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Sunday, June 10, 2012

Reflections on Hijab ban in Muslim Turkey and a Hijab ‘revolution’ in the Liberal West, The War within Islam, NewAgeIslam.com

The War within Islam
Reflections on Hijab ban in Muslim Turkey and a Hijab ‘revolution’ in the Liberal West
Hijab ban protects women's rights and Turkey's secular constitution
By Farzana Hassan, Nov 03, 2008

One would need assurances for example, that women who reject the hijab would not be subjected to coercion in the matter, simply because the orthodoxy considers it a religious requirement. The lifting of the ban in Turkey would have empowered the fundamentalist Islamic forces, resulting in the almost certain marginalization and oppression of women, reducing their role in society to one of subservience and subjugation. This would be tantamount to providing leverage to the religious right in their ceaseless attempts to enforce compliance for the practice where it is not voluntary.

Traditional Muslims often bristle at such criticism by downplaying the social pressures faced by women who reject the hijab. This, however, is a gross misrepresentation of reality. Even women, who supposedly choose it, do so because they are rarely if ever exposed to an alternative analysis on the issue, which does not consider the hijab a religious requirement.

Women's "choice" in the matter can be considered authentic only if they are exposed to alternative narratives on modesty, which do not prescribe the covering of the hair or face.

http://newageislam.com/reflections-on-hijab-ban-in-muslim-turkey-and-a-hijab-%E2%80%98revolution%E2%80%99-in-the-liberal-west--/the-war-within-islam/d/953


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