in the name of Allah the beneficent the
most merciful I'd like to welcome you
dear viewers to another in our series
contemporary
issues May Allah's peace and blessings
be on each and every one of you dear
viewers we continue to look at some of
the pressing issues in our times issues
concerning Islamic culture which have
which has come been brought into
question how relevant is this culture
today the issue concerning the Taliban
in in in Afghanistan where Taliban had
insisted that women put on the chador
cover themselves completely you know um
this was a major affront to the Western
World the Western feminists were up in
Arms This covering of women this is you
know going back to the Dark Ages you
know it is you know it is degrading for
women these kind of things U what about
this covering of the woman the Muslim
woman this is a big question today
Western feminists consider Muslim women
to be the Last
Frontier you know where that they have
to break down and ensure rights of women
to be able to express
themselves well let us look at some of
the concepts behind
western dress okay when we look into the
Western uh fashion industry over the
last century from the 1900s to to year
2000 which we are
now what has happened at the turn of the
century beginning of the 20th century
what you found was that women in the
west were covered from head to toe they
were covered from head to toe virtually
like Muslim women they're wearing things
on their heads and dresses full length
dresses all these kinds of
things now women walk the streets
especially in summer virtually
naked not just the beaches the
streets clothing okay where they have to
wear clothing cuz it's a bit cold or
cool clothing become so tight I mean it
is like as if somebody took a spray can
and just sprayed on the clothing you
know so they may as well be naked
completely they're closed but yet
unclosed as Prophet spoke about times
that would
come the point is
that the
Western fashion industry has involved
itself in a process of removing the
clothing of Western women systematically
shortening it shortening it shortening
it shortening it lower Ling Ling Ling
you know arms everything until virtually
she walks the beach with little strings
on her body the rest of her body is
totally
naked this is the norm
today at the same time there has been a
rise in another phenomena a crime the
crime of
rape that over that 100 years you found
that as clothing was
dropping the same rate or similar rate
to the removal of clothing we find a
rise in rape so much so that by the
beginning of the '90s in the United
States alone they reported that their
rapes had crossed the 100,000 Mark and
this was the reported
rapes were people reported to to the
police and
researchers calculated or estimated that
the actual number was some 7 to 10 times
that amount so you're talking about a
million
rapes a million rapes million people
raped being raped in in in the
Philippines and recently I read
newspaper that nine women are raped
every
day nine women raped every
day in America
that number is far
greater over a million raped every
year is there not a
relationship there are more laws which
have come into effect to protect the
women and protect their rights and
everything else you know women's rights
you know crimes even the crime of rape
has been more seriously dealt with now
than it was in the past etc etc but the
rise in rape is still increasing why
there women they're question and this
issue is racis them what about this
nakedness say well no woman should be
free to dress as she pleases you know
why why it should be on the man the man
should be
restrained that this nakedness does
encourage it's not only that along with
the
nakedness the woman this undressed woman
is now used to advertise
everything all of your major products
are being advertised by naked women or
virtually naked women you want to sell a
car sports car what do you do
you do you tell them about the engine
size and the power show the engine the
motor and the workings of it and how
fast it goes you know Etc no you want to
sell that car you show a mod
bright fire engine red with a woman
lying on top of it in a
bikini they how you sell it why that
bikini is send sending a message to the
people you buy the car this is what
you're going to
get similarly you want to sell a um
shaver a new electric shaver it's got
new blades and you know titanium
whatever but you don't bother to go into
all of this you know how it CHS instead
what you do is you show a picture of a
man with his electric shaver and there's
a hand holding his this hand has got red
finger
nails what is the message being told
here you buy this electric shaver you're
going to have that female hand holding
your
hand these are all messages
subliminal messages being pumped into
the society raising the sexual tension
of the
society stripping the
female
and even in the dress if we look at the
concepts of dress what is the purpose of
dress in the west the purpose is first
and foremost to expose as much of the
body as possible that is the main
purpose for men and women to expose as
much of the body as possible the second
purpose is beauty the third purpose is
protecting the body from the
ments and the last purpose may be to
cover what may be classified legally as
private
parts or may be classified legally as
private parts and
that in many places becomes very limited
area I know recently in
Canada uh women fought for legislation
in Toronto to have the right to war to
walk topless in the
streets obviously during the summers in
the winters you know that' be you could
die from that in the Summers when men
normally walk topless they call it be
chested wearing their shorts in the
summer it's warm they're saying it's a
crime before that it was a crime for
women to do the same why why should it
be a crime the women
argued if men can do it we why can't
we well the fact that men may be
attracted to us we're topless well we're
attracted to men when they're walking
like this so they argued their point and
they won and legislation came and which
permitted them to do so this happened a
couple of years back still we don't find
women walking in the summer
downtown copess you still find men
walking they they chested but no women
why they have the right now because the
consequence people know the consequence
and although you might establish this
right legally you know the consequence
of applying that right the
reality from Islamic perspective when
Islam prescribed the dress for women
Allah said there inah the 33rd chapter
verse
59
let them cast their alter garments over
their bodies that is best in order that
they be
known and not be
harmed Allah explains there in order
that they be known and not be harmed
very important points that they be known
known in what
sense because some people think that the
women cover up so that they are not
known people won't notice them
so some ignorant Muslims going to the
West say well we shouldn't we're our
hijab we shouldn't cover ourselves up in
the west because when we do that people
will notice us people will look at us we
we try to be you know inconspicuous so
the best thing is to just like the
Western win that way nobody's going to
look twice at us because we're like
everybody else this is the
argument the reality this is not what
Allah said in the Quran Allah said that
they should wear this to be
known known in what sense known in the
sense that if a man or a group of men
whatever in the society they see a nun
walking down the street
none she wears her habit that is a
covering looking just almost like the
hijab she's wearing the traditional one
which is not the modern nuns who now
wear little things on their heads and
mini skirts and things like this you
know but the traditional nuns from the
traditional orders that maintain the
full habit covering everything except
for their face and their hands
when they see a nun walking down the
street of course this catches their
attention it's something unusual you
don't see nuns walking on the street all
the time so they will look at the women
you
know and if they see a woman walking out
her house in
bikini they will also look at that
woman now the point here is what is the
way in which they look at the nun the
same as the way they look at the woman
in the Bikini no it's not the same in
both cases they're
looking curiosity is involved but in one
case when they look at the the nun
they're looking at the nun
knowing that she is not available her
dress her dress her habit is telling is
is a fashion statement she's saying I am
not available don't even think about
approaching me she wears a ring on her
hand saying she's married to Jesus
finish don't even think about
it the woman in the Bikini what is she
saying of course women in the KE will
say no I'm not saying I'm
available but the reality is you're
saying hey look at me look at what I've
got for what purpose why isn't this not
teasing and encouraging yes it does it
is basically saying I am of him
able that's the reality now the law says
no but the reality says
yes so when a woman wears her hijab her
covering covering everything except her
face and hands covering the face is
generally held by Scholars to be
recommended not compulsory although some
Scholars hold that it is
compulsory when a woman dresses in this
fashion she is making a fashion
statement she is saying I am not
available able also except by honorable
means mean you cannot flirt with me you
know I'm not you know you want if you
are interested in marriage you know
interested in me it's got to be in
marriage you approach my father my
brother you know my male
relatives and then it can be considered
otherwise don't think about
it so she is making a fashion statement
that she be known known as what known as
a virtuous
woman known as a chaste and virtuous
woman in the
society this is this is the intent first
and foremost secondly as Allah explained
that she not be harmed but this covering
of the woman is going to minimize the
harm of
course one can argue some people would
say well you know people wear I you know
some women would say you know I wear all
of this and then men will still will be
approaching
me yes but imagine if you were wearing a
bikini please don't compare and don't
simply say that simply because you're
wearing all of this it hasn't stopped
advances the reality is that yes there
may be some advances still happening but
it's still not the same as if you expose
yourself it's not going to be the same
some nuns are raped nuns are raped in
different parts of the world it happens
as women who wear complete covering will
get raped also can happen but the rate
the number of you know if you compare
the numbers who who are exposed to that
and you know who are nuns and those who
are not and the the proportions we can
see that the numbers of nuns who are
ried are far in more insignificant than
the numbers of women who are raped you
know while dressing themselves in a
variety different ways you know there
are some arguments that hey you know
rape is not about this thing here it is
about uh control it's like men who are
on some kind of power chip and control
chip they're about trying so they don't
really care how you're D dressed they're
going to do that yes there may be an
element of that there too
but and in war times etc etc you find
people doing this but that does not rule
out the large number of cases where rape
is strictly from desire it has nothing
to do with control I want to control I
just I want
you it's desire the desire which is
pumped up and increased by the
unclothing of females unclothing in the
sense of either removing their clothing
or having them wear clothing so tight as
to expose all of their private
parts so from the Islamic perspective
Islam holds that when a woman exposes
herself like that she opens herself up
to
harm when Islam covers up the women like
this at the same time it says men if you
do not observe this you rape a woman the
penalty for you is death very severe
penalties for rape but that severe pen
and of course a lot of the feminists
would say yeah good rape kill the man
you know they pump push for that kill
the man who commit rape in India There
Was You Know movement women feminists
calling for killing the men but the
women wear these saries with these tops
which are skin tight which are you
exposing their parts of their body the
whole middle sections Etc andless they
kill the men who want to rape
us this doesn't work these things have
to be balanced on one hand yes if a man
rapes you're going to kill this person
but on the other hand the woman should
be covered so as not to encourage it
must be balanced here so so Islam seeks
to protect the woman by having her
clothes and the hijab this covering is
an expression of also separation in the
society that she functions in one area
of the society where there not a lot of
men around she doesn't function
situation where they're mixing with men
why because whenever this happens women
suffer in Bangkok today they have
separate buses for women and for men and
this is a society which is not talking
about you know women's rights and this
kind of things they separated them why
not because they feel that you know
women need to be separated from men
normally but because women were
suffering so much on those buses the
crowded buses they were suffering in ch
in in in Japan today you know there's
number of reports have hired special
police that are going to go in these
bullet trains you know where people are
packed in like sardines to catch the
gropers CU women are are suffering and
also we know it in big cities like New
York City and the subway ways in the
tube in London you know doing rush hour
and people crushed together what happens
what do the women what happens to women
in these circumstances they get it so
Islam seeks seeks to make a separation
in order to protect the women from the
harm or is it because men are normally
harmful and evil no not necessarily but
because of putting people in close
proximity of removing the clothing of
people this encourages and and and
promotes this kind of corruption and
this very important you know where where
you know where we have cases where we
talk about pedophilia where adults
molest children and this type of thing
we have to consider this that how little
children are being dressed today and I
me it's not to say this justifies
pedophilia as we say that the nakedness
of women don't justify rape is still a
crime from Islamic perspective but in a
way their little girls are being dressed
in such way they're wearing tight tights
and skin thises and exposing their
little bodies and these type of things
and prancing around you know and then
you know in societies where you you know
men you know showing affection and
molesting them and actually much of the
molestation takes place within the
Family itself it's the uncles and the
brothers and the cousins and these type
of things mostly must the little kids
you know so we have to be conscious we
have to be aware don't say that little
kids have to wear all hijab these type
of things but we have have to be very
moderate and modest in the way that we
dress our children to protect them from
the potential harm that is there in the
society with that dear viewers we like
to stop here on the issues of hijab
we're going to continue in our next
segment in this area because it is a
topic which one sitting cannot possibly
do justice we need to look a little
further into issues of separation and
the covering of the Muslim women so I
hope you will continue to follow our
program be with us in the next segment
and till then I B you farewell Salam
alaykum