Thursday, November 7, 2013

Realistic about the Hijab

Yesterday I couldn't resist myself over putting up an idealistic post on the wearing of the hijab. Today I had the opportunity to bring balance to that post. I can afford to indulge in idealism on this blog because I do not have the responsibility of running this place. Now if you are the government, you have to be very careful.

This morning one of my Muslim friends was tagged on Facebook with this.

The Muslims are late, the Christians especially Evangelicals had been doing this for a long time including silly ones like "honk if you love Jesus" car decals.

You walk into some Christian bookshops you can even buy Christian foods! What else is coming is beyond my imagination.






Huff post put this up earlier too. Pope Francis kissed and prayed for a poor guy with boils all over him.

I was thinking about the "Dear Allah" post and this one. The former is what I call form and the example of Pope Francis substance.

The practice of religion with forms is dangerous. It is also definitely divisive sending a clear message of separation. On the other hand religion which express itself as Pope Francis is always inclusive. All of us could dress like the Pope but if we consistently act like him, the world is a better place. Their acts of grace far exceed the sartorial difference.

Question: On average is there greater love and commitment to good coming from Muslim women who don the hijab than those who do not? I doubt it. Cross wearing Christians in general are no different from those who do not, and I am uncomfortable with Christians driving their cars with, "honk if you love Jesus"

My take? I am with the government for not shifting the ground on the hijab. Allowing more opportunities for wearing the hijab will serve more to divide than unite us. In theory it could massively go the other way as in my earlier post, but that's theory.


5 comments:

  1. We are not wearing veil or burqa. Singaporean Muslim women has been wearing tudung, like what Mdm Halimah is, for so long. It is acceptable by the majority.

    It is being dicreetly going ons for years that our tudung wearing daughters were told to take off the tudung when appliying frontline jobs n nursing etc.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. Keep the issue alive with the government and society. Don't ever give up as we can only get more and more educated about this over time. This journey itself however long is worthwhile. I hope I am not missing the mark to add that we should try to be as patient as Allah is.

      Delete
  2. Yes, it's also shameful to see Muslims publicly drinking alcohol in coffee shops and Muslims (some even wearing tudung) queuing at Singapore Pools outlets to place bets and gamble

    ReplyDelete
  3. externalities do not make for a better Christian or a better Muslim
    I know of many Christian and Muslim friends (and for that matter, Buddhist and Hindu ones) who speak and act from the heart. Externalities sometimes are created by money-seeking vendors and have nothing to do with being a true practitioner of the religion

    ReplyDelete
  4. There is nothing 'form' about the hijab. You think Muslim women wear the hijab because it is cool or hip or because everyone else is doing so. The hijab is a choice that is made by some Muslim women because they want to adhere to Islamic teachings, not because of 'form', or whatever you want to associate it with. You seem quite ill-informed about the hijab.

    ReplyDelete