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From: mmdh@cbnewsf.cb.att.com (Mamdouh Maher)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.islam
Subject: Re: Hijab (Dress code)
Message-ID: <1991May21.184235.19093@wpi.WPI.EDU>
Date: 21 May 91 18:42:35 GMT
References: <1991May7.115244.21783@wpi.WPI.EDU> <1991May7.223246.29571@wpi.WPI.EDU> <1991May10.133729.6794@wpi.WPI.EDU>
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Assalamu 'alaykum.

  I am now posting from a new node, so those who wish to send me
E-mail should use the new address.

Brother Khaled Soufi writes:
>Right!  Now, to all the men out there, HIJAB OR NOT HIJAB is really an 
>issue for muslim women (ONLY!)  That doesn't mean you cannot express 
>your views, au contraire, you should keep them as such, views, and NO 
>MORE!  In my family, my mother (lebanese, school teacher) and wife
>(american, MD/PhD) don't wear hijab.  However, they both seem to agree
>that today's society does not facilitate the islamic way of life.  
>Consequently, it is hard for them to feel comfortable wearing a hijab 
>(regardless of whether or not it is required in islam!)  So,  my 
>brothers out there, our ancestors and we (mostly men) have failed 
>MISERABLY in providing an islamic way of life.  And, as a brotherly 
>advice, LEAVE the hijab issue aside for now and try to find a bit more 
>challenging issues to discuss before your brains get STALE!!!  
>Finally, those of you, men, who finds it hard to leave the hijab issue 
>aside, I wholeheartedly recommend that you go wear one!
  
  I respectfully disagree. No topic in Islam is only for women or only for men.
We, as Muslims, live in a society, and the concerns of the society are our 
concerns.
 
  The messenger (PBUH) was a man, and he transmitted all the Islamic rules 
about women, similarly, 'Aisha was a scholar, and she used to transmit the 
messenger's teachings about men to men. The rules for hijab are not from men 
or from women, they are from Allah (God), the Creator, and He has no gender.
  
  When men talk about hijab, they are doing their part of transmitting Allah's
message. The subject of hijab is not about men, it is about the commandment of
Allah.
  
  I agree that today's society does not facilitate an islamic way of life, but
it does not pose a great hinderance either. It is certainly easier for a Muslim
to carry on Islamic duties today than during the first thirteen years of
Mohammad's (PBUH) da`wa (teaching, invitation to the straight path).
  
  Islam is relatively new to the U.S.; with an annual increase rate of about
10%, I do not think it is fair to say that Muslims have failed miserably --
they barely started. (Muslims, like Christians and almost all other groups 
are mostly composed of women, not men.)
  
  There is no need to get irritated. I have no current or future plans to leave
the hijab issue aside, or for that matter any tiny portion of Islam. Instead
of telling men to wear hijab, you may give them better advice by challenging
them to make a real improvement in themselves that requires as much effort as
wearing the hijab.
  
  Unfortunately, we are living in an age where some Muslims (I do not mean
you by that) have an easier time accepting that women wear bathing suits than
hijab. This is while many men naturally cover most of their body including 
their hair. Some of us are more eager to obey society than we are to obey 
Allah.
  
  May Allah forgive me if I made a mistake, may He lead me and you to the 
straight path.
  
Assalamu 'alaykum,
  
Mamdouh Maher