Heeding to
that support and in respect of the “secular principles”, Turkey today has a ban
on wearing Hijab in universities and schools. The ban has been in place for a
few years.
Very
recently however, the Turkish government led by Prime Minister Erdogan’s
Justice and Development Party in association with the Nationalist Action Party
has proposed an amendment to the constitution seeking the removal of a ban on
hijab in schools and universities.
This deal came to fruition when a
compromise was reached between the parties allowing women and girls at
universities to cover their heads only by tying the headscarf in the
traditional way beneath the chin.
The
government’s stance is that such a measure ensures liberties at universities,
without compromising the secular principles on which modern Turkey is founded.
They also contend that doing so will signal a progress in the field of rights
and freedoms, thus allowing Turkey to join EU (European Union) membership.
Those who are
in favor of keeping the ban have been voicing their concerns very loudly on
this move by the government by releasing a declaration that states that “abolishing the move would pave the way to
leading Turkey’s universities away from “rationality and reason.”
For 20
Million Muslims to support a hijab ban is shocking, to say the least.
Mainstream Muslims have gotten used to the non-Muslim world frowning upon Muslim women’s hijab
– but when it’s Muslims who oppose a Muslim women’s right to wear hijab, it
raises the need for the Muslim Ummah to do some serious soul searching and ask
tough questions.
It prompts
the question that what is it about hijab and the image of Islam that is
making so many Turkish Muslims (and probably other Muslims in other countries)
passionate about the necessity of denying it to their fellow Muslims who want
to instead don the hijab?
It raises
the question that what is it that is driving one segment of Turkish Muslims to
turn Turkey – a nation of 99% Muslims into a secular nation?
It raises
the question that why are some Muslim groups bent to redefine the divine
laws of Islam?
A false image of Islam
It is quite
obvious that more than what hijab proponents wish in exercising their
religiosity to wear hijab in universities and schools, the secular Muslim
opposition wants to snub the issue lest it snowballs in what they feel may be a
return of a “backward” Islam. And we know that labeling Islam to be such can’t
be further from truth. Yet the unfortunate reality is that those Muslim fear
mongers have drawn up an image of Islam that Islam isn’t – and they have
collaborated with some in media circles to amplify that twisted image of Islam.
Obviously, the painting of such a false image by media circles further feeds
into the hijab frenzy thus in turn hardening that false image.
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I have discussed in earlier posts on this blog that
unfortunately the practices of some groups of Muslims indeed have contributed
toward the building of that aura of backwardness. This in turn has provided
fuel to the agenda of those Muslims on the left to redefine and rebrand Islam
to suit the standards of the so called “progressive societies” of today.
Thus, while one sect of Muslims on the right took the religion to one extreme
giving it the aura of backwardness, the other one on the extreme left is
redefining Islam to be secular – a version that they believe will help them
better assimilate with the new peoples of this world.
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Backward –
we know Islam is not, but unless mainstream Muslims undertake a conscious
effort at grassroots levels to dispel and puncture hijab’s and Islam’s aura of
“backwardness” and whatever else negative and false is associated with it,
mainstream Muslims in general will find themselves squashed between these two
extreme views of Islam always defending Islam’s improperly drawn up image by
the Muslims on the extreme left and the extreme right.
“Secular Islam” – An oxymoron
The Oxford
English Dictionary defines “secular” as something that is “not religious,
sacred, or spiritual” or “not subject to or bound by religious rule”. Phrases
such as “Secular Religion” or “Secular Islam” therefore are an oxymoron. But in
recent months, the “secular Islam” movement has picked up enormously. Another
article on the IqraSense.com blog discusses the new notion of “secular Islam” by
Muslim secularists.
But what
does “secular Islam”
mean? An Islam not bound by religious rule?
That
obviously does not make any sense. Whatever manifesto the Muslim secularists
strive to propagate, they probably seem to be forgetting that unlike many other
religions, Islam is a “way of life” – how one treat’s people, how one conducts
oneself in a society, and the whole enchilada about living life is Islam. You
can’t separate Islam from a Muslim’s daily life. A Muslim’s Islam for example
does not begin and end in a mosque. That’s not how it works but obviously the
“secular Muslims” have an agenda. You can read about their agenda and their
charter in a related article on this blog.
Even when
considered from the perspective of secularism, secular Turkey’s stance on hijab
and other similar Islamic issues seems to run opposite to the principles of
secularism itself. These secular idealists seem very “religious” about knocking
down everything about Islam’s teachings. Even the most secular nations of the
world don’t come close to the secularism that Turkey has espoused. Consider the
US for example – it is the largest democracy in the world and by all measures
including that of its constitution is considered a secular nation. The US with
its 82% Christians has rarely considered any such move that would deny the
citizens of its country the right to exercise religious freedoms, especially
when they do not encroach into anyone’s lifestyles, security or business.
While this whole concept of “secular
Islam” seems to defy intellectual reasoning, unfortunately, there are many in
Turkey’s so called intellectual class who actively advocate the hijab ban. Dozens
of university rectors and deans in Turkey released a declaration that voices
their concerns about wearing hijab in universities and schools by stating that “abolishing the move would pave the way to leading Turkey’s
universities away from “rationality and reason.”
Fortunately, there are other
academics around the country who have issued their own declaration in support
of the removal of the unjust ban saying:
We who are university instructors have been following recent
discussions as well as years of policies regarding clothing
and outfits closely and with great concern. We believe that universities
should take an approach favoring freedoms, not prohibitions, when it comes to
fundamental human rights such as the freedoms of thought, expression, religion,
belief and education. We want our universities to be remembered for the science
they are engaged in, as this is the worthy way for contemporary, civilized
countries. We believe that as in every country, the freedom to dress whichever
way a person wants should be given to all of our students without
discrimination on the basis of religion, belief, thought, race, ethnic group or
gender, and demand that all implementations to the contrary be halted at once.
We announce this to the public with respect.
Perhaps
secular Turkey may realize one day that imposing a ban on hijab is drawing the
nation further from secularism and that the movement of anti-Islam has morphed
into a new religion of its own. Call it whatever you wish – but that’s not
secular by any standards.
Defying religious teachings
Having to
witness this resistance by Muslims about wearing hijab highlights another
issue. We know that Islam is not a man-made religion. Islamic teachings are
divine and pave a way for success and peace in this life and hereafter by
enjoining certain guidelines and warning against following others. For example,
gambling, eating pork, alcohol consumption and wearing hijab are almost accepted
to be as undisputed teachings by most mainstream Muslims and scholars. This
therefore raises the question for those who seek to change hijab laws of
whether their stance is based on a religious interpretation by a group of
certain scholars or is it that they seek to amend the laws of Islam on their
own accord. What gives them the right to amend God’s laws? If they feel they
have the right to do so, then where do they draw the line? Given the fact that
wearing a hijab (head scarf) is only one part of Islamic attire, what else will
they prohibit mainstream Muslims from doing next? Moreover, why is consuming
alcohol or eating pork any different from wearing hijab when there are clear
instructions in the Quran and Hadith about all of the above?
Our
continued ability to separate right
from wrong enables us to maintain the sanctity of right and wrong and prevents the
compromise and eroding of ones values over time. Even in cases when we
personally may be engaged in something that’s on the “wrong”, it is vital to
maintain that distinction as that leaves the door open for the transition to
the “right”. Not respecting the line that separates the right from the wrong
leaves one exposed to the waves of gradual change that in some cases may be
catastrophic. This is similar to what we know about the boiling water and frog
analogy. The boiling frog story states that if a frog is placed in boiling
water, it will jump out, but if it is placed in cold water that is slowly
heated, it will fail to feel the change and thus never jump out and will die in
the process. The upshot of the story is that people should make themselves aware
of gradual change lest they cross that line and suffer a catastrophic loss. How
many values and principles can you personally point out that were once frowned
upon a few years ago but today have become part of everyone’s daily lives?
Once we start answering these questions – and start answering
them by avoiding simplistic and patronizing answers, will we begin to blur away
the differences between Muslims’ many definitions of Islam. At that point, we
can present a unified image of Islam to the world.
To those
Muslims who want to redefine Islam through a mix bag of ideologies and
theologies, the message of the mainstream Muslims is clear – Get to know the
proper Islam and stop diluting the religion in the false hopes of using it as a
panacea for self-inflicted problems. There are better ways to guide through the
maze of today’s challenges than compromising the ideals of the religion. Islam
came about almost 1500 years ago with a message of peace to suit all peoples of
all times. Its message is more humane than any human rights organization’s
charter and more liberating for women than any women societies’ manifesto has
to offer. Don’t let ignorance and misrepresentations guide you to carve out new
inconsistent theologies, doctrines and dogmas.
And to those
Muslims on the extreme
right mired in the principles of extremism and backwardness,
the philosophy of the message is no different. Get to know and understand the
spirit and the context of the Islamic teachings and rulings. Use knowledge,
increased reflection, flexibility, and wisdom – all concepts inherent in the
principles of the religion to change the image of Islam into what Islam really
was meant to uphold.
What do you
think? Do you think that hijab is not mandated in Islam? What is your opinion
about the efforts of those bent to “secularize” Islam? Your thoughts are always
welcome!
Source: Iqrasense.com
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