Growing up in Canada, I frequently assumed that Muslim women wear the hijab or the abaya (or headscarf). The reason for this, quite simply, was that I frequently saw Muslim women wearing the hijab or abaya. More recently, at least some Canadian Muslims appear to be going in a decidedly conservative direction: wearing the niqab (which covers the face) is now becoming more common. It would be interesting to see if any university students choose the burqa in the near future. But wearing these articles of clothing is not essential to being Muslim, especially if you look back to the not so recently past and observe the clothes of Muslim families back then. In the photograph below, we see the family of Gamal Abdel-Nasser. They are all Muslims. Yet the Muslim women significantly do not don the hijab or the abaya, even though they are outside. In light of these facts, I wonder whether Muslim societies are going in a decidedly more conservative and perhaps extreme direction in recent years. Yes, we should acknowledge the diversity in Islam. But if the mainstream of Islam as it is practiced in recent times is moving in a conservative, traditional direction, this is a trend that we have to acknowledge. Moreover, if the hijab and abaya are not just articles of clothes or a form of cultural dress, but are also emblematic of an oppressive and stifling modesty culture that undermines gender equality and reinforces patriarchy, then that is something that we should all be more aware of. Why? One reason is the implications for human rights because conservative Islam is not progressive when measured against the human rights standards that we have today. Another reason is that the Wests ongoing struggles with Islamic extremism cannot be won ultimately through military force. The key to victory is to have an open intellectual discussion about what Islam is like now and what we want it to become in the future -- and ex-Muslims can play as meaningful a role in this discussion as the Muslims themselves. My chief concern is that, owing to the primarily leftist hesitancy to discuss Islam openly and challenge parts of it, Islamic extremism will be permitted to flourish and grow in strength -- with negative consequences for society.
Posted on: Sun, 31 Aug 2014 08:59:31 +0000
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