In English the word “respect” can be used in two different meanings. It can be used to refer to “accept/tolerate” ( as in “I respect their choice” ) but it can also be used to refer to a more positive feeling of admiration (as in “I have a great respect for their decision” ). The word is the same, the meaning is different.
This introduction allows me to express my opinion about the headscarf. I respect the choice of women who want to wear it but I have no respect at all for their decision.
With great regularity states in Western Europe are confronted with legal cases against prohibitions to wear the headscarf. Unfortunately these discussions remain at a “formal” level. The discussion is then whether women are free to choose to wear the hijab or not. Personally I’m in favour of the French concept that the state should be neutral and that therefore a headscarf is not acceptable for people working for the government. Next to that I believe that the principle of freedom of religion should reign and that therefore women should be free to decide whether they want to wear the headscarf or not. I respect their choice.
But the question of freedom of choice only skims the surface. It does not ask to the muslima why she wants to wear the hijab or believes she has to wear the veil. I assume here that she wants to wear the headscarf for religious reasons. If not. the Muslima would not be able to defend wearing it based on the principle of freedom of religion.
But then, why does her religion impose the wearing of the hijab?
In general, reference is made to two different soera’s in the Quran.
First, there is soera 24 (“Light”), verse 31 :
“And tell believing women that they should lower their eyes, guard their private parts, and not display their charms beyond what [it is acceptable] to reveal; they should draw their coverings over their necklines and not reveal their charms except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands’ fathers, their sons, their husbands’ sons, their brothers, their brothers’ sons, their sisters’ sons, their womenfolk, their slaves, such men as attend them who have no desire, or children who are not yet aware of women’s nakedness; they should not stamp their feet so as to draw attention to any hidden charms.”
Next, there is soera 33 (“The Joint Forces”), verse 59 :
“Prophet, tell your wives, your daughters, and women believers to make their outer garments hang low over them so as to be recognized and not insulted…”
In his famous novel “Snow”(chapter 2), Orhan Pamuk depicts how a Muslim kills the Director of an institute because he prohibited the wearing of the veil. This extremist refers to the two soera’s mentioned above and states that “a woman who has covered herself is making a statement. Through her choice of clothing, she is saying, ” Don’t harass me. “” and he adds “The veil saves women from the animal instincts of men in the street.”
In their book “Finalement, il y a quoi dans le Coran?”, Rachid Benzine et Ishmael Saidi also focus on those two soera’s. Overall they mention that the wearing of the hijab was not introduced by the Quran but was already in use before the arrival of the prophet and was the habit of non slave women. As such it was an indication of a social status. The use of the hijab was only confirmed by Islam.
It’s time to draw some conclusions :
Assuming that the hijab is a religious phenomenon (and not a merely cultural one), we take note that :
> it serves to differentiate and therefore polarize between good women and bad women; between women that should not be harassed and women who are allowed to be harassed. Sometimes it is stated that it is more important what is in the head than what is on the head. According to a more conservative interpretation of Islam, this statement is highly questionable.
> it assumes and insinuates that men cannot control their instincts when confronted with a non veiled woman. Such an assumption should evidently be considered an insult by any modern man.
At a more fundamental level two additional concerns should be raised :
> The veil is sexist and there is no valid argument why only women should wear it. Tariq Ramadan himself claimed to be irresistible to (some) women but did not consider to wear it.
> Further, it requires a twisted mindset to want to hide beauty. From a hedonistic perspective it would be reasonable to hide (male or female) ugliness.
Evidently, The veil is therefore not in its place in the 21st century and while I respect the choice of women to wear it I have no respect at all for their choice.
