Why hijab in Islam?

[amorly]

-. Hijaab includes conduct and behaviour among other things

Complete 'hijaab', besides the six criteria of clothing, also includes the moral conduct, behaviour, attitude and intention of the individual. A person only fulfilling the criteria of 'hijaab' of the clothes is observing 'hijaab' in a limited sense. 'Hijaab' of the clothes should be accompanied by 'hijaab' of the eyes, 'hijaab' of the heart, 'hijaab' of thought and 'hijaab' of intention. It also includes the way a person walks, the way a person talks, the way he behaves, etc.

-. Hijaab prevents molestation

The reason why hijaab is prescribed for women is mentioned in the Qur'an in the following verse of Surah Al Ahzaab:

"O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad); that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. "

[Al Qur'an 33:59]

The Qur'an says that Hijaab has been prescribed for the women so that they are recognized as modest women and this will also prevent them from being molested.

-two girls

who are equally beautiful, walk down the street. One of them is attired in the Islamic hijaab i.e. the complete body is covered, except for the face and the hands upto the wrists. The other sister is wearing western clothes, a miniskirt or shorts. Just around the corner there is a hooligan or ruffian who is waiting for a catch, to tease a girl. Whom will he tease? The girl wearing the Islamic Hijaab or the girl wearing the skirt or the mini? Naturally he will tease the girl wearing the skirt or the mini. Such dresses are an indirect invitation to the opposite sex for teasing and molestation. The Qur'an rightly says that hijaab prevents women from being molested.

-. USA has one of the highest rates of rape

United States of America is supposed to be one of the most advanced countries of the world. It also has one of the highest rates of rape in any country in the world. According to an FBI report, in the year 1990, everyday on an average 1756 rapes were committed in USA alone. Later another report said that on an average everyday 1900 rapes are committed in USA. The year was not mentioned. May be it was 1992 or 1993. May be the Americans got 'bolder' in the following years


- Muslim women wear the veil

In the Church (nuns) wears a veil

Do not experience any of them to hurt (the sun reach them due to move permanent in the streets to spend the daily requirements)

God does not impose anything that causes harm to mankind but the opposite


-The first criterion is the extent of the body that should be covered. This is different for men and women. The extent of covering obligatory on the male is to cover the body at least from the navel to the knees. For women, the extent of covering obligatory is to cover the complete body except the face and the hands upto the wrists. If they wish to, they can cover even these parts of the body. Some scholars of Islam insist that the face and the hands are part of the obligatory extent of 'hijaab'

why hijab in islam. read it please - YouTube

 

[Rationalt]

Seems there is no stopping the Monologue of this spammer.

 

[merryheart]

-. USA has one of the highest rates of rape

United States of America is supposed to be one of the most advanced countries of the world. It also has one of the highest rates of rape in any country in the world. According to an FBI report, in the year 1990, everyday on an average 1756 rapes were committed in USA alone. Later another report said that on an average everyday 1900 rapes are committed in USA. The year was not mentioned. May be it was 1992 or 1993. May be the Americans got 'bolder' in the following years

correction. the USA has the highest rate of reported rape

in countries that repress women and enforce separation, excessive covering etc - the rapes still happen, but since the victims are blamed for the crime and even killed for it they keep it to themselves!

 

[Jane_the_Bane]

correction. the USA has the highest rate of reported rape

in countries that repress women and enforce separation, excessive covering etc - the rapes still happen, but since the victims are blamed for the crime and even killed for it they keep it to themselves!

My best friend's brother returned from Afghanistan, and told us about jails filled with rape VICTIMS.

"And we are supposed to fight for the people who put them in there..."

 

[BruceDLimber]

The only hypocrites are liberals.

Sigh.

Yet another lie.

Not to mention prejudice ("pre-judging") and gross overgeneralization!


Bruce

 

[Booko]

But that's a whole different topic. The issue here is the oversexualization of the female body to the point where even exposed hair becomes an invitation for rape.

I can't help but think about how an exposed ankle would've been stimulating in Victorian England.

I don't see how extremes in either direction lead to desirable results.

And certainly not when it's applied in such a lop-sided fashion.

 

[Booko]

However, I still maintain that hijab is a good idea. I know lots of converts who often had guys whistling at them and calling them "mamasita" or whatever, which they just ignored and nothing really happened, but its still not cool, before hijab.. but ever since they started covering their hair, not a single trashy guy has said or done anything disrespectful like that to them.

I don't expect everyone to agree.. but that's how I feel and my personal observation and experience affirm my conviction in its worth.

Oh, I certainly recognize what you're trying to express here, JJ. It's why I wouldn't criticize a woman for choosing to wear hijab because there certainly can be advantages.

That said, I'll relate a story from my husband. Of course he grew up in the U.S., where a woman walking alone, hair covered or not, mostly isn't a cause for attention.

But during his undergrad study he went to Madrid to study, and found things were quite different there. Even women who were modestly dressed and not particularly young and "hot" were greeted with comments and whistles from the men in a way you just wouldn't see here. Just because she was walking alone, which in that culture at the time would be interpreted as...an invitation.

So the question of women's modesty always seems to come down to whether we should get society to shift so men behave or whether women should have to be shoved into a box because men will not.

On an individual level, let any woman do what works best for her.

But giving the men excuses for why it's ok to act poorly...nah.

 

[Booko]

I'll be honest: in spite of the fact that I'm very liberal WRT clothes and individual choices, the sight of extremely traditional muslim women *is* alien to me, always prompting that awkward reaction midway between having to stare and feeling the need to look away.

Yesterday at one of the markets there was a couple dressed in traditional Muslim garb, but they were chatting away at each other like any other couple might, and were obviously native born Americans (African-American, fwiw).

Most of the time though I don't feel free to speak to a woman who's totally covered. Women in hijabs I guess I feel no inhibition there, but then I grew up around a lot of elderly Latvian women who wouldn't leave the house with their heads uncovered either, so maybe it just doesn't seem particularly odd to me?

Then I continued my jogging tour in my tight-fitting sports clothes, feeling perfectly at ease about my own garb.

If ever have to cover all my hair in 98 degree weather with 98% humidity, well, I hope my husband finds me attractive with a shaved head. Because I don't see how else I could stand it.

The Native Americans in this climate never covered their heads either -- probably for good reason.

 

[Booko]

Which as you apparently didn't notice puts you into the highly questionable status of claiming to be libertarian (a viewpoint I see as worst-case-extreme conservatism) while eagerly wanting to clamp down on others!

OK, we're way far off the topic here, but libertarianism comes in all flavors not just the conservative form seen in politics here. I mean Noam Chomsky is a libertarian and is decidedly on the political left.

(I'll do you a HUGE favor here and not mention hypocrisy.)

Um...except you just did mention it?

I'm not sure why fschmidt would be a libertarian generally but not in this area, but hopefully we can continue to talk amicably and I'll gain an understanding of where he's coming from concerning modesty in dress, especially as a matter of public policy.

 

[roseglass6370]

That depends on how you define modesty. There's such a thing as dressing inappropriately for a given situation, and there are certainly dresses (and male clothes) out there that are so blatantly lascivious as to be considered inappropriate in MOST settings.

But this immature oversexualization of the female body is just ridiculous. When mothers are arrested for breast-feeding in public (as if a breast that's uncovered in such a very specific situation was somehow intended to carry erotic connotations), something is VERY out of joint in the state of Denmark (or rather the USA).

I would define modesty exactly as I did in my post, as being based upon cultural interpretations of what is overtly sexual.

No.

I'm sorry...but yes. It's a pretty solid fact that men are more sexually stimulated by visual imagery than are women. If you want me to back this statement up with studies and other references I would more than gladly oblige.

There's nothing inherently "impure" about a man finding a woman sexually attractive, or vice versa.

I'd be very much weirded out if men started to wear swimwear that covered their chests, for "modesty's" sake.

Frankly, I prefer that when I speak to a man he be able to comfortably look me in the eyes and pay attention to my words, rather than feel a burning temptation to shift his gaze downward to my cleavage every other word. Hence, I strive to cover that stuff up.

 

[Jane_the_Bane]

I'm sorry...but yes. It's a pretty solid fact that men are more sexually stimulated by visual imagery than are women. If you want me to back this statement up with studies and other references I would more than gladly oblige.

Humour me. (But be prepared to have ME cite studies and other references in return. The "biologization" of gender is a pet peeve of mine, and one that's been exposed as nothing more than a kind of cultural wishful thinking time and time again throughout the last 150 years.)

 

[roseglass6370]

Humour me. (But be prepared to have ME cite studies and other references in return. The "biologization" of gender is a pet peeve of mine, and one that's been exposed as nothing more than a kind of cultural wishful thinking time and time again throughout the last 150 years.)

Men and women differ in amygdala response to visual sexual stimuli - Nature Neuroscience

http://homepage.psy.utexas.edu/HomePage/Group/MestonLAB/Publications/brain.pdf

Archives of Sexual Behavior, Volume 19, Number 3 - SpringerLink
(**Read abstract of this article to understand relevance)

Areas of brain activation in males and females during viewing of erotic film excerpts - Karama - 2002 - Human Brain Mapping - Wiley Online Library
(**See this abstract as well, please)

...and the grand-daddy of them all...a meta-analysis of 46 studies on gender differences in regards to sexual stimuli...
Sex Roles, Volume 37, Numbers 3-4 - SpringerLink
(This meta-analysis summarizes the results of all 46 studies with the conclusion showing men scoring higher than women on all scales, esp in regards to visual (i.e. inappropriate contentographic) stimuli.)

 

[roseglass6370]

My point is that differences between the sexes do exist. Although some differences are socially imposed, the fact still remains that the psychological response in question is little more than an offspring of biology (the brain is just as much an organ as the ball or ovary, heart or kidney). Biological differences existing between the sexes in endocrine (i.e. hormonal) function naturally affects brain function and sexual response.

 

[LoAmmi]

Frankly, I prefer that when I speak to a man he be able to comfortably look me in the eyes and pay attention to my words, rather than feel a burning temptation to shift his gaze downward to my cleavage every other word. Hence, I strive to cover that stuff up.

To me it is all about choice. You choose the dress the way you feel most comfortable, and that's awesome. I mean that sincerely. However, if someone else wants to expose more skin, I really don't feel comfortable taking that away from them within some limits. At a synagogue you aren't supposed to have bare shoulders, for example. Also, we do have some public nudity standards that make sense.

 

[roseglass6370]

However, if someone else wants to expose more skin, I really don't feel comfortable taking that away from them within some limits.

I don't agree with legal intervention regarding dress either. I think requiring the hijab by law in the Middle East regions that do is painfully wrong. I will gladly defend the free will that God gave us! I'm merely suggesting why I personally feel compelled to dress modestly.

 

[LoAmmi]

I don't agree with legal intervention regarding dress either. I think requiring the hijab by law in the Middle East regions that do is painfully wrong. I will gladly defend the free will that God gave us! I'm merely suggesting why I personally feel compelled to dress modestly.

Exactly. I like laws that make sense and give freedom. I would strongly appose any law that attempted to forbid the wearing of a hijab.

 

[roseglass6370]

Exactly. I like laws that make sense and give freedom. I would strongly appose any law that attempted to forbid the wearing of a hijab.

Yes.

 

[Jane_the_Bane]

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis exposed hundreds of women to a variety of imagery, including violent and erotic imagery, and they consistently found that erotic imagery provoked the most powerful responses, even more powerful than the violent imagery.

The women’s brains processed the erotic images about 20 percent faster than any other type, and they appeared to be processed in entirely different brain structures. It was just so fast, so innate, so easy.

Such studies may help put the lie to the idea that women are not as “visual” as men when it comes to sexy pictures. They might be, but they might also have been so conditioned by society to reject such imagery that when asked for a subjective answer, they say they aren’t turned on by it.

“Usually men subjectively rate erotic material much higher than women,” lead author Andrey P. Anokhin, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Washington University, said after the study was published in May in the journal Brain Research. “So based on those data we would expect lower responses in women, but that was not the case. Women have responses as strong as those seen in men.” (link)

Almost all of the studies you cited shamelessly neglect the factor of social conditioning.

In a way, all of this is no different from 19th century scientists asserting that the right to vote would induce insanity, or ovaries would shrivel up from overeducation.

 

[fschmidt]

I don't agree with legal intervention regarding dress either.

So then you think people should be allowed to be naked in public?

 

[fschmidt]

At a synagogue you aren't supposed to have bare shoulders, for example. Also, we do have some public nudity standards that make sense.

I just want to clarify that LoAmmi belongs to a (misnamed) Conservative synagogue. Reform and Conservative Judaism are liberal Judaism. Orthodox Judaism does take modesty seriously and has strict dress codes.