Reply to Donvan
Reader comment on item: An Unveiling: Separate, but Acceptable?
in response to reader comment: regarding the "Hijab"

Submitted by Spotter (United States), Dec 26, 2006 at 01:39

While you are entitled to your opinion, words like yours are extreme, potentially damaging, contribute to fear, and it is apparent that you may need to educate yourself further about our pillars and beliefs.

Islam cannot be paralleled with Marxism & Naziism. Marxism was a political and social theory/agenda authored by a human being. Naziism was a clear crime and atrocity to human kind....pure evil. Innocent human beings were slaughtered because of their race and creed. Islam is the religion of God, and God alone. The word Islam is derived from the root word for peace. Its literal translation means "submission". Whether or not you "like" the word submission, if you follow the word of God, you are submitting to Him.

True Islam embodies peace, fairness, humility, sensibility and charity just to name a few attributes. I refuse to make excuses, or reason on behalf of those who abuse Islam or commit crimes and hide behind the name of God (in ANY faith). This said, that strain of cowardice is not unique to ANY religion. Violence is NOT condoned in Islam.

In order to clarify some vocabulary: the literal definiton for Hijab is NOT "a head covering for muslim women". This statement identifies who most commonly uses it. Hijab is a loose fitting garment (worn by men and women) used for the purpose of modesty. So, I remind you that other non-muslims do wear it, but may have a different terminology for it. The following definition is accurate (you can find it on wikipedia.org):

"Hijab or ħijāb (حجاب) is the Arabic term for "cover" (noun), based on the root حجب meaning "to veil, to cover (verb), to screen, to shelter". In some Arabic-speaking countries and Western countries, the word hijab primarily refers to women's head, face, or body covering. But in Islamic scholarship, hijab is given the wider meaning of modesty, privacy, and morality.^[1] The word used in the Qur'an for a headscarf or veil is khimār (خمار)."

Furthermore, the definition for Muslim is "one who submits to God".

To falsify your accusations and pre-conceived judgements about me; I am educated about my beliefs, a continual process, for I represent a muslim woman and that is a big responsibility for myself, and my family.

A little tolerance goes a long way.

Thanks for reading,

Spotter.

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