Common Misconceptions about the Niqāb

The other day, Octavia Nasr from CNN tweated (@OctaviaNasrCNN) this article, about the Niqāb (aka: Burqa). I thought it was really interesting.. check it out!

(picture from: wikipedia)

From Times Online July 21, 2009

The niqab, fact v fiction

How much do you really know about the niqab?

An insider guide to common misconceptions                                                               

Fatima Barkatulla 185 Comments

Recommend? (69)

1.The niqab is a symbol of female subjugation.

None of the niqab-wearing women who I know, wear it because they have been forced to. They see it as an act of devotion to their Creator: the culmination of a spiritual journey. In fact most of them are women who were born and brought up in the UK; many are White or Afro-Caribbean Muslim converts to Islam who have chosen to observe it. The hijab, niqab and abaya are outer garments and are worn only when outdoors or in the presence of men who are not close relatives and so, contrary to popular belief, underneath their robes, in family and female-only settings Muslim women are often very fashion conscious and outgoing. They dress in everyday clothing; they get their hair done, go on holiday and even buy lingerie!

2. Women who wear the niqab cannot possibly contribute to society

People are surprised to hear that niqab-wearers come from varied vocational backgrounds. They include doctors, teachers, dentists, authors, social workers, university graduates, lecturers and more. They usually prefer to work in a female environment and so would not wear the face-veil all the time. Other women say that wearing the niqab actually makes them feel more comfortable when they are working with men. It is ironic that the very women who are the subject of debate are far from being a burden on society: they don’t get drunk and disorderly, don’t smoke and are likely to be very good citizens. Many of them are full-time mothers who take pride in raising well-educated children who will be an asset to British society.

3. The niqab isn’t in the Qur’an

The Qur’anic worldview presents a complete system of living, which permeates the daily lives of observant Muslims....

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A Poem for Iran's Rooftops

This video is pretty powerful. Its an Iranian woman reading a poem about the people of Iran, as the background is filled with Persians saying Allahu Akbar* into the night. I got this video from this website, which was recommended on Twitter by demi moore (@mrskutcher). There are more videos, that are also pretty awesome, posted onto YouTube by people inside of Iran, click the link above to watch them.

Today has not been a good day in Iran, full of tear gas, fires, police, abuses, and yet it seems the protest will go on. I love the great images coming in from TehranLive.org, in the one above, the woman is covering her face, like many protesters are, in a way of saying she is protesting for the freedom of speech she does not really have, yet.


*Allahu Akbar = literally means "God is great", and is ironic and symbolic because this same sentence (which is used often in Islam, during prayers), was used as a sort of chant during the '79 Revolution.

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A New Revolution?

As soon as the Iranians started voting on Friday, I was anxious, you could feel that this election, wasn't like any other. And, folks, it hasn't been. It has been hard to even put a blog post together, because the different news reports were bringing in conflicting information, and new reports were coming in all the time. At first, many thought Moussavi was being held under house arrest, but this morning (picture above) he arrived among his supporters. I was excited!

I really believe the Elections were rigged. I do. When Christiane Amanpour from CNN was doing some "unofficial election polls" last week, it seemed obvious that Moussavi had won, and that Ahmadinejad was defeated. Then, they both announced their victories? And then no one saw Moussavi the entire weekend. Today, it is being reported that he has met with Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and that the Ayatollah ordered an investigation into the fraud claims. But we all know the Ayatollah's record, so I'll believe it when I see it.

Ashton Kutcher (aplusk) through Twitter has compared it to when Al Gore won against George Bush, and the country went a little nuts. I think that that is true, and a good way for us Americans to identify with the problem. (I was one of those people going nuts in 2000). But , I know it sounds trisk but our country is free.. their country is a country where the Iranian bloggers sites are shut down for days at a time, and where during the elections cell phone use was cut off, the supporters of Moussavi (and the other challengers) were not able to use general means for their campaigns, they could not use TV ads and such, instead they used a cell phone network, a-la-President Obama's campaign. Twitter and Facebook also have been down, and then put back up. So yes, Ashton, its similiar, but at least Mr. Gore had the right to fight for his "hanging chads" but does Mr. Moussavi have that same right? Without being killed? I sure hope so..



This is from Sunday's New York Times..

She was in tears like many women on the streets of Iran’s battered capital. “Throw away your pen and paper and come to our aid,” she said, pointing to my notebook. “There is no freedom here.”

Ugh. So sad.

I've been following the Huffington Posts Iran Updates blog this weekend, click here to see the information as it comes in.

It felt ironically strange to be reading my new book, Reading Lolita in Tehran, which tells a story in post(crazy)revolution Iran, and to be watching CNN's footage about the protests this weekend.

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Mixed Fortunes

I have always really liked fortune cookies. I know that they can be cheesy, and I know that they are used over and over and over again at many places ~ especially where I most often go, Panda Express. But, I still like them. I think they are fun, and really, you can find meaning in the same fortune at different times, where it applies to you. Maybe its my way of getting some sort of forecast while I enjoy my Mandarin Chicken. Yum.


I've received these two fortunes in the last few months, and being a crazy that I am, have held on to them in my wallet. I really like them, maybe they're my version of Inspiration.

It has been nice the past week working at the Rack. Obviously, it is not my most favorite thing to do, and being that I have to go back to work tomorrow, and work everyday until Saturday, its not going to stay exciting for very long. However, it is nice to feel productive, and to know that my hard work will bring me some money. Because, unfortunately, I have yet to get the fortune cookie that says Plant this seed and a money tree will grow. I have merchandised some pretty awesome things at The Rack so far. I really want to buy everything . But I won't. Maybe just one or two small things. There's this cute bright green wallet that I want, that is only like $12, probably much more in my price range than the $230 Juicy Couture handbag that I covet. I should really buy more scarves, belts, and vests though, since we have to wear 3-piece outfits. Still not completely sure what that means. Guess I will find out when the store opens.

I have decided not to goto school this upcoming semester. Bummer, I know. I might be able to sign up for the one Statistics class that I need to take, but I am not sure. I really wanted to be able to get my Associates this August, but now I am thinking maybe I don't need to get the Associates, and I can just keep working towards my Bachelors. It makes more sense money wise to work full time this summer, and take more classes in the fall. We'll just have to see what exactly happens I guess. I should still be able to get my Bachelors either by December 2010, or May 2011. Which, sounds sooo far away, but one step at a time, right?*

I am slowly plodding towards my goal of reading 50 books in 2009. I just finished Holly Would Dream, by Karen Quinn, it was a fun book. The author, and the main character, are very obsessed with Audrey Hepburn. The book had something like 127 Audrey-inspired happenings. Which, was fun because I think I recognized quite a few of them, thanks to my own Audrey obsession, but even I got a little annoyed sometimes. Anyway, I felt like I needed to read a book that was going to be a light, fun read, instead of some of the harder books I have been reading. I tried to read the Poisonwood Bible, but sadly, I couldn't really get into it, it was so boring! Now I am reading Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. I have wanted to read this for a long time, and kept almost buying it at Target, but now I finally got it from the Library. I also just heard about a book called, The Muslim next door, the Qur'an, the Media, and that Veil Thing, by Sumbul Ali-Karamali, I am going to go get this new book from the Draper Library today, and it is next on my list.

* Unless there is some Millionaire out there, reading my very entertaining blog that wants to loan me some money (although, I accept cash presents as well).

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What price would you pay for Peace?

If anyone had been watching me as I watched the news this afternoon, you might have seen smoke fuming from my ears, or my eyes bulging out of my head: I was so angry. This is the headline I saw: Pakistani government does deal with Taliban on sharia law. I wanted to scream WHAT?! back at CNN's Campbell Brown (although I do know that she wouldn't hear me). It still makes me so mad.

First let me explain a little about Sharia law, I got the following information from this website:

Sharia Law - source and definitions:

The term "Sharia" (a.k.a. Shari'a) literally means "the path to a watering hole." The Guardian newspaper in the UK describes Sharia as: "... a religious code for living, in the same way that the Bible offers a moral system for Christians."

Within Sharia law, there are a group of "Haram" offenses which carry severe punishments. These include pre-marital sexual intercourse, sex by divorced persons, post-marital sex, adultery, false accusation of unlawful intercourse, drinking alcohol, theft, and highway robbery. Haram sexual offenses can carry a sentence of stoning to death or severe flogging. An eyewitness account of Soraya M, a woman executed by stoning, can be read on an anti-Iranian web site. Caution: do not read this if you have a weak stomach; it is quite graphic.

London's, The Independent ran an article today about the Pakistani Sharia Law entitled, Sharia law is the price of peace in Pakistan. The price for peace?? I'm not sure I think that Sharia law is a "good price" for peace. Who does this really help?? Does it really outweigh who it hurts?

This so called deal occurred in the North West Frontier Province (aka as SWAT: South Waziristan), where the Taliban have been terrorizing the area, with beheadings, rapes, and out right violence - mostly targeting women, notably girls' schools. I can see how you would want to stop that violence. Stop that terror. No one deserves to live like that. However, isn't anyone reminded of what happened in Afghanistan? I remember when the Taliban was just a group that needed to be appeased in Afghanistan. That didn't exactly end well. And lest we've forgotten, North West Frontier Province, SWAT, oh yeah, that's the province with the sketchy border with Afghanistan. That place that former President Musharraf basically handed over to the Taliban in the area. Isn't that nice?

From the CNN article, this Pakistani professor, Khamid Hussain, makes a good point:

Khadim Hussain, a professor Bahria University in Islamabad who studies Pakistani politics, said the government has effectively surrendered the areas to the Taliban, thereby setting the stage for two contradictory, parallel states in North West Frontier Province.

"If you leave them like that and you give ... a semblance of peace in a particular area, what does that mean?" Hussain said. "It means you're capitulating. It means you're surrendering the state to them. It means your submitting the state authority to them because they are running a parallel state."

He said the government's decision amounts to a marriage of convenience made under duress.

And of course this all happens when President Obama's envoy to the region, Richard Holbrooke, is on his way to Pakistan - he's currently in India. That couldn't be just a simple coincidence. Could it?

Modern countries currently practicing varying forms of Sharia Law:

• India: has a dual system, with both secular and religious courts
• The Philippines: also has a dual system of secular and religious courts
• Saudi Arabia: Religious Police
• Iran: Religious Police
• Libya: National laws predominantly influenced by Sharia
• Sudan*: National laws predominantly influenced by Sharia
• Nigeria: has newly reintroduced harsh punishments, such as:
• amputations of one or both hands for theft
• stoning for adultery and apostasy

* like I needed another reason to hate the Sudanese government. (see here)

Sharia Law is considered barbaric and cruel by the European Court of Human Rights. But sure, the U.S. will still be allies with Pakistan. Giving them money. Weapons. Anything else you'd like? I mean, I am all for keeping the diplomacy door open, but this just makes me want to hurl. Yuck.

One last thing, see this blog: http://womenagainstshariah.blogspot.com/ for an interesting read.

He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither.

~ Benjamin Franklin

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