By Houda El Mouatassim
Morocco World News
Marrakech, July 25, 2012
?And say to the believing women that they cast down their looks and guard their private parts and do not display their ornaments except what appears thereof, and let them wear their head-coverings over their bosoms, and not display their ornaments except to their husbands or their fathers, or the fathers of their husbands, or their sons, or the sons of their husbands, or their brothers, or their brothers? sons, or their sisters? sons, or their women, or those whom their right hands possess, or the male servants not having need (of women), or the children who have not attained knowledge of what is hidden of women; and let them not strike their feet so that what they hide of their ornaments may be known; and turn to Allah all of you, O believers! so that you may be successful.? [Quran, chapter 24, verse 31]
Why Did Allah (swt) Require women to wear Hijab? A question asked by many Muslims and Non-Muslims, and to which the answer does not need much debate, it only needs a tolerant mind that is open to understand the rationale behind such a divine command.
Obviously, the reason behind Allah?s Requirement to Muslim women begins with men. Since the beginning of time, men have used women as sexual objects which they exploit whenever they feel depressed, tired, or simply bored. This latter statement is the conclusion of a research of male behavior conducted by Dr. Susan Fiske, a psychologist at Princeton University, in 2009. Brain scans of 21 heterosexual male participants in this research revealed that when men are exposed to scantily clad women, the part of their brains that lights up is the one associated with tool use, thus perceiving women as a means to an end, which is to fulfill their sexual desire. Moreover, Dr Charles Raison, a Mental Health expert at CNNHealth said in this respect: ?Women should be aware of how they are perceived when wearing provocative clothing, and men shouldn?t let feelings of impersonal sexual longing interfere with their more personal relationships with other women, including female friends. Many men make foolish choices because of sexual attraction.?
Therefore, if men and women are to maintain a healthy relationship within any society, women ought to wear decent clothes that do not provoke such ideas and behaviors from the opposite sex. And isn?t that what Allah (swt) Told Muslim women to do all along in order to preserve them from being seen in such a downgrading way?
Of course, and as the verse mentioned above states, women are allowed to dress as they please around certain categories of people such as their husbands,and maharem* in general (*those men whom they are not permitted to marry.) And as Fadel Soliman, an international speaker and presenter of Islam, said in one of his lectures about Hijab : ?A women has to do ?a temporary closing for her sexuality, so she can be treated as a normal citizen, because men in general see women as sexual objects.?
He also states as an example the story of a Muslim convert in America who decided to wear the Hijab only 4 days after converting. ?Now I feel free? was the answer she gave him when he sounded surprised that she was convinced to wear it in such a short period of time. ?You?ll never understand the emotions of a woman when she?s in a place and someone is stripping her with their eyes. And she can?t do anything about it,? she added. ?Now, for the first time, the remote control is in my hands: This guy for example, is a stranger, I won?t show him anything but my face and hands. That guy, who is one my maharem, I can show him a little bit more: I can show him my hair, my arms?. This is my husband, I can show him whatever I want whenever I want to. This is the first time I can control everything with my remote control. I?m the controller.?
Fadel Soliman also mentioned that Cambridge University came out with a study about two months ago that proved that 75% of the converts to Islam in UK are women. He says: ?I found out that the reason behind this great percentage is that women found their freedom in Islam: Freedom from the oppression of men like Christian Dior, Gucci, Pierre Cardin, and many others who design and decide what a woman wears, what parts of her body to cover and what parts to uncover. And the woman is turned into such a low object for the pleasure of men, while Islam states clearly that women shouldn?t be used as such because they weren?t made to be one in the first place.?
I would like to conclude by saying that when a woman is covered, she welcomes the other to perceive her as a mind, a soul, a person, and not as a piece of meat ready to be consumed whenever, wherever, and by whomever!
The views expressed in this article are the author?s own and do not necessarily reflect Morocco World News? editorial policy.
? 2012 Morocco World News. All Rights Reserved
Source: http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2012/07/49284/hijab-a-different-definition-of-freedom/
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