I have a problem with Brendan O’Neill’s piece “Veiled Meanings” in Comment is Free (hijab flutter to Islamophobia Watch).  Yet again, Muslim women and their experiences are essentialised in a static, frozen stereotype imposed by a non-Muslim, white male, although O’Neill is kind enough to give us two frozen, static stereotypes: all women wearing veils in the Muslim world have it imposed on them by autocratic dictators who wish to de-personalise women, and all women wearing veils in the West are doing so as a signal of counter-culture identity.

In reality there are many veils.  Many women wear many different types of veils for many different reasons, even during many different times in their lives.  When I was studying in Sana`a Yemen, the women who all wore face-veils (some including covering the eyes) were extremely personable.  A veiled woman would recognise, stop and chat with another veiled female friend on her way to the internet cafe; a veiled woman would voraciously haggle with a man selling qat to make sure she got the best price; two veiled women would stroll down the street, arms linked, chatting and gossipping away.

In Indonesia and Malaysia, many millions of women wear veils - usually beautiful pastels or florals with their traditional dress, or even jeans and skirts - but it is laughable to compare them to the Goths of the West: they’re not counter-culture they ARE the culture.

In the Western world, there has been an increase in the number of women wearing hijab, whether through increased migration or increased affiliation with Muslim identity, and I am sure there are some who would wear it as a badge of rebellion.  But like any other phenomenon to do with human psychology, there are a whole realm of motivations ranging from the spiritual to the profane.

What about one of my fellow Melbourne sisters who has taken her Islamic piety so seriously that not only does she fully veil, but she prefers not to enter the public realm, but has chosen a life of seclusion not unlike a cloistered Catholic nun.  How can she be wearing the veil to scream ‘look at me’ when she chooses to rarely leave her seclusion?

Surely, if it were about counter-culture and identity politics then we would not see a proliferation of hijabs, but rather a proliferation of Afghan burqas as they are surely more of a rebellious mark than a little Tie-Shop silk number.  In reality, a very miniscule percentage of women wear clothes that draw such obvious attention to themselves, and those who do tend to prefer more secluded lives, and to avoid mixing with members of the opposite sex.

I wonder if O’Neill peeks into Muslim women’s bedrooms at dawn to see them sleepily put on their veils to pray the first prayer of the day.  Are they screaming rebellion at God?

Like any commentator who does not have an appreciation of the religious nature of the act of veiling, they completely miss the spectrum of spiritual connotations that acts of devotion contain.  Veiling is a sign of religiosity as much as it is about identity, and I would suggest that leaves some non-religious and non-Muslim commentators feeling a bit uncomfortable.

A friend of mine (who is going on hajj insha’Allah this year) is starting up a publishing company looking to translate and publish Islamic texts.  (Yes my mouth started watering too.)  He is canvassing opinions on what are the most important source texts, and I feel very unqualified to answer him.  So I thought I’d post his questions here, and see what you my dear readers think:

1.  What are the most important source texts in Islamic studies?
2.  What are the most referenced texts in islamic studies?
3.  What are the most used source texts in islamic studies?
4.  How do you judge the reliability of reference material?
5.  What prevents the translation of key texts?
6.  What source texts would you like to see translated into English?

For those of us who have a rather glum view of the situation of Muslims living as minorities, it is encouraging that Victoria has now enacted a Charter of Human Rights.  It is also encouraging that the Islamic Council of Victoria got involved in the consultation for having such a charter.  From the ICV bulletin:

In early August 2006, the Islamic Council of Victoria assisted the Victorian Government in enacting a Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act. Through coordinating community consultations and actively participating in other consultations, the ICV was the only Muslim organization to actively support the Charter.

The Charter, which will predominantly come into force on the 1^st of January 2007, speaks to the Muslim community directly.  On freedom of religion, the Charter states “People have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This includes the freedom to choose a religion or belief, and the freedom to demonstrate the religion individually or as part of a community and in public and private. A person must not be coerced or restrained in a way that limits his or her freedom to choose a religion or to demonstrate the religion.”

This enshrines in law the right of Muslims to wear religious clothing in Victoria in government institutions such as public schools. The consultation paper on the Charter made direct reference to the ICV’s submission that the religious dress must be protected and we asked that this be expressly included.

The ICV plans to make further contributions to ongoing policy discussions and to the public conversation in the interests of creating a more cohesive, harmonious, community where Muslims and people of all faiths are able to practice their religions freely.  If you are interested in getting involved please email admin@icv.org.au

(From the Hikam of Ibn ‘Ata’llah)

A feeling of discouragement when you slip up
is a sure sign that you put your faith in deeds.

Your desire to withdraw from everything
when Allah has involved you in the world of means
is a hidden appetite.

Your desire for involvement with the world of means
when Allah has withdrawn you from it
is a fall from high aspiration.

Aspiration which rushes on ahead
cannot break through the walls of destiny.

Give yourself a rest from managing!
When Someone Else is doing it for you,
don’t you start doing it for yourself!
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We’ve had a bit of an incident.  Muslim (and non-Muslim) readers - how would you have handled this?

Before we came to Ireland, I warned Abu Yasmin that he really did need to have a quiet chat with the in-laws, that Yasmin should not be fed any pork i.e. ham sandwiches, bacon, pork etc.   Abu Yasmin’s response was that “sure, they don’t really eat pork anyway.”  I tried to explain that he needed to specifically tell them, so when we landed he said to the mother-in-law, “now Granny, we don’t eat pork you know” and left it at that.  With a fridge full of ham, bacon and pork sausages I had a feeling that he would have to be a bit more explicit, but didn’t want to rock the boat, and Abu Yasmin assured me - we would be feeding Yasmin anyway.
So yesterday, Abu Yasmin and I left our three-year-old in the care of the grandparents while we drove the five-and-a-half hour trip to Cork Airport and back to pick up Abu Yasmin’s brother.   When we came back, Granny explained how Yasmin had thoroughly enjoyed the sausages she gave Yasmin for tea.  Abu Yasmin and I became immediately alarmed as we both knew the only sausages in the house were pork sausages (with big letters spelling “PORK” on the wrapping).  Abu Yasmin spluttered a bit while I headed for the bedroom so that I didn’t blow up and hit the roof.

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