It’s not because I hate to be a Muslim.
It’s not because I don’t respect or don’t want to protect my body.
It’s not because I don’t believe that hijab is for women’s good, or particularly for my own good.
I am sure a lot of people would against my thought. Well, maybe I am wrong, but let me tell you my story.
So I started to wear the hijab when I went to college. This decision came after my deep and long thought about all the consequences I should take for committing myself to wear hijab. I wasn’t really sure about what I was going to do, but I did it anyway because I wanted to be a better person ( I still do), particularly in terms of religion. So the hijab was the starter.
At first, it felt strange and uncomfortable as I had to cover my head and my entire body while in public. Then I got used to it as I wore it every day. But after two or three years, I began to question myself “what kind of changes do you think you have achieved so far?” I honestly couldn’t answer that question because I myself didn’t even see any changes nor had the motivation to change. I tried to convince myself that hijab is a good thing so I should keep wearing it, but I couldn’t help questioning many things about it.
There are some different interpretations between sheikhs about hijab. Some take the verse “And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest, and to display of their adornment only that which is apparent, and to draw their veils over their bosoms”(24:31 partly) as just modest dress, some take it as full niqab (so face veil too and even gloves), some women cover everything, but most take it as covering the hair. So which one is actually true?
I lived in a Muslim-majority society where wearing or not wearing hijab is normal. Wearing a t-shirt and short is normal and modest enough for most people (of course it also depends on the situation). If wearing hijab is meant to be modest, and not wearing hijab is actually “modest” according to the society I live in, then why should I wear the hijab?
Hijab in Islam is also meant to protect the women. Women are supposed to cover their body so that they become less attractive to men. So what I ever heard is that in Arabic culture, hair is considered as one of the most attractive part of woman’s body. Therefore women should cover their head in order to avoid bad things that could happen if men cannot control their desire. If I live in a society where hair isn’t one of the main attractions, why should I wear the hijab? I think the main attraction is still the face, and in Islam covering face is not compulsory. I also think it’s not fair for the women. Instead of asking women to cover their entire body, why don’t we ask the men to control their selves?
Every place has different condition. It makes sense that in Arab, the weather is so hot and dry that people need to protect their body. But what if you live in a wet tropic? It just makes you feel uncomfortable because the humidity is so high. Dessert and tropical rain forest are like two different worlds. People adapt to the nature.
So I come to the conclusion that if Islam is universal, then it is compatible with any culture and any condition. I am not an Arab and I don’t live in Arab, should I follow what people in Arab culture do? I know it’s not that simple. I am not anti-Arab nor anti-Islam. This is my logic and so far it makes sense for me. So yes, now I am no longer wear the hijab.
View the Original article
0 comments:
Post a Comment