Voices of Islam (130 page)

The cultural politics of Muslim women’s head covering (today called
hijab
) offers a remarkable case study in cultural and gender politics. While some governments of Muslim countries force women to wear the head covering by law, others forbid it in certain contexts. Both male and female Muslims often base their judgments about a woman’s piety or morality upon the presence or the absence of the head covering. Some Muslim women view rejection of the head covering as a laudable decision and as an expression of personal freedom. Many academic commentators on Islam have explained the head covering as a political and even anti-Western or antimodern statement, rather than as a personal, religious statement. For this reason, law- makers in France have banned the wearing of head coverings in government schools. One might imagine that the widespread Western concern for human rights would discount such arbitrary attributions of motive as a basis for state policy, but apparently such a threshold of religious tolerance is too high to allow for expressions of personal piety in French schools. Thus, we have the farcical spectacle of non-Muslim Western parliamentarians arguing in their august bodies about the Qur’anic foundations of Islamic law on the subject of women’s dress. At the very least, the controversy over this simple practice of piety should arouse the suspicion of critical observers. The contested ground involves power politics on both sides: on the one side, self- appointed arbiters of Westernization insist that women should show their hair, while on the other side, self-appointed arbiters of Muslim
female

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modesty insist that women should conceal it. In both cases, the bodies of Muslim women are used by others—usually men—as an ideological battle- ground.

The Qur’anic verses most commonly cited as the basis for the practice of modesty by both genders—and specifi for the women’s practice of covering their heads in public—is the following:

Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and be modest. That is purer for them. Lo! God is Aware of what they do. And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest, and to display of their adornment only that which is appar- ent, and to draw their veils (
khumurihinna
) over their bosoms (
juyubihinna
), and not to reveal their adornment.
...
Turn unto God together, O believers, in order that you may succeed.

(Qur’an 24:30–31)

The literal meaning of the term
khumurihinna
(singular
khimar
) is ‘‘their coverings,’’ but it is translated here as ‘‘their veils,’’ which refers to a specific type of covering for the face. In other words, it is an acquired cultural and regional meaning associated with an article of clothing. The object of the covering required in the verse is
juyubihinna,
literally, ‘‘their bosoms or breasts.’’ Nowhere in the verse is the term ‘‘their faces’’ (the Arabic would be
wujuhihinna
) used, although the Prophet Muhammad’s wives are said to have concealed their faces in public. At a minimum, scholars have inter- preted this verse as commanding that women should not go bare-breasted in public, a practice that was followed in some ancient cultures. At a maximum, this verse has been used as evidence that women must conceal their faces from public view.

Without engaging in too much interpretation, one can discuss this matter at the level of fabrics and practical considerations. It is possible to draw a fab- ric used for covering the head over the face in order to cover the chest, or a strip of fabric can be wrapped around the head, neck, chest, and shoulders, leaving the face or even the head free. Practically speaking, one would not achieve the objective of covering both the chest and the face unless the fabrics were both dark and sheer, a requirement that in the sixth century
CE
could only have meant fine silk or linen fabric, an expensive luxury. A heavy fabric over the face would render the wearer blind, and a sheer fabric might be too transparent to exclude the view from without. Precedent in the time of the Prophet Muhammad seems to indicate some latitude for choice in the matter of covering the face. Centuries of regional and historical custom in Islamic dress have resulted in a staggering array of sheer, opaque, perforated, masked, wrapped, tied, pinned, layered, sculpted, draped, embellished, and unembellished fabrics to carry out the intended meaning of this verse. Both Western academics and some Islamic activists have tended to overlook this diversity of practice by referring uniformly to ‘‘veiling’’ or ‘‘the veil.’’ Such

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Voices of Life: Family, Home, and Society

scholars and political leaders have helped to make the veil a metaphor for Muslim women—and for Islam itself—by objectifying Muslim women in the process.

A particularly interesting twist in this contemporary dispute can be traced to another Qur’anic verse upon which the practice of wearing a modest, enveloping public dress is based:

O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks around them [when they go out of the house]. That will be better, that so they may be recognized and not annoyed. Allah is ever Forgiv- ing, Merciful.

(Qur’an 33:59)

No doubt, opaque clothing that visually masks the body sends a different message than clothing that reveals and enhances its form. Thus, the mere functionality of women’s Islamic dress goes beyond the issue of conformity to cultural norms. Conformity to local cultural norms does, however, deter- mine whether the person wearing such clothing is recognized as a Muslim: depending on the circumstances, it may make a woman more or less vulner- able to being bothered, annoyed, or even singled out for persecution. Muslim women in distinctively Islamic dress are instantly identifi ble to others. A woman who wraps on a scarf a certain way in a non-Muslim country instantly becomes a minority representative who may well be tasked with explaining a host of doctrinal and cultural matters related to Islam. She had better be prepared to do so. The same is true of the woman who wears ‘‘Islamic’’ dress in a Muslim country where fashion is a matter of cultural politics. Depending on whether the woman is in Cairo, Egypt, or Cairo, Illinois, the role she is required to play may vary, but it will be predictable just the same.

A Muslim man, by contrast, can wear clothing that completely camou- flages and neutralizes his religious identity. A Muslim man can escape both the recognition and the consequences that may result from revealing his identity in public. The practice of wearing the
hijab,
therefore, puts the Muslim woman directly on the front lines of the wars of cultural identity and in the forefront of Muslim evangelism (
da‘wa
), whether she wants to be there or not. In countries such as Turkey, France, Germany, or Tunisia, wearing Islamic head covering in the wrong context may have legal or civil consequences of a serious nature. In Saudi Arabia, the lack of a head covering may have legal consequences, and in Western countries, it may result in lot of conversations in the supermarket checkout line or in the need to develop a fl f exterior against public stares. A minority of Muslim men living in Western countries eschew local cultural norms in favor of traditional Muslim dress, such as ankle-length shirts and overgarments, and caps or turbans on their heads. Such men share the public experiences of their

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Muslim sisters. In short, the controversy surrounding Muslim dress often creates postmodern situations that turn tradition and status quo thinking on its head. Without forcing any specifi conclusions, there are certainly many lessons to be gleaned within the range of possible discourses on the topic.

Permissible Foods

When Muslims eat, they start with a blessing of
Bismillah
(an abbreviated form of ‘‘In the name of God, the Benefi the Merciful’’), and an additional prayer of blessing. When taking food, Muslims also pronounce one of several possible invocations, such as: ‘‘Oh God, bless us in that which You have provided for us, and shield us from the fire.’’ When the meal is complete, Muslims close with, ‘‘Praise be to God, who fed us and gave us drink, and made us Muslims.’’

The concepts of
halal
(permitted) and
haram
(forbidden) foods provide common guidelines for a diversity of diets and cuisines among Muslims. A verse of the Qur’an outlines the few prohibitions that Muslims have to observe: ‘‘[God] has only forbidden you carrion and blood and the flesh of swine and anything over which a name other than that of Allah has been invoked. But if one is forced [to eat forbidden foods] by necessity and without willful disobedience nor transgressing due limits, then Allah is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful’’ (Qur’an 16:115). This verse forbids four categories of meats—the flesh of an animal that has died naturally, food made with blood, pork, and the flesh of an animal that has been consecrated to a god other than Allah—with the important exception that these may be eaten by Muslims in case of desperate hunger. The Qur’an also mentions the rites that must be observed to make consumption of animals permissible. ‘‘To every people did We appoint rites that they might celebrate the name of God over the sustenance He gave them from animals; but your god is one God: submit then your wills to Him and give the good news to those who humble themselves’’ (Qur’an 22:34). The ritual sacrifi that mark Islamic celebrations such as
‘Id al-Fitr
(the Feast of Fast-breaking after Ramadan) and
‘Id al-Adha
(the Feast of Sacrifice that marks the end of the Hajj pilgrimage) are very similar to the regular slaughtering for food, except in their special intent and the type of animal required for these special occasions. Sacrifice in Islam always involves distribution of the meat among family, friends, and the needy. As the Qur’an says, ‘‘It is neither their meat nor their blood that reaches Allah: it is your piety that reaches Him’’ (Qur’an 22:37).

The rites for slaughtering an animal for food require the person perform- ing the act to pronounce the name of God in the formula,
Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim, Allahu akbar
(In the name of God, the Beneficent

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and the Merciful, God is Great!). The killing must be done quickly with a long, extremely sharp knife, slitting the jugular vein, the carotid artery, the windpipe, and the esophagus but not decapitating the animal. This rule is very similar to that followed by Kosher butchers in Judaism. Because ani- mals slaughtered in the typical industrial method are often stunned with an electric bolt to the head, for some Muslims this would mean that such animals had died before slaughter, thus rendering them forbidden. Debates have been conducted about the relative humaneness of killing by the indus- trial method versus the traditional Kosher or Halal methods of slitting the throat with a very sharp knife. Islamic law requires humane treatment up to the moment of death. The animal is not to be harshly restrained, nor hoisted up by chains, nor is the animal to see the knife. Skillful slaughter brings about a quick and relatively painless death. According to studies of the correctly performed Halal method of slaughter, the animal registers little pain and dies quickly, but the heart continues to pump blood out of the body, which purifi the meat from potential disease.
5
Muslims are not allowed to eat blood in any form, except for what remains in the meat after draining. The list of animals that Muslims may eat includes all domes- tic birds, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, all types of deer, and rabbits. Fish and seafood such as mollusks need not be ritually slaughtered. The kinds of animals that are forbidden to Muslims include any animal that has already been killed or strangled, the pig and all of its food by-products (including rendered bones and cartilage that produce gelatin), carnivorous animals and birds of prey, rodents, reptiles, all insects except locusts, and mules or donkeys.
6
All other foods are permissible, unless a forbidden substance has been processed with it, or if it has been fermented to produce alcoholic content.

Muslims are encouraged in the Qur’an to ‘‘Eat of the things that Allah has provided for you, lawful and good: but fear Allah in whom you believe’’ (Qur’an 2:172). The word that is used in this verse for good and lawful foods is
tayyibat,
‘‘beneficial provisions.’’ Many permissible and beneficial foods are mentioned in the Qur’an, including fruits, vegetables, herbs, grains, milk, honey, and Halal meats as described above. With today’s industrially prepared foods, eating what is lawful requires effort, education, and research to avoid questionable products. Food additives such as gelatin, vitamins derived from animal products, and animal fats used in processing make many food items questionable, along with the fact that industrial processing, packaging, and transport may introduce forbidden substances into otherwise permissible foods. The recent emphasis on avoiding cholesterol has been a boon for Muslims in the United States because products that once contained lard now proudly proclaim only vegetable fats. New labeling laws also help Muslims select permissible foods. Preparing young Muslim children for visits to the candy store or the cereal aisle gives many youngsters their first lesson in internalizing Islamic values.

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Muslims are specifi permitted to eat meat slaughtered by Jews and Christians. This provision fosters social mingling because it makes it easier for Muslims to intimately socialize with the People of the Book. However, Muslims may not eat meat over which an invocation to any deity other than Allah has been made. This rule prevents some South Asian Muslims from eating at vegetarian restaurants owned by Hindus. It does not apply to Christians and Jews, however, since God in these religions is the same as the God of Islam. A religion that requires dietary isolation among people who worship the same God would prevent sharing among neighbors and visits among all sorts of associates. This would create great diffi for people who convert to Islam, since the Islamic requirement to keep good relations with their birth families would confl with their inability to eat with them. Among religiously heterogeneous neighbors in Muslim regions, the sharing of food among neighbors of different faiths is common, and it is frequently mentioned in literature. Not all Muslims in Western societies take full advantage of this permission, however, or seem to understand it fully.