Unveiling the Myth of the Muslim Woman

There are Muslim atheletes like Zeena and Sania Mirza, and of course the great long distance females runners from Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria. There is no need to handicap them by FORCING them to run, play, and compete in burkas, hijabs, or veils. Oxygen is such a problem for high-intensity atheletes to begin with, do we really want to give them another anchor?
The same applies to doctors, lawyers, newswomen, politicians, and businesswomen. There is no need to distract their focus from doing their jobs to preserving their ``external`` piety. There are enough distractions in the real world that we don`t need to add to them.

Can you imagine Shoaib Akhtar, in a long beard, wearing sandals, and speeding down the batsman`s throat, his head covered in an Italian Pizzeria tablecloth fastened by dual fanbelts and sandals as he chants verses to guide the menacing ball to the stumps?

the veiled take action against prostitution..

http://in.news.yahoo.com/060109/137/61xbc.html

Re: # 57

Bina Ji.. I couldn’t agree more. And while we are at it, I think no woman (orthodox or otherwise) should tell her man what to do or how to dress. I am getting sick of my wife treating my like a kid. I can pick my own sweater for crying out loud.

I think all this Islam and divinity is load of bull. It is all about masculinity and feminism and spirituality is just used as an excuse. Those arguing for Hijab could give a crap about a 90 year old female or a 3 year old girl walking Hijabless. It is only reserved for women who are “potential” screws. I think. And most those who speak louder than a pig are impotent jerks who will never admit their impotence and they see women as an easy target to take out their frustration at. These are the same morons who have a knack for distinguishing Muslims from non-Muslims and defining the circle of Islam. It’s their gift.

#53 by malik99 on January 9, 2006 3:06am PT

Manto is right here...For e.g., Lebanese aussie muslims want beaches to be segregated because Lebanese muslims go around calling aussie girls in bikinis whores..

Split beaches into sections, say leaders
Jennifer Sexton
December 16, 2005

CRONULLA`S beaches might be divided into sections to remove some of the tensions that erupted into mob violence this week.

Sunbathers, soccer players and surfers could each be allocated an area on the southern Sydney beach to reduce the chance of arguments and conflict over who controls the sand.

Muslim and Lebanese ``marshalls`` and elders might also be sent from the western suburbs to patrol the area and sanction troublemaking young men visiting the beach.

The ideas were flagged at a meeting of community leaders, politicians and police who represented the Sutherland Shire and Lebanese and Muslim groups from the western suburbs. The meeting was hosted by federal Liberal MP Bruce Baird.

Nada Roude, spokeswoman for the Islamic Council of NSW, said: ``It`s just better management. If we can get a grip on what are the factors that have led to these unfortunate events ... then I think we are better able to understand which solutions will bring people to harmony.``

Morningdew:

Oh yeah, I forgot about how some people consider the hair as adornment. I guess that speaks to the state of my hair more than anything, which is often more of a punishment than an adornment (and any woman will likely agree!).

Anyway, I just think that nobody should tell a woman, Muslim or otherwise, what to do. She has a brain enough and the personal freedom to make the choice for herself. Men should be more worried about their own deeds than those of their Muslim sisters.

Dear Dishonest Malik (no not Veeresh- the other one)

The ``cheap meat`` incident happened...ISRU was responsible for it. There is much that has been written about it and even Rutgers University was forced to take up this issue...

Now how am I a pathological liar? I personally consider the Hijab a cloak of ignorance and false piety... However- I leave the choice to the daughters, mothers and sisters of the ummah to continue to remain cloaked in the veil of ignorance... it is their human right to do so....

I still haven`t recieved an apology from you about your pathetic lies against me earlier.

Re: #54 Malik99...why do you feel worrying so much about Hijab? do you wear one?

Here is a direct unedited exchange between Mantolives and another individual on chowk:

#105 by Mantolives on July 12, 2004 5:59am PT

``The women of Islam who willingly wear veils are comitting a crime just like anyone who willingly wears the mantle of slavery is comitting a crime in the free world.``

Well said.

``Well said``, eh! How about that Mr. Mantolives? Arent you a pathalogical liar? A hypocrite maybe? A hatefilled person who equates women who willingly exercise their right to wear what they like with ``committing a crime`` and wearing ``the mantle of slavery``??

You seem to possess all the traits of a mentally deranged individual, Mantolives.

Mantolives # 49 spews lies again [I remember attending Islamic functions in the US, where ``brothers`` like Malik99 told the ``sisters`` that they were cheap meat if they did not wear the Hijab]

This is a serious charge. I challenge Mantolives to provide me the contact information of one such person who uttered the word ``cheap meat`` for non-hijabi girls. I would like to verify that such incident indeed occured. The contact information can be in the form of email, phone or even a reference.

In my more than a decade in US, and active involvement in many student organizations, I never came across a single person - religious or secular - who ever uttered or even insinuted that non-hijabi girls, or any girls for that matter, were ``cheap meat``. It takes a special kind of sick person, like Mantolives, to come up with this kind of lie.

Is it any wonder then that this man promotes hatred towards hijabi girls, calling them ``enslaved``, and barking at them at the airports?

Quote from the Article
“Some interpret the verse in the Holy Quran referring to the veil as required for all women;”

The word veil=naqaab, burkha etc does not appear in the Book. Hijab appears seven times and all in the context of barrier, inhibition, hidden etc= jhajak, lihaaz etc as in Urdu, Hindi.
The head scarf is a mode of dress adopted by some, not a ‘religious’ requirement for Muslims, by the Book.

It is for Christians (and others too)—Bible 1 Corinthians 11,5—“But every woman that prays or prophesies’ with her head uncovered shames her head”.
This is emphasised further by 11-13—“Judge for yourselves: Is it fitting for a woman to pray uncovered to God?”
If we were to adopt the above, and as can be seen, is in relation to the ritual of praying only.
Rashid

Dr. Muqtedar Khan wrote a nice piece on this.
http://www.ijtihad.org/Hijab.htm

I`m sure you`d all enjoy this. I don`t completely agree with it, but it was interesting nontheless.

also, like i said in post #16, this hijab issue is getting old. i don`t think it should be something a muslim woman is souly defined by. There are far greater issues we ought to be dealing with, as many people here have pointed out. Such as the tribal rituals practised in villages against women`s rights, but have nothing to do with religion, yet the men claim it to be. Now that is hypocrisy.

Wearing an article of clothing is an issue of personal choice.

My problem is with Islamist hypocrisy-

While they fight for women`s right to wear the Hijab in the west, they don`t give women the choice to wear miniskirts if they so please in a Muslim country (though I am pleased to note that there is increased relative tolerance now for both miniskirts and Hijabs- both of which were absent till the mid-1990s with Hijab emerging around 1997 and miniskirt now emerging in posh localities of Karachi and Lahore - in Pakistan- polarising but good)...

I remember attending Islamic functions in the US, where ``brothers`` like Malik99 told the ``sisters`` that they were cheap meat if they did not wear the Hijab... This is the kind of nonsense that pisses one off...

On another note: Malik99 is an incredibly dishonest operator for all his sermonising on Islam. He claimed a few months ago that I abused some ``Hijabi`` on Lahore airport once because he read it - and misunderstood what he read because of his inferior English comprehension and skills- because I checked with the said ``Hijabi`` and she still doesn`t wear the Hijab. Not only that but I cleared any misunderstandings and she and I are now friends again. But not so for Malik99 who continues to abuse me and call me a Qadiani on various different boards. A shameless operator indeed.

RE:43, Bina

yes, I`ve come across that interpretation as well. That is why many people try to emphasize modesty over the hijab headcovering. But also, many believe that a woman`s hair is also considered to be an adornment, and so should also be covered, just as the jewish and early christian followers had.

Zeena, your angry soul is certainly showing its love for humanity in your manner of speech, oh but perhaps God doesn`t love you? And I don`t care to know where you are from or not from. You obviously haven`t grown up where I have to know that there aren`t people forcing women to wear it or not wear it for that matter.

Believe whatever you want to believe, its your life, its your soul. No one is forcing you. The religion was perfected, its the followers that are not. Islam empowered women, and still does. That is why most of the educated women who are converting are themselves putting on the hijab. And if khimar means ``NOTHING`` to you, then don`t bother commenting on something you know `nothing` about.

You say ``progressive muslims`` are the ``real muslims``, is that why their whole organization is falling apart here in the US? Is that why several of their prominant and influential board members have resigned, maybe because they no longer want to be the real muslims? Please, humour us some more.

#45 Morningdew
Dear angry sir
Islam doesn`t conrol or focus on women to enslave them. May be Mullah`s kind of Islam, which you are trying to mis interpret once again just like a proto type mullahs. Religion is your personal issue. All religions focus on one thing only. Love for humanity. If, you have that, you are loved by God, no matter which rituals you follow or not follow. If, you call certain Mullahish rituals as Islamic, well they aren`t . They are convolutions of pseudo Islamic or Neo Islamic rituals based on total mis interpretation , just to control women and women only.
khimar means NOTHING to me. B/c I won`t trust or believe in that word to be interpreted rightly. The way you or any other mullah can interpret any verse of Quran, it looks like, Quran has become a joke for all of you. You, angry Mullahs not only misinterpret Quranic verses, but, also mis direct innocent poor Pakis. For your kind info, I am neither of those.