does hijab represent decency or backwardness?

Well said. It's about how people practice it and others who judge a majority by the actions of a tiny minority.

well, cheekylady, this is a forum where everyone wants to have his.her say. There are some facts and some myths. Take what you wish. All are obsessed with their own culture and defending. No agreements, no conclusions.

FathimaH I've always said that there's nothing wrong with any religion. The problem lies in how people practices it.

Well Said Fathimah !

Geez Mike, not you!

And may God guide us all in our misguidances..Aameen. Barakh Allahu feek. And hope I too have not seemed argumentative and rude.

Truly Islam is not complicated , unfair, and Repulsive as some people, even among the followers, make it out to be. A person who follows any aspect of the religion, correctly and by choice, will always know the beauty and happiness it brings. And yes we are ultimately each responsible for our own actions. No one will be punished for another's sin. And know God is most merciful and the best of Judges unlike many among his creation!

I don't understand how you can blame a woman for men thinking indecent thoughts...surely this is the man's fault.

Thanks nomerci, I love you too! :(

I can understand what Fathimah says and how she explains it...the rest..OH DEAR!

Do you really degrade your men to brainless,not being able to execute restraint, morons?

Just wondering,as what you say sounds exactly like that..:/

Is it haram to say that you can spot some elegant and good looking ladies wearing their traditional attire?

Sis. Athimah.

appreciate a very balanced and nice comment.

infact Hijab increases the decency of a woman rather than non-hijab one who attracts more of the greedy eyes than indecent imaginations(after all Satan follows and looks for a chance for miscief)

I did mention "within the boundaries of Islam" and that means for a woman and a man covering what is obligated of our awrah. This is understood and I have in the past posted many hadiths on hijab and niqaab, and what is obligatory and what is more rewarding.

Once again the Prophet did beautify himself and even women are not only permitted but obligated to beautify themselves BUT in the manner pleasing to Allah.

You can for example have a nicely taylored jilbab and good quality shoes and this is not haram.

And when you are with your husband, or family(maharam) or even female buddies you can wear beautiful clothes, make up etc, this is all allowed provided you don't habour pride and pomp. And this is what I meant. Because fashion and beauty is not haram it's how you follow it that can make it so.

qatarologist... what on earth are you talking about???? "item used by the husband" do you actually read what you've written??? a woman is not an item or a subject. there is a massive difference between an item and a person! metaphors are all nice form of language, but you have to realise how to use them... otherwise it's just creepy haha

It's just some men are possessive in nature with jealousy issues, I guess... though sometimes I'm like that also given with a good reason but not by simple things...

I love how it's only men arguing here. All the women have come to an agreement that it's a personal choice and moved on.

There is nothing wrong in beautifying one's self within the boundaries of Islam. Our Prophet was a man who took great care of his appearance and cleanliness and.The proof is in the hadiths: Someone once approached the Prophet (peace be upon him) and asked: “What if someone likes that his clothing and his shoes are beautiful?” The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: “Allah loves to see the affects of His grace upon His servant.” [Sunan al-Tirmidhī (2819)]

And : Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty.” [Sahīh Muslim (911)]

But arrogance and pride is forbidden in Islam in all situations. The Prophet warned : "one will not enter paradise if one has an atoms worth of pride in his/her heart" and Allah says in the Quran " verrily Allah likes not each arrogant boaster"

As a Muslimah I can tell you the ONLY reason I wear my hijab(my khimar, jilbab and niqaab) is because it is ordained by my Lord..period! Its really nothing to do with any man or woman even for that matter. In the past, as one ignorant of my religion, I was faaaar from wearing hijab because I didn't realize it's importance. When I did realize this I took to wearing it.And the reason is purely to please my Creator and nothing more. Not because I think by wearing it I'm gonna be automatically considered a pious or precious woman because that is for God to judge based on ALL my deeds and not just my choosing to cover up.

I am a human being not a piece of candy or jewelry. My God created me to worship Him and my purpose in life,my aims and goals, are far great ,that comparing me to candy and trinkets is just plain demeaning.

No General, I do not. Men wear tight shirts to show off their abs, as women wear tight shirts to show off their boobs...men wear pants cut so that they look favourable to the shape of their bum and legs, as women wear short skirts for the same reason...same same, no difference.

All want to show off their assets as to attract mates...as men who cover wear expensive pens, thobes, ghutras , sunglasses etc..and women who cover wear pretty abayas and handbags and make up...no difference.

Each do it in their own way.

no mercy, yes they are as normal and as human as men and they too look at good looking men like men look at good looking women. Women wear too few cloths and cover too less their bodies unlike men. Do you see some difference there?

General...? What's obscenity in seeing a woman on normal clothes? Women got their own mind & decision to make. Treating them as a personal belonging like gold would be ignorant. They are our equal maybe not physically but mentally gives them right to decide how to be taken care off...

Dear God...there is nothing wrong with a woman wanting to cover herself up with Hijab...and there is nothing wrong with a woman not wanting to totally disguise herself.

What is wrong is anybody judging the other for doing what she feels is right for her.

What is even more wrong, is men going on about "covering a lollipop or piece of gold". Woman are actually neither..they are as normal and as human as men.

And you know what else?

They like to look at good looking guys..yes, the ones in hijab do too....just as guys like to look at nice looking women.

There...this is how it actually all works out.

Just in case you did not know.

ok there lies the difference you don't c a normal woman as gold. Obscenity is corporate's trick to make money. Nothing sells like entertainment today..

ok there lies the difference you don't c a normal woman as gold. Obscenity is corporate's trick to make money. Nothing sells like entertainment today..

General... Well that's the difference between us when I saw a girl, I'll look but I don't stare then say to my self, nice she' beautiful but that's it no dirty thoughts like drooling to see what's underneath. When your used to seeing girls in normal clothes you won't even bother looking unless she's not wearing anything.

I'm not against hijab's meaning to others but preaching it to those who's not on same faith should be avoided... By the way a precious gold like jewelery receives it's highest praise when admired my others, just saying...

cupid, there u go. U wanna c their body acting like u don't feel anything. Don't u? Yes, muslim men too have this desire yet they beg them to cover because they are not used to this pretentious things. Desire is same the method of dealing with it is different. Why don't people just say 'to u is ur way and to us ours'. Don't insist start pretending and get used to it. Both their men and women understand the nature better. .

How right you are. I am still waiting for thongs to be back in vogue :o)

ismailerum, you can assign it as much meaning as you wish (different societies assign different meanings to various things), but clothing will still be clothing :o)

sorry mate!

ismailerum... True, to an extent but only for those people who thinks uncovered girls are slots (wrong spell intended) but for those who used to seeing revealing clothes it would just seem normal & no malice...

Old fashions are sometimes seen coming back to life. :)

Interesting aside from Skittles.

I was thinking about tattoos. Early man used to wear body paint to impress the opposite sex and also scare the enemy. Then as we civilised, this went out of vogue. Now tattoos have come back in a big way. What does that say about humans ?

Sweetheart, you are taking the discussion is an altogether wrong direction. In Alaska, even the most offending exhibitionist would need to cover themselves in order to save their a** from being frozen.

This is a fact, as humans evolved they put on clothes. There is just no argument about it. We all know what it means for a girl to be decently dressed. In plain terms it means, a girl's dress is probably indecent if she makes lookers on have an erection the moment their eyes fall on them.

As far as hijab goes, it is just a piece of clothing, and it is completely at the discretion of the wearer, whether to put it on or not. It has nothing to do with decency or backwardness.

"Man in the early times was almost naked, and as his intellect evolved he started wearing clothes"

so does this mean those that live in a cold climate are more civilized(wearing layers of clothes) than those that live in a hot climate" (what do you mean you are wearing shorts? go put pants on and get civilized like ALASKA" haha this post proves on thing, that lady is a total .......despite of what she is wearing.

Well, still the point would be respectful of women despite what she wears. Hijab can't change a man's evil thought but I'm not against wearing it because clothes doesn't define us...

cupid, I was highlighting the extremities on one side without touching on other if you observed.

dk. ask fat and out of shape womenfolk there what is forced on them. All their worry is to get in shape which may well be next to impossible for some.

General... Yes we want to see your flesh baby. You certainly don't look good covered, Go ahead and show us every bit of it. We will kill any man who dares touch you. You don't worry. Remember you will only be picked if you look beautiful that way... then what do you mean by this? It's like hijab can change the thoughts of evil man, right?

Social and family pressures like asking to emulate the elder ladies of the family, persuading, brainwashing and setting family standards for level of decency or even threatening of god's wrath is not actually 'forcing'..

so, I guess, women are generally free to choose what they want to wear.

cupid, I didn't say that, did I?

Are you 100% sure the story is even true. I've met Tawakul Karman at a woman's empowerment conference where hijab and niqab were discussed and this incident was never brought up. In fact, it doesn't sound like her stance on hijab or niqab at all.

Also, from wikipedia:

Karman started protests as an advocate for press freedoms in her country. At a time when she was advocating for more press freedom, she responded to the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy in 2005 by writing: "We are not to call for tyranny and bans on freedom."[20][24]

She stopped wearing the traditional niqab in favour of more colourful hijabs that showed her face. She first appeared without the niqab at a conference in 2004.[11] Karman replaced the niqab for the scarf in public on national television to make her point that the full covering is cultural and not dictated by Islam.[25][26] She told the Yemen Times in 2010 that:[11]

Frankly I think this is propaganda that some over zealous idiot made up and put out.

General... Hijab can't change an evil man's thought even with a glimpse of an eye he'll still think of evil.

despicableme... There's no problem if they wear hijab or not the only problem is what the journalist had said about it represents intellect & decency. Clothes doesn't define who we are it's our actions that defines us.

hijab is required by Quran and ordered by Allah swt. today there are some women who are compelled by outside factors other than Quran and ALlah swt, to don the hijab, and this is wrong. Anything that is forced on an individual is not correct. Do they form the majority, no one knows, because no body has developed the statistics by asking each and every muslim woman in this world, on why she wears the hijab.

Then there are the women who have understood the purpose of hijab, its importance in Islam and have chosen to wear it.Do they form the majority, again, no statistics.

EAch woman has the right to choose and develop her own identity, whether it is by adding hijab,or not, is her choice completely and she alone will answer her Lord, no one else will answer for her.

The whole subject of hijab has been sensationalised to create controversies, but it was always there, stated clearly in the Quran.

intellect and choice of dressing is not necessarily related to one another. You can be a highly qualified independant woman, and managing a business and be covered in full hijab. And yet you can be the same person without hijab. The hijab does not make you a person. Its the deeds that make a person, man or woman,to stand out.

Who are we to judge anybody, whether in hijab or , business suits, or tube tops with jeans or bikini.

everybody, thanks a lot for the discussion. this post is dedicated to all the women out there, leaving a foot print everywhere. everybody is free to dress up as they feel but my only concern was why hijab was considered inappropriate for a nobel laurette as evident by the journalist's question

‎'When asked about her Hijab by Journalists and how it is not proportionate with her level of intellect and education,Noble Laurette from Yemen, Tawakul Karman'

it is not a case that i am right and others are wrong but it is a case where eyebrows are raised if a woman covers up. where most ladies now a days are comfortable and confident in skimpy clothes, why create a fuss when some of them are more comfortable in hijab.

cupid my comments are to counter the feeling in poor souls that hijab oppresses woman and makes her backward, not to malign anyone. I do respect her freedom.

It depends on the Society in General. Islam has given all the Due rights and i would say more rights to the women then men.

But again, it depends on the individual person, if she wants to wear a Hijab, "No One" can force her, its her own decision to make...

it's amazing how much interest a conversation about wearing hijab generates. I wonder if we would get as many comments if someone said "what do you think wearing jeans represents" talking about hijab is always sensitive for some reason

Bottom line is - if a woman wears hijab because she wants to - fine! It's her business. But if someone tells her she must wear it to be respected or not to tempt men - sorry, I can't agree with it.

Someone asked above what women wearing revealing clothes get out of it. I think they get some sense of identity. The same applies to hijab. By the way - no normal person (whether man or woman) walks down the street half naked :o)

If she feels forced by God that's one thing, forced by another human being is wrong.

despicable me where did I say it wasn't? I said as long as it's the woman's choice and she isn't being forced to dress a certain way, than it's ok.

Or you could say:1 WHAT HAPPENS IN MOST COUNTRIES-a group of men sees her, keeps their emotions supressed but drools from some places and behaves decently. they think about her whole day and may be even dreams about her- these are the so called decent guys2 WHAT HAPPENS IN (Deleted By Mod)- another group sees her passes some lewd comments and if gets the opportunity can get physical . they are the so called bad guys, the perverts, criminals etc etc.

Miss Mimi does anybody forces the nuns to cover up?

similar among muslims it is the love for thier lord which compels a muslim women to cover up.

despicableme... If you need a hijab just to respect a woman then you should be ashamed not for her but for your self.

ok let us do some analysis. a sexy women walks down a market/ street in tiny cloths, what would happen.

1-a group of men sees her, keeps their emotions supressed but drools from some places and behaves decently. they think about her whole day and may be even dreams about her- these are the so called decent guys

2- another group sees her passes some lewd comments and if gets the opportunity can get physical . they are the so called bad guys, the perverts, criminals etc etc.

3- one group of men sees her and is not affected in any ways. they are either the homosexuals or have some deficiency of testosterone.

4- one group of men sees her and lowers their gaze, seeks help from their lord to prevent them from temptation, from getting corrupt and from falling into satan's trap.

General... Like I said from my previews post, that kind of thinking what separates man from animals. If you think that way towards woman just because of what she dress then you got a dirty mind. You should never think that way towards woman regardless of her dress.

cupid my comment was not directed at you. The below one is ..

Yes we want to see your flesh baby. You certainly don't look good covered, Go ahead and show us every bit of it. We will kill any man who dares touch you. You don't worry. Remember you will only be picked if you look beautiful that way.

"displaying flesh and acting like the most lowly animals in public is female exploitation and not female liberation."

Women being able to wear what they choose, be it a bikini or a burka, is female liberation. For centuries, and even today, women have had their dress and behaviour dictated to them by men. As long as a woman is choosing to wear what she wants because SHE wants to, then she is liberated, regardless of what she chooses to wear or not to wear.

A hijab simply states that the woman is a Muslim. No more, no less.

As for clothing being somehow related to civilization, that's ridiculous. Clothing came about as a means of protecting our weak, fur-less bodies from the elements. It had nothing to do with modesty, rather that came later as a result of the creation of religions who, for whatever bizarre reasons, started focusing on genitalia and sex as being "dirty."

Wearing less clothing is a sign that our technology has advanced to the point that we no longer require restrictive layers of clothing for protection against nature, it has nothing to do with civilization.

prism-- dude i never said anything bad about european ladies, i do respect them. i only wanted to highlight that women do not have the right to decent dressing in some (european) countries.

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Judging a woman based on the way she dressed shows ignorance it's like saying a woman on a miniskirt wants to be rape & that kind of thinking are for evil people. Man can control his urge that's what separate man from animals. If a man can't control his urge just by a glimpse of an eye or skin then there's something wrong with him. Sin should fall to man's dirty mind not on the woman who just wants to be beautiful.

dodi2all- qatar has a very vibrant online community. you are encouraged to discuss everything. you might agree with some and disagree with others, which is quite natural. but you are not supposed to make personal comments if you dont agree with a certain point. learn to be polite and maintain decency in online discussions

nobody can force a lady to wear hijab, she does it by her own free will and to fullfill the requirement of modesty. hijab does not represent suppression of women or backwardness in society.

not only women but it is every muslims obligation to be decent in clothing, decent in thinking and in behaviour with everyone.

depriving women the right to decent clothing(as in france and some other european countries)is real supression of women.

displaying flesh and acting like the most lowly animals in public is female exploitation and not female liberation.

My comments are about not wearing a hijab but if you meant a naked women who's wearing a swimsuit on a beach then you don't need logic about it given the place though you should still respect them not because of what they wear but because they're women. Clothes shouldn't limit a person to chose who to respect or not...

To someone's comments above...

I didn't understand the logic behind a group of men and women going on adventure with women almost naked exposing their finest details and the poor men doing nothing to savor their beauty but mind their own business in hollywood movies. When that is what men are expected to display on seeing civilised women what do these women get by displaying their body. Then why not confine such body display to bedroom? All married men experience woman's naked body in their bedrooms then why don't they all behave like animals outside?

To someone's comments above..

Zmanz opinions applies to them & their women because that's their beliefs but for people who don't believe in their faith a hijab wouldn't make a difference because it's also in our faith that a woman with or without hijab is not a public property but a woman who should be respected despite what she wears. A man who don't have a sick mind despite seeing a woman without a hijab is a better man compare to a man who needs hijab just to control his urge.

ismailerum... are you guys really lost or high on something...where did I say he has no right to comment...Duh....with this low IQ levels I dont want to bother myself ...bash each other to your hearts content....and BTW thanks for your time.... I am outta here.

I like how some people see the options as either hijab or half-naked woman haha there really are options inbetween :o)

Why is it women that have to watch out not to tempt men? Why can't men just cover themselves so that they can't see things that tempt them to much haha if they can't resist, maybe it's them that need to be constrained :o)

women don't get tempted by a man wearing a T-Shirt!

Zmanz... though both of our earlier posts have been modified (I dont know how) but from your above post I can still pick up the following words "its the sick minds I have written here(read and understand it properly before you pendown) who want it(woman) to be exposed and made public property".... implying that once exposed they become public property for these sick minds... now, how and where did my understanding go wrong that women who arent wearing hijab or are exposed (per your definition) are then public property (even if, as you say, for sick minds)...are they???

And where did you see people spewing hatred... dont act like a child who cries at anything and everything.... grow up, as they say, sounds right for you.

The Question is that why one gets so agitated upon mention of Hijab.

where as it well understood that its upto person whether to use hijab or not. and

A donot mis interpret my words as calling all the Non-Muslim(even many non-muslim wear hijab many places in the india) are public property, its the sick minds I have written here(read and understand it properly before you pendown) who want it(woman to be exposed and made public property.

This not an inflamtory at all on the other hand many of comments spew clear hatredness towards the veilling or hijab.

Zmanz...so you mean to say ( comment deleted by mod) guess if that is what you are saying then hijab represents not a backward but a stone age or even prior to that mindset.

BTW hope you have read about this cleric in SA who got carried away by the eyes of a completely covered women... so again I hope you can see not only others but people within are also .......minded.

And while you state that this thread is open for bashing, thrashing etc etc, seems you couldnt control it not being handled that way so far and so came up with this inflamatory post of yours to ignite something. The thread has been civil so far...dont take it the other way and then alos jump complaining being bashed.

Again another thread of bashing, smashing, thrashing................

Hijab is Hijab it means protection from evil eyes and protection of one's honour and chastity.

Only ........minds who want to see flesh all the time feel uneasy even with the word HIJAB.

For me, I believe that wearing a hijab does not represent decency or backwardness. It represents religious beliefs, culture and tradition.

And what like Segmund said, a person can be decent with or without hijab.

I think hijab represent belief... If their belief says wearing it will make them decent so be it but don't push it to others as well.

Hijab has nothing to do with either. It is like asking a question: wearing trouser means decency or backwardness. Just like some people (actually most) prefer wearing trousers instead of shirts, some people prefer to cover themselves more (now we call that hijab). Hijab just means cover, and every human being has a right to cover themselves as much as they like although the right to uncover is limited. :D

I think it is just a matter a person's preference and their willingess to follow a religious injuction. A person can be indecent and still wearing hijab. A person can be decent with or without hijab. Backwardness also is completely independent.

Comment deleted ........

The OP will only lead to more bashing and hate.

First of all, a very dangerous question in any community.

The hijab is not worn on compulsion but as part of a belief system, just like removing your slippers when entering a place of worship (India), waiting for a glimpse of The Pope outside his window in Vatican.

None of this makes you indecent, backward or under educated. Neither does it make you intellectual, forward minded or highly qualified.

In fact, your question just showed us your intellectual built up.

Physiologically, the male urge is a conditioned response to the female stimulus. If a society continually tries to lower the natural stimuli, the threshold stimulus will also decrease over generations.

Do we want to condition men as animals that would pounce on every other female showing an inch of her skin in public? Or do we want to treat any part of female skin only as a thing of sexual stimulus to the males?

A woman without hijab is like an uncovered sweet that attract .( comment removed )..

No intend from my side to disrespect but to each its own.

Another silly post. It is a matter of personal choice. Some see it as representing decency, others as backwardness.

To each her own.

I was watching whatever met the eye..:-/

I was watching a recorded women's handball match in the Arab Games where female players from arab and north african countries were playing wearing shirts and shorts without any scarf.

I guess, this is the height of indecency and uncivilized culture..I wonder how was it allowed in an Arab country?

Obviously then everyone seem to be following there religion properly...one says cover up and the followers cover themselves...others religion doesn't say so and so they don't...:)

I wear hijab,by my free will, because my Lord has commanded me to do so via the Quran and authentic hadith. This doesn't make me more superior to any other human being because a person's eminence is for God alone to judge.

This means "civilization" suddenly arrived on this planet some 1400 years earlier in this part of the world and rest of the world is uncivilized even now...

None....the women wearing it are expected to wear it and they wear it.

to me it presents neither of the above mentioned.

It simply presents women that follow Islam the way they see fit.

Or , for some , are being told to follow by society or family.