Muslim women, you say? Guess again.
What about this?
Muslim man? Nope!
I came across this article from BBC News and found these photos. The first photo is of Greek Orthodox nuns in Athens and the second photo is of a Greek Orthodox priest.
Striking similiarities? Sheer coincidence?
No coincidence at all in fact. Jews, Christians and Muslims know how to dress and look according to Allah’s commandments. It is no secret that women are to cover their heads and bodies with loose clothing and men should have beards and cover properly as well.
Then why all the hatred towards us Muslim women when we want to fulill our dress code that Allah has ordained on all of mankind?
(No, that’s not me)
You know what I really hate? I really hate it when I hear non-Muslims trying to analyze why I wear what I wear. You know what I mean, right? Like, they find these “experts” and put them up on a panel and then drool over every word they say. They say things like:
- Our husbands force us to wear this.
- Poor women, they are oppressed.
Or, you even hear just random people saying things like:
- She’s probably bald, that’s why.
- Who, her? Oh, those ninjas?! hahaha ( <—- Yeah, I got that one the other day! )
Or, I get the “look” from the woman who nudges her husband when I walk by. You know… that look of disgust from the woman and respect from the man. Or, I get the store floorwalker following me to see if I stole something? Hello? Don’t they know that it’s forbidden for me to steal? Or, what about the little old Italian ladies completely staring at me in utter shock as to why I would do such a thing as cover myself up.
Or the classic one: the lady at the cashier that speaks very sloooooowly and loudly with a lot of hand signals because she assumes I don’t speak English? I get that one a lot! I just want to shake them and say, hey! Do you know that I have a certificate to teach English and I can probably speak better than you?
I could go on and on, but no matter what the situation, I always suprisingly find this.
And, I started reflecting on it. Why such completely opposite reactions between genders over and over again? Then, I finally understood. Women give the look of disgust because they can never picture themselves doing something like that. That would mean, in their minds, becoming subservient to men.
Where men on the other hand, by sheer nature, love to have a woman under their wing to protect and declare only for themselves. So, when she doesn’t flaunt her stuff to the entire world, it actually compels the man to respect her even more.
Ok, and for all you that are reading this, saying, that’s bull, you are obviously convinced that the “expert” that analyzes my life understands my life more than I do. Would you like it if I called an “expert” to analyze your life and then report that conclusion to all the major newspapers without asking your opinion?
(Sorry, just a little rant… had to get that off my chest. 🙂 Ok, DONE. )
I agree with you. However I also really hate it, when Muslims try to anayze what other Muslims and non-Muslims wear. You know, it works both ways. You clearly don’t like when people comment on your choice of clothing, but there are also Muslim women who constantly tell me I should wear a hijab, who look down on me.
Is there a double standard. And some of us have come across a group of hijab (veiled) ladies who are giving dirty looks to the one Muslim girl who is not wearing a hijab.
There is a diversity of interpretation on the dress code in Islam and although some groups demand respect for their believes, that same courtesy is not provided to others.
You make me smile and I do agree some people like to judge others when you do not condone to their belief and style. One must only be true to ammar makruf and nahi munkar( which means : spread the good and stop the bad).
As a mother of growing girls and boys, I must remind them to hijab themselves and the boys need to ask their wives( when they marry someday) to cover properly. It is a need as it is written in the Quran. It is a command ( not a request) from Allah.
So cover yourself in any way and any style you, as long it is for the love and blessing of Allah.
Wallahualam.
(Hendon, I’m so glad you enjoyed the article. 🙂 )
Laila, I see what you are saying. I can’t speak for others but I look at this as two separate issues:
– the act of hijab is an obligatory command from Allah
– Muslims are all at different levels of faith and practice
If I see a sister not wearing hijab, I treat her just like I would any other sister (with warmth). Everyone is at a different level.
If a sister says, I know Allah has commanded us to wear hijab but I’m just not strong enough to do it now, I’m fine with that. But if she says I don’t wear hijab because I don’t believe it’s an obligatory command from Allah, then that’s a problem.
As a (non-Greek) Greek Orthodox Christian living in America I always laugh when I hear Christians critisizing the Muslim hijab… Christian women have been wearing it for a long time too! *laugh* Only it’s just the Orthodox nuns. I personally really respect Muslim women who choose to wear hijab, and especially those who here in hot and muggy Georgia wear abaya. It’s a very overt statement of faith, and even more so in the Muslim-o-phobic environment the world is becoming.
Zacharias, thanks for your comment – I agree! We all do it because it’s a commandment of God. It’s just too bad that nuns generally segregate from society. As Muslim women, we practice our servitude towards God by living amongst the people. We are an integral part of the community. As the saying goes, “To destroy a society, destroy the women.”
I agree with what you said.
I am Greek Cypriot living in
The UK.
I live in Birmingham which has
many 1000’s of mainly
Pakistani & Bengali Muslims.
The hijab has become a common
Sight recently & I respect
Muslim women for their
modesty.
They remind me how our Greek
women were once, before they
decided to embrace western
ways & walk around half naked,
sleep with many men, drink
alcohol to excess & even go
to church half naked to flirt
with potential boyfriends.
I think young Muslim girls &
Women have more in common
with older Greek women like
my Mother, Auunts & Grandmom.
If there wasn’t a religious
barrier, many Greek men
would want to marry Muslim
Women.
in fact, I think many
English men here would if
they were honest.
I just hope western women
take inspiration from Muslim
women & return to modesty
& femininity.
Hi Pavlo. Thanks for that interesting comment. I posted it at our new website where the rest of us are. Come join our discussions there.
http://www.greeksrethink.com/2008/07/guess-who/