2 liberal Muslim women encourage everyone not to wear headscarves in solidarity

Hala Arafa and  Asra Q. Nomani are two journalists writing in Washington Post who rejects the idea of wearing a hijab in solidarity. The two women  who identified themselves as liberal Muslims, stated their concerns about hijab and their theological disagreement with head covering.

Arafa and Nomani mentioned a global network of leaders supporting the right of every Muslim women to choose. Known as the Muslim Reform Movement, the group advocates that Islam should undergo a reformation similar to Vatican II.  Prior to the 1965 reformation, the Catholic Church requires woman to cover their heads before entering churches.

The two journalists wrote that the current trend was sparked by a company which sells hijabs and a TV station with sexists views on of women. Indeed, the history of hijab and the viral social network movement around wearing hijab in solidarity surprised not only the Muslims but also the public.

Utilizing historical research and basing it in the Koran itself, Arafa and Nomani explored the origin of hijab. The two noted that modern usage is not in the Koran:

The word hijab, or a derivative, appears only eight times in the Koran as an "obstacle" or "wall of separation" (7:46), a "curtain" (33:53), "hidden" (38:32), just a "wall of separation" (41:5, 42:52, 17:45), "hiding" (19:14) and "prevented" or "denied access to God" (83:15).

Not once is hijab used in the Koran used to mean "headscarf." It most certainly never denotes any act of piety.

The issue whether to wear the hijab or not has been debated for many years by many scholars. It is considered to be a deeply sensitive discussion for Muslim women. The question remains whether women have a religious obligation to dress in a particular way. However, Muslims disagree over whether the hijab is a symbol of oppression or piety.

Muslim women who wear a hijab or scarf say they have many motivations for doing so. It includes showing a pride in their religious heritage and a demonstration of devotion to their faith. Wearing a hijab is likened in a way that men have their beards grow longer.

The two Muslim women then encouraged to not wear a headscarf in 'solidarity' and asked other women to instead stand with them with moral courage against the ideology of Islamism that demands to cover a woman's hair.

Tags

hala arafa, asra nomani, Islam, Muslim, Muslim women, hijab, headscarf, headscarves, Koran

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