Who has heard/read about Al Hilaly’s (Australia’s senior Islamic leader) remarks concerning women who are uncovered? So basically this guy is just giving men all over the world free rein to attack and assault women who are not covered. Isn’t this just wonderful? Thus he is saying if you leave your house with an inch of skin or hair showing, it is your fault if you get attacked. How are we ever going to advance if our religious leaders continue to think and preach in such a manner? Every person is responsible for his/her actions. If a man attacks a woman he should damn well face the consequences of such a cowardly act. If he attacks a woman, regardless of whether she is covered or not, it is his fault, and he should pay for it. But by saying such a stupid remark, this will only increase violence against women! Did this sheikh think that this way he is convincing women to cover up? First of all if you want to convince women to wear the hijab (and I do not want to since I am against it) you should bring it to them from a religious point of view, not instill fear in their hearts of not being covered. Women should want to wear the hijab out of love for Islam and Allah, not out of fear of walking down the street with their hair showing. It sucks to be an Arab woman!
Hijab-is it really necessary? Saturday, Oct 14 2006
Uncategorized 6:40 am
Alright, I know that Hijab is a very controversial issue in the Arab/Muslim world. Most people – specifically men, no skin off their nose- feel that hijab is (fard) a religious obligation on every woman who has hit puberty. Ask almost any sheikh, and he will say the same thing. There are a small proportion of very enlightened ones that do not feel it is fard. They do however advocate modesty for women. Now lets take a step back for a minute and examine what exactly the hijab is. The hijab is basically a way of dressing for Muslim women, which mandates that a woman has to cover all her body, and her hair. The only things that are permitted to show are her hands and face. The hijab did not start with the revelation of Islam. Free women (as opposed to slaves) in the Arabian peninsula and in the Middle East used to cover their hair. It was a symbol of status and freedom. Thus it started before the advent of Islam so it was not an invention of Islam. Once Islam arrived, it cancelled all slavery and so all women who converted to Islam became free. Thus all these women started to cover their hair as a symbol of their new found freedom and conversion to Islam. That was the historical explanation of it.
Now the religious evidence used to support it comes next. After sometime an aya (verse) was sent down in the Quran which stipulates that the women of the Prophet (his wives, daughters etc) are required to cover their hair and bodies. Thus this aya does not specifically speak to all Muslim women, just the Prophet’s women. Another aya was also revealed. Now this is the aya that most advocates of hijab use to support hijab. Roughly translated, it says that women should use their cover/headcover to cover their bosoms. Now the basic controversy here is that the word for cover/headcover in Arabic is the same thing. So it is not very definite what the word is referring to. Arabic is a very complex language with many nuances and meanings to each particular word. Notice the aya does not say that there has to be a cover/headcover, only that something should be used to cover their bosoms. I feel- as do a small enlightened fraction of Muslims- that basically this aya is asking women to be modest. Now please keep in mind that this is a very rough/simplified explanation. There are many more things to say about this topic, and I have researched this issue thoroughly so I know much more about it than what is written here. If anyone would like to ask me any questions, please feel free to ask or let me know your opinion. So this is how I feel about the whole issue. People usually flip out when I discuss this with them, so I decided I would stop discussing religion with people face to face. Thus this is where all my discussion is going to go into. If you would like to know generally more about women and Islam from an open minded view, I suggest you look up the Moroccan author Fatima Mernissi.
In the Eye of the Sun- book review Friday, Oct 13 2006
Uncategorized 3:07 pm
I don’t know if you have read any books written in English by Arab authors. Some of them are really fantastic, specifically if you feel more comfortable with the English language than you do with the Arabic one. My favorite Arab author who writes in English is the Egyptian Ahdaf Souief. I think she is absolutely fantastic. She is very well educated and her writing style makes it feel as if you can actually hear the Arabic being spoken. Of course this can only happen if you actually speak Arabic, but I do recommend that non-Arabs read “In the Eye of the Sun” if they would like some insight into the life of a liberated Arab woman. Her main character is called Asya Al-Ulama, and while I am not claiming that Asya is perfect, this book really delves into many of the problems and issues that Arab women from open minded families face. Asya does make mistakes which is why I feel this character is so alive! Souief really developed her character wonderfully. I have read the book no less than 5 times and every time feels different. The only criticism I do have is that the ending left a lot of things unwrapped, or unfinished. I guess I would have just liked to see everything end happily ever after, but maybe this is also part of how grown up and realistic the book is. The book explores complex relationships between Asya and her husband. It also is nicely integrated with the time that the book was set in, with Souief smoothly putting in enough history for the reader to get context, but not so much so that the reader gets bored. I certainly give this book 5 stars, and if anyone has read it or will read it in the future, please let me know how you felt about it.
Marriage and Work Thursday, Oct 12 2006
Uncategorized 5:16 pm
I wanted to discuss marriage in the Arab world. Women are becoming more and more educated. They are going out into the workforce and getting jobs like never before. So they work just as hard as men do during the day. However, the difference is that, once both the wife and the husband come home, the husband puts his feet up and relaxes, while the woman continues working. Is this fair? Basically the woman’s responsibilities double, while the man’s stays the same. And if that isn’t enough, the man feels that the woman should contribute to the house budget- even though this money should be hers alone if we’re going with the Arab custom, and we are since the woman doing housework alone is the Arab custom- just as much as the man does. To add insult to injury, the woman’s mother in law will always feel that her son’s wife is not taking enough care of her house and her husband since she has a job, so she will always be complaining to her son. I was formerly engaged when I was still in university, and my ex-fiancee was 6 years older than I am. He had graduated and he had a job. Now even though men never listen to their wives/ fiancees, their mother’s words are absolute truth and they can never ever go against what their mothers say. So my ex fiancees mother told me that she doesn’t care about my fancy degree in science. All she cares about is that I mop the floors in her son’s house. Needless to say that was the end of the relationship 
And even though both the man and the woman are both working and contributing to the house budget, the man always feels that major decisions should always be his alone and that his wife should obey him in all matters. Women-regardless of whether they work or not, must have equal say in anything that goes in the house. Decisions should be made when both spouses agree to them.
Now I know that not all men are like this, and that some men do help in the house and are very proud of their wives’ accomplishments in the workplace. But they are definately few and far in between. Ideas in the society must change, and women must get their rights! if both spouses work, then they should both share in the housework equally. Only then is it fair that the woman shares the budget. I would really like to hear everyone’s comments regarding this. If you agree with me, tell me why, and if you disagree, that is fine too but again do explain exactly why.
later
About myself Wednesday, Oct 11 2006
Uncategorized 10:57 pm
I thought people might be interested in knowing more about me. I guess this will help people in deciding whether they want to continue reading my blog or not. I am not going to say too much about myself so that I can blog freely. Ok so here goes. I am a 24 year old woman. I am currently living outside of my country. I have a few different nationalities in me. There is a part of me that is Western-in fact one of my nationalities is Western but I basically consider myself an Arab. I am very interested in women’s empowerment and feminism. I feel women are treated unfairly everywhere- in the Arab world as well as the Western one. A lot of my blogs will have to do with women, so if you don’t like this kinda stuff, this is not the place for you. I have a bachelors degree in a branch of science so I am not one of those illogical women I tend to be more secular than religious. I guess that is all I can think of right now. I hope I did not bore you to tears
later
First blog Wednesday, Oct 11 2006
Uncategorized 10:43 pm
Hi everyone! This is my first blog entry. That’s right ladies and gentlemen, I have never ever blogged before! I know it’s weird, but I never felt the need before now. Today though I decided to just go ahead and start a blog. I do not have much to say other than that at the moment, but I am sure things will get better.
later
