Re: ProgressiveMuslims digest, Vol 1 #360 - 3 msgs

RESPONSE  to A from Australia:
but you are looking at it from your own perspective, fine as far as it goes.  
But it also helps to look at it from the perspective of those who wish to 
wear hijab and/or maintakin the disfunctional statusa quo.  They are the ones to 
reach.

I do personally agree with your concerns about power and that 2 year old 
girls should not be wearing these things! Perhaps it is meant to be cute but it 
looks like propaganda to me.  But what I think has happened it the 
ideologization of the faith -- in order to maintain certain positive values-- yes we must 
admit the motivation can be seen as positive.  However it is a wrong approach, 
all head and little understanding. "There is no compulsion in religion"-- this 
is neglected in favor of tribal conformity. 

However that said, we should not fall into the ethnocentric trap of regarding 
head coverings as the same as oppression, and the same trap with gender 
separation. Indeed these traditions may (if consciously adopted) help safeguard the 
male and female essence we are in danger of losing at the expense of the 
false, socially-constructed self. 

However to be honest you can have a false self in a burqa or beard just as 
well.... but at the ideal level I would suggest these cultural modes have 
validity.

Here in the USA and also in general however I agree that we need to move 
towards full inclusion at mosques. How to get there? It will be step by step. Even 
men are not well enough served by mosques as they usually have little say in 
how they are run, and social services are haphazard and occasional. So there 
is much room for development that will bring in women step by step without 
necessarily "head-on" confronting centruries-established practice overnight. We 
really do need to consider the danger of backlash.

We might look at the experience of some other faith groups as well, to see 
how adaptation may be accomplished without weakening the community. Insha'Allah

ADEM, 
ICNA Relief