Secular law asks Muslim women to bear themselves
Jacob Hight
– Graphics Editor-
All cultures fabricate a concept of modesty; right now, Islam’s is in the spotlight, battling against discrimination, ignorance and its own perception of persecution.
Stories of secular institutions forcing Muslim women to choose between compliance and religious modesty are recurrently in the news..
As long as the world deludes itself that the divine and mundane are separate, secularism and religion will always be at war; no one will realize the common ground between “heaven” and earth. People will forever be looking to the sky, or down at the ground, never at the light within their fellow human beings.
Diversity is the strength of the world; it’s the way humanity unfolds in all its spectacular glory.
Islam’s sense of modesty is a vulnerable spot, intimately comprised of both personal boundaries and a relationship with their god.
Women who are committed to the Islam’s scriptural idea of modesty must follow certain rules of conduct, including how to dress. Under certain conditions, the basic dress only allows the face, hands and feet to be shown.
The hijab is a scarf worn around the hair and neck, only showing the face.
“It’s not just like a piece of cloth, that you take it off,” said Ilhan Gulten, professor of religion, philosophy and logic, illustrating a western equivalent for asking someone to remove their hijab. “For example, if someone… comes to a woman and says ‘what’s the big deal? why don’t you take your shirt off and walk around in a bra.’”
Lately, the hijab is caught in a tug of war between God and man.
In France, the hijab faces prohibitions in courts, sports and schools. Ilhan said hijab bans are a human rights issue. Sadly, France isn’t the only country; one other is Turkey, Ilhan’s homeland.
“It’s not banning the hijab completely,” Ilhan said.
Ilhan said Turkish government workers (teachers, doctors and others) and university students are prohibited from wearing hijab.
“What it does is actually limits the females getting their education, because they gave to make a choice…there will be police standing there and not allowing them into the campus…” Ilhan said.
Sometimes, deciding if discrimination is taking place is more difficult.
Recently in the U.S., on June 16 in Wayne County, Michigan, in Judge William Callahan’s court, Callahan ordered Iraqi immigrant Raneen Albaghdady to remove a scarf loosely draped over her hair. This came after a recent Michigan Supreme Court ruling granting judges discretion over dress in the courtroom.
She did so without protest.
Now, under the guidance of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Albaghdady is suing, claiming the judge intimidated and discriminated and that the Michigan Supreme Court ruling is unconstitutional.
During a press conference with CAIR, Albaghdady displayed her presumed devotion to Muslim modesty, wearing a yellow leopard print head scarf, covered with black tool tied into a off-center rosette, complete with a yellow turtleneck beneath a brown sleeveless top with a plunging neckline. Perfecting the look was her strikingly executed makeup.
Like most, Albaghdady seems tossed between giants: religion, secularism, and her own light within, only able to hope she ends up somewhere safe and warm.
Albaghdady provides CAIR a perfect opportunity to challenge the Michigan Supreme Court.
Despite a seemingly reasonable objection to the court dress ruling, CAIR is sending the message that Callahan should have assumed, based solely on appearance, that Albaghdady was an observing Muslim rather than just a Middle Eastern woman wearing a scarf.
It is this stereotyping and generalization that is at the heart of bigotry.
A statement from the court said that Callahan has the utmost respect for religious observances and would have let her wear the scarf if she had indicated it had religious significance. He should be commended for his lack of stereotyping; this misunderstanding should not be spun into outrage.
The ignorant preconceptions of both bigot and persecuted bear false witness against our common humanity, inner divinity and the positive potential of the mind.
Shadows creep into the world as the light of reason fades. Rhetorical poison always foams from the mouths of humanity’s assassins.
