More Ranting on the Hijab

EDIT (July 2011): Considering this is the most viewed blog-post of mine, I must make the following disclaimer: Please realize that the views I have expressed in this particular post may or may not be the same  views I hold about the topic today or tomorrow. Since I think a lot about a lot of things, my opinion tends to change frequently about virtually everything that I think about more than 10 times.
Thank you for reading, and God bless you!

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I just had the pleasure of encountering yet another refreshing blog, Metis' Blog on Muslim Feminists. The author's most recent post is titled "What are your views about hijab?" and, of course, that meant another opportunity for me to rant about my absolutely ALWAYS-called-for views on the most important topic relevant to Muslim women in the 21st century-- yes, that'd be the hijab (sarcasm intended). ... Oh, I know, I know - there's so much oppression worldwide, and here I am talking about the hijab only? Yes, well, if you ask me, part of human oppression comes with the hijab, although I don't believe the hijab oppresses women at all (so long as it's a choice, like they claim, and nothing more). So lemme just paste my comment that I posted there.

Thanks for your time!
Blessings upon you and me,
Qrratu

Oh, what a lovely discussion! Most have already said what I’d wanna say, so I might not contribute anything new with this comment. But I loved the comments! Always a pleasure–a delight!– to come upon such Muslims, as they seem to be almost nonexistent in my personal life.

Mariam’s comment reminded me of a statement that Mona Eltahawy once made (in her article “Let Me, a Muslim Feminist, Confuse you.” If you haven’t read it yet, go do so like asap. She writes, “The conversation on Muslim women usually revolves around our head scarves and our hymens — what’s on our heads (or not), what’s between our legs, and the price we pay for it.” How true! -- But, naa, this is not to suggest I agree with her even 15% of the time.

The first time I had a discussion with someone, or a group of people, on the hijab was about 5 years ago; they were all saying things like, “You don’t have to cover your hair to prove that you’re modest.” And I was SO offended. I remember feeling attacked, as though their beliefs were an affront to mine. I mean, the Quran is SO clear that women MUST cover their heads, is it not? Why, oh why, do Muslim feminists and other so-called Muslims justify their un-Islamic beliefs and practices and label them Islamic, often even using the pretext of “interpretations” (hah!) to attract attention? (Sarcasm intended, beloved readers. This is what over 99.76% Muslims I know both personally and virtually tell me. Now you understand why I get all excited and thankful and feel so relieved when I come across a blog with fresh views.)

Isn't this the cutest, most funniest hijab pic you've ever seen? :D
Note the obvious tension the "not-hijab" lady is undergoing
and the contentment that the "this is hijab" lady appears to be feeling!
Ahhh.

As it turns out, and as others have said, the Quran isn’t clear on whether I should cover my hair or not. Indeed, it’s the concept of modesty that Islam cares about. But it never defines it, never circumscribes it (for obvious reasons, including that Islam is meant to be a universal and eternal religion); hence, if to YOU and/or those in your authority (often a husband or a father or brothers but more often a repressive society) decide that the only way to be modest is to put a covering on your head, then by all means go for it. But don’t you dare tell me that’s what modesty is because I possess the intellect, reason, and ability to decide for myself exactly what “modesty” is. So if I’m in a society like Swat (NW Pakistan, my homeland, where my heart still lives) where every woman is required to cover her face upon leaving the premises of her house and where jeans are considered immodest, it might perhaps be a bad (some might say “un-Islamic” but I would disagree) idea for me to leave my house without a headcovering at least. I realize, of course, that such an attitude limits, if not completely prevents, progression and the occurrence of change or the introduction of new ideas. But that’s another topic of its own and deserves its own set of volumes for discussion! In the future, no worries.

I can’t help mentioning that the above-expressed thought (it’s the concept of modesty/hijab that matters, not how exactly you cover or which parts) is comparable to that of justice: Does justice today mean what it did in the 7th century? No, it doesn’t. The concept and its understanding have evolved immensely, such that, for example, it’s no longer considered acceptable to kill someone who leaves the religion she/he was raised with; or that it’s no longer considered acceptable to say that a woman cannot marry someone outside of her race/ethnicity/religion but a man can.

That’s not in any way to suggest that we should “change” Islam. No. I believe that Islam is inherently progressive, and the evidence for this claim of mine lies in the Quran itself: It’s ambiguous on every single issue, Alhamdulillah! So! We must change our *understanding*, our *interpretation* of Islam, not Islam itself, with changing times and societies and peoples and circumstances and conditions.

Sooo … good luck trying to convince me that the hijab is compulsory for women, even if you show me all the “authentic” hadiths there are that are so “clear” on what I should wear. Yeah, well, there are others, equally authentic and with reliable chains of narration, that dehumanize me to the core, telling me that I’m a curse, that I'm impure AND that I lack in both intellect and faith (I'll give you reference to these hadiths soon, no worries). Surely, you won’t accept the latter parts about women (because, thankfully, we live in the 21st century, and it’s been proven that neither sex/gender is more intelligent than the other, assuming there are only two genders/sexes). How do you determine, then, why to accept the ones about dressing? Why do we limit Islam, which we claim is a universal and eternal religion, to ONE time period and ONE society? Why should I, presently living in the U.S. and in the 21st century, wear what an Arab woman wore in the 7th century? Or what Arab men decided she must wear? Is it just me, or do others, too, realize that something’s seriously up with how Islamic law came into being–oh, you know, women’s ideas and interpretations and decisions and opinions were never taken into consideration. And now that we’re finally doing it, they tell us we’re using “interpretations” as an excuse! Go to hell. That’s all I can say to such absurdity. It’s most saddest when it comes from women themselves. It’s funniest when they say it’s a “choice.” Oh, I don’t think so. How is it a choice if we’re gonna tell the non-hijabi Muslim female behind her back (or even to her face), “You’re not as good a Muslim as I am because my HAIR is covered and yours isn’t”? Besides, what’s more important or more Islamic — covering your hair and telling others how pious or impious they are, or NOT covering your hair and letting people practice their faith the way they best understand it?

Oh, I also loved the comment that we’ve gendered God, and it’s a “he.” God doesn’t have a gender, they tell us — until you start using “She/He” or “She.” Funny folks.

Anyway, according to my interactions with hijabi women and my own personal experiences, the hijab is an artificial way of making yourself look like something you’re in many cases not. And it is exactly for this reason that I have decided, as per my own personal will and research on the hijab and the concept of modesty according to “Islam,” that I am no longer going to officially cover my hair, at least not because I'm told that it's compulsory. You said it's a choice anyway, right? So then leave me to my choice. At least it's made as a consequence of much serious and thorough contemplation. I still wear a chadar/dupatta/scarf, but it’s around my shoulders or neck and every now and then on my head. For me, it’s nothing more than an incomplete depiction of my own cultural background ('cause there's so much more to my culture than just what I wear), and I love it this way. I also feel closer to God this way, and YOU, thank God, don't get to tell me how to feel or get closer to God because that's different for all of us.

Gosh… sorry for ranting I realize my comment’s too long — but then again, thanks for getting me to write my next blog post already! And I tend to get a bit too verbose where absolutely unnecessary and often lose my point in doing so, so if that happened here, do let me know, and I’ll be happy to clarify whatever I didn’t.
Peace and blessings,