News alert: Canadian scholars on niqab issue

Source: CAIR-CAN

 

 

- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -

Statement by Canadian Islamic Scholars and Mainstream Muslim Organizations Reaffirms Freedom of Religious Expression

(OTTAWA – October 9, 2009) In response to recent calls to ban the niqab (face veil) in Canada, a wide coalition of mainstream Canadian Muslim organizations in conjunction with Canadian Islamic scholars issued a statement today reaffirming the freedom of religion and conscience in Canada.

The statement read as follows:

“The recent calls to ban the niqab (face veil) in Canada are misplaced and contravene the fundamental principles of our free and democratic society. All Canadians, whether Muslim or not, are guaranteed by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms the freedom of religion and conscience. The state has no business in the wardrobes of the nation.

“Therefore, if a segment of Canadian Muslim women believe that wearing the niqab is part of their religious practice, then they must be allowed to freely do so. The principle must be extended to all religious practices, provided the practice does not infringe upon the fundamental rights of others.

 

“The marginalization of Muslim women must be countered with public education and anti-discrimination efforts, not with the state’s dictation on how one may dress, which only serves to further marginalization instead.”

 

STATEMENT SIGNATORIES:

Ahlul-Bayt Centre Ottawa *
Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN)
Canadian Council Of Muslim Theologians (CCMT)
Canadian Council of Imams
Canadian Islamic Congress (CIC)
Canadian Muslim Civil Liberties Association (CMCLA)
Canadian Muslim Women’s Institute (CMWI)
Canadian Muslim Forum (CMF)
Council for the Advancement of Muslim Professionals Toronto (CAMP Toronto) *
Dar Al-Tawheed Islamic Centre
DawaNet Canada
Federation of Muslim Women *
International Muslims Organization (IMO)
Islamic Ahlul Bayt Assembly of Canada, Richmond Hill *
Islamic Circle of North America Canada (ICNA Canada) *
Islamic Foundation of Toronto *
Islamic Society of British Columbia
Islamic Society of North America Canada (ISNA Canada)
Islamic Social Services Association (ISSA)
Islamic Society of Toronto
Jamat E-Islahul Muslimeen *
Jami Omar Mosque
Muslim Association of Newfoundland and Labrador
Muslim Council of Calgary (MCC)
Muslim Association of Canada (MAC)
Muslim Council of Montreal / Conseil Musulman de Montreal
Muslim Presence / Presence Musulmane *
Muslim World League, Canadian Office *
Salaheddin Islamic Centre
Scarborough Muslim Association
TARIC Islamic Centre, Toronto
Young Muslims Canada

CONTACTS:

Nermine Barbouch, CMF Spokesperson, 514.806.3257 [FRANCAIS]
Selma Djukic, CAIR-CAN Spokesperson, 416.726.4992
Shahina Siddiqui, ISSA Executive Director, 204.944.1560
Shk. Yusuf Badat, CCMT Spokesperson, 416.321.0909 ext 235 or 416.402.8542

This whole burqa thing is getting out of control

 

Canada has now caught on to this virus of wiping away the ’freedom of religion’ card in the name of “we want to liberate you”.  We don’t know you, we don’t want to know you, in fact, we wish you were wiped off of the face of the earth, but we want to ‘liberate’ you. 

“The Muslim Canadian Congress called on the federal government to prohibit the two garments in order to prevent women from covering their faces in public – a practice the group said has no place in a society that supports gender equality.”  (Excerpt, The Canadian Press, Toronto)

Who the heck is The Muslim Canadian Congress?  The Canadian Muslim community certainly hasn’t heard of them.  And when I checked out their website, it was no surprise to me that they were “progressive Muslims” a.k.a. Muslims who have no scholarly knowledge about Islam who want to erradicate the rulings of Allah in order to “liberalize” Muslims. 

What makes me upset about this whole ‘burqa’ issue is that’s it’s just all media propoganda.  I wish we would all just cut through the junk and say what’s really going on.  If a government is going to make a law that prohibits something, don’t they need substatial evidence? Hmm, let’s see.

• How many authentic Islamic scholars did they interview to find out if the niqab is actually a religious tenant or cultural practice?
• How many authentic niqabis did they interview to find out if they were forced to wear the niqab or do it because they believe it’s a religious practice?
• How many cases of ‘oppression due to forced niqab’ do they have recorded in the courts?

Hmm, let’s see….. none, none and …… (surprise) none.

And that’s not all.  The media is doing an excellent job of taking false statements and spreading them.   Do you really want to know what the majority of the global Muslim community thinks about this issue?  Here it goes:

First of all, who the heck wears a burqa?!  No one, except for some women in Afghanistan.  That garment is part of their culture, not ours.  Religiously, the term is niqab, meaning face veil.  It is part of the religion of Islam.  Yes, I will say it again.  It is part of the religion of Islam.  It is not a cultural practice.  How do I know this?  The wives of Prophet Muhammad all wore it.  All authentic Islamic scholars will give you substantial evidence that it is a religious practice.  Is it compulsory for every women to wear it?  The majority of the scholars will say (based on proof that is outside of the scope of this article) that it is permissible to wear it but not compulsory.

What will average Muslims tell you about the niqab?  They will say that the hijab is compulsory but the niqab is not and they do not prefer the niqab for themselves.  However, they wholeheartedly understand the proofs that it is permissible in Islam to wear and those who choose to wear it have the “freedom of religion” to do so. 

It is very, very rare to find niqabis who are forced to wear it.  All the niqabis I’ve met wear it because they want to and because they believe it’s a religious practice and they do it out of their own free will.  All of them feel liberated by doing it.   These people are your average citizens who are peaceful and caring neighbours, who care about the betterment of their children, their society and their country.   They just happen to wear an extra piece of  1′x1′ of fabric around their face.

So, again, Canadian government, French government, why in the world are you oppressing our sisters?

Note:  Update

CAIR-CAN publishes an official press release on the issue of the Canadian ban of the niqab:

Statement by Canadian Islamic Scholars and Mainstream Muslim Organizations Reaffirms Freedom of Religious Expression
http://www.caircan.ca/itn_more.php?id=3056_0_2_0_C

Hotdogs, souvlakia and shawarmas: my life, my culture

A few days ago I was invited to a New Muslims dinner with Canadian converts to Islam.  It was refreshing to see a culture opposite to your typical Arabic culture.

(That means we were eating pasta, deviled eggs, taco dip and banana bread instead of your usual shawarma, rice and hommus mix.  )

It was funny because at one point one of the Canadian-born sisters was sitting next to me and because we were relaxing so much she crossed her leg and the back of her foot happened to be facing me.  We both laughed because she said she was sorry so I won’t take offense.

Right away, I knew what she was referring to.  In the Arabic culture, if your foot is facing another person, that is one of the most demeaning insults you can make to a person.  (Remember the whole Iraqi journalist-slash-Bush-slash-shoe-throwing incident?) I told her not to worry because I’m not Arabic to begin with.

But it was interesting because the other Canadian sister beside me saw us and said, “Oh, that’s why my father-in-law was so angry when I did that to him?!”.  She was a brand new convert and got her first shockwave of Arabic culture.

When people first convert, some think that they have to become “more Arabic” to become more pious.  Instead of sister, they call you “ukhti”.  Instead of hotdogs, it’s kebabs.  Instead of a baseball cap, it’s the traditional headdress Saudis wear.

I thought like that too at first but with proper knowledge of Islam, I started to realize that I don’t have to be an Arab.  There is nothing wrong with being an Arab, but I can just be myself - a Canadian Greek Muslim- as long as I take the good from each culture.

For example, in the Canadian (and sometimes even Greek) society these days, it’s very normal to see some kids violently swearing at their parents and yelling at them or treating them with no respect whatsoever.  Obviously, this is totally against Islamic principles.

But then there are other cultural things in Canada that I like, like saying please and thank you.  (I was told not to say thank you in Athens, otherwise they will consider me to be a foreigner!)

And then it gets really confusing for non-Muslims (and sometimes Muslims too) to try to figure out what is culture and what is Islam.

For example, my Canadian friend was telling me one of those “horror stories” of a Muslim friend in the Indo-Pak region that is being completely denied of her financial maintenance rights from her husband.  Obviously this is completely unIslamic but without proper knowledge, someone can easily look at that and so, oh, see what Islam does to Muslim women?!

So, in the end, culture and religion is not a black-and-white issue, choose-one-or-the-other idea.  Muslims come from cultures in every country and every continent and they are as different as fingers of my hand. No one is better than the other, but we are one hand and one nation united by one belief,

There is no object worthy of worship

except the one true God (who created everything).

The next time you see one of the 30 million Chinese Muslims, what will you think?