage (no marriage is valid without a woman's consent in Islamic law); the right to a dowry or marital gift (this belongs to the woman alone, not to her parents or husband); the right to participate in the political affairs of her country; the right to vote; etc. While Muslim women owned property, inherited property and established endowments as far back as the 7 th century and throughout Islamic history, let's not forget that in our own country, the United States of America, it was not until 1839 that the first state, Mississippi, granted women the right to hold property in their own name, but only with their husband's permission.

Despite all of this, the greatest beef some feminist critics have with Islam is the hijab – the mandatory covering of a woman's hair and body. Although religious scholars ascertain that this is a fard or religious obligation, it is ultimately each woman's prerogative to decide whether or not she will cover her hair. No one – not a father, husband, or bother – can ever force a woman to cover against her will, or that in fact violates the Quranic spirit of "let there be no compulsion in religion."

I have personally decided to wear the hijab and I relish in the freedom the hijab gives me, the freedom from having my body exposed as a sex object or from being judged on a scale of 1-10 by strange men who have no right to know what my body or hair look like. For Muslim women, the hijab is a form of modesty, security and protection, shifting the focus of attention from a woman's physical attraction, or lack thereof, to the personality that lies beneath. By forcing people to look beyond her physical realm, a woman is valued for her intellect, personality and merit.

More importantly, however, is that I wear my hijab for God. My belief in God and my ultimate accountability before God is the driving force of my behavior in life. My desire to be with God in the hereafter motivates me to make certain sacrifices even if they might make me unpopular or elicit ridicule by others. Even if others perceive me as a victim of patriarchy or as oppressed or uneducated due to my hijab, I recognize that my happiness, success and destiny in this life and the next are in the hands of God alone, not anyone else's.

By Hadia Mubarak 
(http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/hadia_mubarak/2007/07/women_are_more_than_just_mens.html )