Junaid Ahmad
Reminiscent of a hardcore criminal on trial, why does a Muslim woman clad in hijab today have to stand in the courts of “liberalism” and “tolerance”? She the perpetrator and is to convince all by herself all the “civilized” people with infallible proof that her hijab is not a result of an evil and oppressive religion but her own conscious and God-fearing self. Verily she fails! Because her case has already been decided, no matter the how strong her argument is.
The west in its blood-stained efforts to bring “civility” and “modernity” to the Muslim world has left no stone unturned to create such a ruckus that every Muslim woman wearing hijab has to face trial in the courts of the modern society. From newspaper headlines to movies, she is presented as one of the lacunae of the Islamic civilization; the same civilization that, transcending the barriers of superstitions and profound fallacies, formed treasures of knowledge which paved the way for west’s renaissance after hundreds of years of darkness.
The hate filled obsession of the west and its ardent followers in the east with hijab can be best understood by taking a cursory look at the position of the women in the apparently liberal societies. From a woman’s toe-nails to her hair, everything has been brought in the open market to sell – optimum utilization of resources, a manager will tell you.
It signifies profound hypocrisy on part of the west that it lectures Muslims on the codes of conduct while it itself sits atop the utterly shameless tree of ‘Godlessness’ characterized by rampant injustice and oppression. While the west created “rules” which allow a woman to wander naked on beaches, a Muslim woman donning the body cover is castigated and repeatedly asked whether she is tortured by her Muslim husband her into wearing one.
All journalistic skills are put to use to portray she is indeed an “oppressed black box”.
Having completely stripped their society of all morality, the champions of liberalism have turned to Muslim societies.
In an actual age of modernity, morality and ethics would form the cornerstone of any action and discourse. Nudity as an evil would be debated, ridiculed in fact. Hijab as a token of modesty would be promoted. However, the current times are far from being modern; Hijab is castigated and put to countless biased debates and nudity is promoted.
Modernity lies not in nudity and its glorification. Departing from the apologetic tones that Muslims take with respect to hijab, there should actually be a debate, a serious one, on the vanity of western concept of women.
A woman in west is defined by sexuality, sexuality and sexuality! Just like an animal. The rampant exploitation of women there has significantly increased homosexuality as women view men as nothing more than beasts. An objective look into the sexual morality would help the children in west in having a more positive feel towards the society. It will go a long way in helping their masses to come to terms with the reality and evolve as better humans. Immodesty and promiscuity should be debated as a vice rather than a virtue.
Above all Muslims must realize that all that glitters is not gold and should shun their slavish mentality.
Rather than putting a hijab clad Muslim woman on trial in the courts of “modernity”, it should be the bikini clad woman that should be put there. Questions should be asked of them; who is forcing you to walk half-nude and feast the eyes of lustful men? Who is in fact brainwashing you into believing that nudity and promiscuity is liberation? Indeed, who says that you are free?
(The author is a student. Views are personal and the organisation does not necessarily subscribe to them. Feedback at [email protected])
