hijab is not a political statement
Reader comment on item: An Unveiling: Separate, but Acceptable?
in response to reader comment: the difference....

Submitted by zzazzeefrazzee (United States), Dec 12, 2006 at 15:00

Donvan, I must have hit a nerve, but in doing so, I think you inadvertantly revealed just where your own sympathies lie. I was not attempting to equate nuns with Muslim women, but to simply state that if you argue that the hijab "covers up too much" then we should consider why we do not hold the same attitudes towards a nun. Basically, in the end, what it all comes down to is a justification of your prejudice. Muslims are "eviL" and need to be "controlled" while Christians are superior. Sounds like Christian supremacy to me!

As far as the penchant for muslims to be able to forgive, read the Qur'an. Seems to me it states pretty clearly over and over again that it stipulates that forgiveness is better than exacting punishment. Mot every muslim woman is a "Umm Nidal"! far from it!

By the way, there are in fact nuns who are not Catholic! My mother attended an Episcopal convent school, and certain orders such as the Benedictines are not solely Catholic. Shoudl you encounter an orthodox or a Coptic nun, I rather wonder if most of my fellow Americans would recognize their attire as a form of habit- much less recognize them as CHRISTIAN!

one example:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Nuns001.jpg

Buddhist nuns cover their hair. Hindu women often wear a variation of a sari that is thrown over their head as a shawl. Mother Theresa's habit is not very different from what is worn by Mulims and Hindus in India.

Hence, the Hijab is not just one article of attire. Sure, Salafists, Islamists, and other right wing fundamentalist Muslims, ESPECIALLY men are very outspoken on what they think is proper. Yet when it comes to observing what is practiced- not only here in the US, but in the mideast as well, i can tell you that there is an enormous variety. Ask the women who wear them if they think what they wear s sufficient, no doubt that they would answer in the affirmative.

For example, for several decades no, many of the wealthy elite choose to sport something of a pre-fab "turban" that was commonly worn in the 50's and 60's by hollywood actresses. They actually look something more like a turban worn by a sikh man. Capucine wore one in the "Pink Panther", as did Audrey Hepburn and Sophia Loren. Many an Egyptian grandmother that I have met wear the exact same thing. I openly wonder if you could distinguish it if you saw it.

This photo essay depicts a variety of headcoverings worn by men and women in the region:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4180000/newsid_4185600/4185659.stm

some look like a sari, where the end of the shawl is thrown over the head.

In image #2 - the neck is exposed. I know some Ifundamentalists would moan and groan about it, but many are in fact open to the idea.

Image #3- is pretty typical of afghanistan and Pakistan.

here is a Morrocan variation:

http://www.minotaurz.com/minotaur/mirrors/mir6.jpg

In Turkey, where wearing even a headscarf in public institutions has been forcibly banned for decades, many young women are voicing their opposition to the ban, saying it should be the woman's right to choose. Inadvertantly, the wearing of a hooded sweatshirt has become something accepted by many young moderates as a form of hijab. Again, many fundamentalists would scream about it, but that does not stop women from doing it.

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/29/turkey8965.htm

I the end, you really don't have a good argument, and make contradictory statements. You state in one post you are OK if a woman chooses to wear a hijab, but then here, you basically saunter into the usual stuf about how all Muslims only know violence (as if we aren't fighting a war ourselves- are you "pro life" or just "pro-fetus"? ), enslavement (just how did the majority of africans get to this continent?) hate, kill, terror (as if the KKK didn't consider themselves Christians engaged in a crusade to terrorize anyone who disagreed witht them - particularly black families, just a short while ago). Many muslims disavow terrorism, suicide bombing, torture, etc just as many Americans Christians disavowed the KKK. Care to listen in?

http://www.saudidebate.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=447&Itemid=122

Still think Muslims aren't challeneging the status quo? Women are often at the forefront these days!

http://www.altmuslim.com/gender.php

In the end all that I can discern is that you buy into the usual collective generalizations espounsed by most fundamentalist christian and far-right-wing blogs. I dare say I think that Daniel doesn't go this far. I know our president doesn't (thank God! whether you deem it "PC" or not). My mother is a priest, but unlike some of my of my fellow Americans, she deigns to engage in ecumenical dialogs, rather than eschew them due to harboring sanctimonious sectarian prejudice notions of her own moral superiority. She's also a Republican, and rather horrified by the manner in which many of our President's constituents will support a war, but at the same time fail to grasp the need to encourage such dialogs- and provide moderates with a voice.

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