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Face cover: God's only flaw?

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AceOfHearts
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« on: December 22, 2007, 06:25:04 pm »



Face Cover: God's only flaw?

The human face which almighty Allah has given us is no doubt the most important identity we carry. This is because when a person thinks of your name, they immediately draw a picture of your face before they think of anything else about you. When you present yourself, people know who you are immediately by looking at your face. This is the most fundamental way by which human beings identify and know one another and this is how Allah intended it to be. 

The face shows an infinite number of human emotions, we communicate using our facial expressions too when having a discussion. We eat using our mouth, we speak using our mouth, and we breathe using our nose and mouth which is on our face. We see using our eyes which is again on our face. These vital functions of the body are placed on the face for a very important reason. The reason is that all these features are required to be in a place where it can be seen and be unobstructed. Other areas of the body may need to be covered, but concentrating the vital features that require them to be left uncovered is miraculously placed on the human head.

For example, we need to eat without any obstruction in front of our mouth. Or our facial expressions need to be seen when we communicate with others. This is a miracle that the functions of the body which require to be left uncovered have been strategically placed on the human head. By keeping ones face in its intended natural uncovered state, several purposes are served in one go. All this leads us to conclude that the human face is designed to be left without being covered or concealed. What one should realise is that what has been stated so far holds true for men as well as women by the fullest degree.

Let us assume the vital human face has been covered by piece of cloth, then it is impossible to eat through the obstruction, speech sounds less clear under the cloth, the essential facial expressions are lost when communicating, breathing becomes difficult due to build up of vapour and heat etc. It is clearly a nuisance and against how Allah clearly intended the face to be.

Because of the vital role of the human face, Niqab propagated by Ulamas is a direct degredation of women. To serve the interest of men, which is their own gender, they observe no limits in ordering what women should conceal and have even stooped to eliminate the very face of women which Allah INTENTFULLY designed to be left uncovered at all times, just like the male counterpart.

According to many Ulamas, the women’s eyes too have to be covered and they have declared it “awrah”, as ridiculous as this may sound. In this case, vision the most important human sense, becomes dangerously poor. In short, these Niqaab innovating Ulamas attempt to eliminate women’s very existence in favouring their own apparently super-sexual energy given by God.

It is obvious that the face has been designed by Allah to be kept unobstructed (no Niqaab) at all times. This is because all of the functions of the human face stated above are in constant use through out the day wherever she may be (breathing, talking, facial expression, eating, drinking etc.) Your face identifies who you are. Covering the face of women is against the natural way of existing as human beings because as proven above, women's face which is a human’s face is DESIGNED BY ALLAH to be left without being concealed by an obstruction.

Many Muslim women have been brainwashed by Ulamas into believing that covering the face is ordained by their Creator. The proponents of the Niqab vehemently uphold that the Niqab is there to uphold and protect women's dignity and therefore it dignifies a woman. This is a flawed definition of being dignified. Dignified by covering ones face? Where is this definition of dignity coming from we should ask? Why is letting such a natural part of the human body (face) be seen, made to be like showing the most private parts of the human body? Because for many Ulamas, face is "awrah" like the most private parts of women's body as unbelievable as this sounds.

The face does not serve its purpose in design if it is concealed. Facial expressions of emotions, as well as speaking, breathing, seeing are all on the human face. Let us have a look at facial expressions for example. When a person speaks, it is not just the mouth that talks. The whole face is a magnificent communications medium. All sorts of emotions and feelings are powerfully communicated via the human face. It has been designed by our Creator, with muscles all at the right places to fulfil this function in both men and women - a powerful means to compliment and assist our verbal communication. Without it, a great asset of communication is lost.

The person that we are is primarily identified by our face. When you think of someone you know, you remember their face first and foremost. Right now, take a moment to think of a friend, family member or a relative you know. You immediately thought of their face. If that face was eliminated, you would find it hard to relate an existence of a being to a human, would you not? Eliminating the face means essentially eliminating the individual female from society. The face, the most fundamental ways human beings were designed to know one another. And in fact, this is what these Ulamas been trying to do, eliminate the face of women from society so that women's very existence is undermined. And what existence they do have under the Niqab is reduced to a mere sexual one.

In short, these Niqaab innovating Ulamas attempt to eliminate the very existence of women by destroying their faces in favour of their own apparently super-sexual energy given by Allah. They obliterate the following aspects of believing women:

•   Degrade vision to a dangerously low level…colour cannot be seen or appreciated and the world becomes a dark and morbid place. All tasks become difficult to do and even dangerous.
•   Food or drink cannot be consumed as food or water will not go through a fabric! (Unless the wearer finds a way around the obstacle).
•   Breathing is difficult with heat and water vapour from breathing building up under the cloth which cannot diffuse naturally into the surrounding atmosphere, as intended by Allah when He placed the mouth and nose there.
•   Obliteration of the identity of the individual. Human beings will no longer identify her by the most fundamental way Allah intended people to identify one another, which is by means of the face.
•   Language of facial expression is eliminated and communication with words is no longer supplemented with essential facial expressions. The human face has many muscles designed to show human emotions and expressions when communicating ideas and feelings.
•   Speech requires an unobstructed medium to travel in, sound waves is attenuated by fabric. Allah placed the mouth and voice box there so the sound generated will not be obstructed by anything.
•   The nose has been strategically placed on the human face among all the other functions that need to be unobstructed so that it too can perform its function with ease, which is to perceive the sense of smell. The fragrance of a beautiful flower is difficult to smell through an obstruction.

These ulamas have attempted to destroy these God given attributes of women. They have reduced women's face, a great asset of any women or any human being rather, to some sort of a sexual thing, a cause for arousal in men, and so it has to be concealed for men's interest and protection. Men who are apparently some sort of super sexually charged beings. This wrong perception of women (seeing them as symbols of sexuality) brings many negative behavioural problems rampant in the Muslim community. For example, the unwillingness to cooperate with members of the opposite sex, or work together in a team of men and women, or generally restricting women's presence in the public sphere (for example, Saudi driving ban on women, or Mosques not facilitating women). It also leads to segregation of men and women, and ultimately divides the believers into two groups, 'men' and 'women', as has been done today.

Though many Muslims say the west has made women "a symbol of sexuality", which I agree that it has been done, Muslims have also fallen into this error of viewing women as "a symbol of sexuality", but responding completely in the opposite extreme so that women have to be covered to an unrecognisable state, as Unidentifiable Moving Objects. So both these sides reduce women to objects of sexuality. Ironically, both of these sides believe they are diginifying or liberating women.

There is a middle path that takes neither of these extremes. In this path, we see one another primarily as fellow human beings, or even better as fellow Believers when together among fellow Muslims. On this path, men and women dress modestly and interact modestly. They do not view one another as sexual objects to want them to become clotheless or dress up to the point of being unidentifiable (the two extremes), balanced moderate dressing is what they promote.

If you are a Muslim woman, Allah created your face so that it can be seen and should be seen, so that you can function normally with your face visible in society. Allah's design is flawless: His resulting creation is such that you do not have to go through the burden of constantly keeping your face covered, as if it is incapable of functioning normally and naturally, which is that it be visible. If it cannot function this way (be visible), your face is made to become a flawed creation, as it becomes incapable of taking its normal functionality which the male counterpart can.

One of the most sickening aspects of these men who invent laws demanding women should become walking shadows and get rid their faces from public presence, is that they think they have basis from the Glorious Qur'an. Or they think they can deceive the mass into believing their lies are from the Qur'an. These lies about the Qur'an stay alive by propagating ideas about obedience to scholars, to not try to understand the Qur'an yourself, and making the Qur'an seem like a cryptic Book only a scholar can understand, and the ignorance of the Qur'an among Muslims resulting from this.

Many Muslims take recourse to the word "west" to find justification for their unjustifiable views on the alleged virtues of covering women's face. Trying to justify one extreme (where you conceal everything of the women), with another extreme (where women are not dressed at all), is only a trickery used by those who do not comprehend the balanced way of dressing and being modest which Allah wants us to have in the Qur'an. Unfortunately, using the term "west" to justify all extremes is all too common among these Muslims.

There are those with ‘mild’ views who insist that covering face is ‘optional’ but acknowledge it being ‘better’ and sign of more ‘taqwa’. This is a very flawed understanding, since as we have proven Allah designed the human face of women so that it can be left uncovered. Women who insist on such ideas while they themselves do not cover their faces expose hypocrisy in that they do not cover their faces and are satisfied not doing so while with their own tongues ‘admit’ it is better to cover their faces. The essence of the matter is if something is ‘better’ in the sight of Allah, all believers must strive to do it. Accepting second best is unacceptable for the true believers. Therefore, covering the face must not be said to be virtuous by any extent. A Muslim woman can achieve the supreme morality encouraged in the Qur’an by never covering her face, but by seeking the correct ways described in the Qur’an, in acquiring Allah’s good pleasure.

The reason why a woman can achieve the supreme morality without covering her face is because Allah never required her to cover her face. Doing so can be compared to the likeness of a woman who carries a 10kg sack of rice on her back all day long, thinking Allah will reward her for it. She burdened herself for no real reason where there was no requirement from Allah to carry this sack of rice.

There is modesty, and then there is immodesty. You can be modest dressing modestly. The modest dress is practical and does not conceal women to the level to which they are unidentifiable, does not make living in society impracticable or difficult for them and difficult for others to interact with them. This modest way of dressing allows women to achieve their God-given potential to the full by developing and utilising their intellects and skills fully, wherever it may lie.
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N. Truth Seeker
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« Reply #1 on: January 14, 2008, 02:36:38 am »


There is a middle path that takes neither of these extremes. In this path, we see one another primarily as fellow human beings, or even better as fellow Believers when together among fellow Muslims. On this path, men and women dress modestly and interact modestly. They do not view one another as sexual objects to want them to become clotheless or dress up to the point of being unidentifiable (the two extremes), balanced moderate dressing is what they promote.


This is the right course.  It's exactly the way the Believers' community should be.  I find both West and East on 2 opposite extremes.  The biggest problem is to find the kind of people who believe in that balanced outlook of life.    Another point, modesty is a hypothetical issue depending on the society you live in.  An outfit considered modest in Paris would make a temperamentally modest Muslim woman feel very conspicuous in Egypt or Saudi Arabia.  It's largely a culture thing.  I'm sure many practicing Muslim women living in Paris would prefer not to go according to the 'modest' standards of Parisians and instead adopt what they consider modest according to their culture.  At the end of the day, it must be left at the will of the people.  No matter how oppressive a particular dress code is reputed to be, the truth is that many also wear it by choice.  We musn't forget them and leave a margin for them as well.  After all, civilization & modernism are supposed to depict tolerance, and tolerance means giving options to everyone.  In a free society, choices always vary.  The imams force their rules about niqab and burka that aren't right.  Similarly, for instance, the schools in France that have forced the young girls to rip off their hijabs which is just as tyrannical.
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« Reply #2 on: January 20, 2008, 05:57:39 pm »

AsSalam Alaykum brother ..
If I may express my honest opinion, the second half of this article is beautifully correct that mentions the exaggerations of the imams and other clerics on making the niqab compulsory.  As always, they have made their own rules based on their own kinda arguments like they've done with many other issues e.g. perfume etc. 

Then again, the other half of this article is on the opposite extreme.  Though not in so many words, you do make it sound as though wearing a niqab is against Allah's wishes.  I would say, that's only your own opinion, just as the imams have their own views in support of it.  To my understanding, the Noble Quran doesn't command us to wear a niqab and neither does it forbid it.  From that perspective, I find this article not properly balanced in much the same way as the ulemas disbalance their arguments with forceful words to bring about the trend of niqab. 

I will elaborate a bit on the side I don't agree with .....

It might be easier to monitor facial expressions without niqab but that's not a good enough reason to disrespect the move of those who feel more comfortable with it.  After all, those who do wish to wear it, the very purpose of it for them is to prevent others from getting an idea of their faces and facial expressions.  While I personally don't consider it a big deal if someone saw my face or read my facial expressions, there maybe other women who don't think the same way as me.  I do disagree with them but that doesn't make me entitled to prevent them from dressing the way they do.  I'm not talkin about this article.  An article is just an article.  You've simply written your views, just as I write mine and others write theirs .. and sure we all have the right to do so.  But when laws are made on governmental or legislative levels prohibiting or even discouraging harmless dress codes like these, it only displays to what extent the modern world has lost its tolerance.   

Besides, niqab doesn't at all make breathing difficult and neither does it accumulate vapor .. not that the vapor of one's own breath is in any way harmful for that person.  If you pick up a standard piece of niqab and see the way it's tailored, you'll notice that it's simply a piece of rectangular cloth with a soft elastic around one rectangular end.  You put this over your head, bring it down upto the nose and just leave it there.  It simply hangs over the face.  It's open for constant passage of air from 3 sides. Even balaclavas, which is much much tighter and thicker than a niqab doesn't make breathing difficult, even though it accumulates a little vapor but like I said, isn't a big deal for it's not harmful for health.  In Canada people wear balaclavas for long hours because of the outdoor cold for at least 4 or 5 months a year.  Alhamdulilah, no one ever stopped breathing.   As for eating, if a niqabi woman desires to eat in a public place, she obviously removes her niqab by tucking it to one side or she simply doesn't eat at a public place and instead takes the food home.  Nobody wearing a niqab has as yet tried to feed herself by pusing the spoonful of food into the mouth through the cloth.   So I also don't quite follow how niqab can be an obstacle in the way of eating.  Most importantly, I personally know some ladies who prefer wearing a niqab while going out.  None have ever brought these points such as breathing or eating being a problem or being troubled by accumulation of vapors because of the niqab.

My 16-year-old niece who suffers from asthma finds it impossible to go out in winter without a thick woolen scarf (or muffler as people in UK would call it)  wrapped around her lower face, covering her nose and mouth to prevent inhalation of the cold air.  This is also the doctor's advise.  The vapor and warmth within the cover helps her to avoid asthmatic bouts from the cold and eases her breathing greatly.  In summer, she often keeps the thin cotton niqab hanging over her lower face as a covering to protect herself from pollution and smog.  Niqab doesn't protect from pollution completely because like I said it's open from three sides for air to pass through, but it does prevent the big gusts of atmospheric pollution from being inhaled in large quantities.  So that definitely helps a little. 

Walaykum salam and peace.
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« Reply #3 on: February 12, 2008, 07:25:12 am »

Peace sister,

I value your input. Thanks very much.

As you may or may not know (about the fatwas), this article is a firm response to the religous verdicts/fatwas stating it is Fardh and Wajib for women's face to be covered. In other words it is sinful for women's face to be visible in society. Necesarily, this article uses the required firmness in response. This is because the human face was designed by Allah to be left uncovered (we know it was so using our intelligence, reaosn and logic) and to say it is sinful for it to be uncovered is in a way, an insult to Allah. Therefore, when you said:

"It might be easier to monitor facial expressions without niqab but that's not a good enough reason to disrespect the move of those who feel more comfortable with it."[/b]

...i do not agree I 'disrespected' anyone, as this was a attack on the concept and not the people.

I agree pople are free to cover their face if they wish. But as I said above, this is an attack on religious verdicts which considers women's face sinful and "awra" - part of the body that must not be exposed.

"Then again, the other half of this article is on the opposite extreme.  Though not in so many words, you do make it sound as though wearing a niqab is against Allah's wishes.  I would say, that's only your own opinion, just as the imams have their own views in support of it. 

Yes I do make it sound it so, I believe I proved it well that Allah designed it be left uncovered (this is not refering to specific individuals or circumstances, but the broader default in humanity).

"To my understanding, the Noble Quran doesn't command us to wear a niqab and neither does it forbid it.  From that perspective, I find this article not properly balanced in much the same way as the ulemas disbalance their arguments with forceful words to bring about the trend of niqab."

You may or may not have studied closely ludicrous Sunni interptation of the Qur'an, they claim it is in the Qur'an. As the Qur'an says you may reveal "what should naturally be seen" in Surah Nur, by reason and logic we conclude the human face is something to be naturally seen. So there is no Qur'anic basis to cover the face (or any part of the head for that matter), on the contrary evidance to show that women's face was designed to be seen is to be found.

" From that perspective, I find this article not properly balanced in much the same way as the ulemas disbalance their arguments with forceful words to bring about the trend of niqab."

I dont think the article is "unbalanced", it is providing logical reasoning behind the design purpose of human face which leads to the conclusion the face is to be seen. Besides, it is not a matter of "balance" or "unbalance". It is a matter of truth. If leaning towards the truth and what is resonable and logical is "unbalanced" then, yes the article is so. I did not write the article to compromise face cover and not covering the face.

The only reason why so many Muslim women cover their faces is because they feel there is religious basis. The aim of this article is to dispel that.

Anyway, I posted that article after not a very thorough construction process (kinda like a quick draft). I am editting the article properly now.



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« Reply #4 on: February 12, 2008, 12:26:03 pm »


There is a middle path that takes neither of these extremes. In this path, we see one another primarily as fellow human beings, or even better as fellow Believers when together among fellow Muslims. On this path, men and women dress modestly and interact modestly. They do not view one another as sexual objects to want them to become clotheless or dress up to the point of being unidentifiable (the two extremes), balanced moderate dressing is what they promote.


This is the right course.  It's exactly the way the Believers' community should be.  I find both West and East on 2 opposite extremes.  The biggest problem is to find the kind of people who believe in that balanced outlook of life.    Another point, modesty is a hypothetical issue depending on the society you live in.  An outfit considered modest in Paris would make a temperamentally modest Muslim woman feel very conspicuous in Egypt or Saudi Arabia.  It's largely a culture thing.  I'm sure many practicing Muslim women living in Paris would prefer not to go according to the 'modest' standards of Parisians and instead adopt what they consider modest according to their culture.  At the end of the day, it must be left at the will of the people.  No matter how oppressive a particular dress code is reputed to be, the truth is that many also wear it by choice.  We musn't forget them and leave a margin for them as well.  After all, civilization & modernism are supposed to depict tolerance, and tolerance means giving options to everyone.  In a free society, choices always vary.  The imams force their rules about niqab and burka that aren't right.  Similarly, for instance, the schools in France that have forced the young girls to rip off their hijabs which is just as tyrannical.


Peace brother,

Thanks for your comment. I am glad we could agree. I am against what is happening in France and Turkey. People should be allowed to cover whatever they want. 

Modesty as determined by the conscience and the principles of the Qur'an leads to the correct modesty.
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« Reply #5 on: February 14, 2008, 12:31:01 am »

AsSalam Alaykum dear brother AceofHearts

"It might be easier to monitor facial expressions without niqab but that's not a good enough reason to disrespect the move of those who feel more comfortable with it."
...i do not agree I 'disrespected' anyone, as this was a attack on the concept and not the people."



Brother, I never meant you.  I was talking in general which I also clarified.  I quote my words....

"I'm not talkin about this article.  An article is just an article.  You've simply written your views, just as I write mine and others write theirs .. and sure we all have the right to do so.  But when laws are made on governmental or legislative levels prohibiting or even discouraging harmless dress codes like these, it only displays to what extent the modern world has lost its tolerance." 

It goes without saying that I absolutely agree with you about the misinterpretations of this issue (and many other issues too) by fatwas and hadith and also by wrong English translations of Quranic ayats.  This is such an old practice.  As a Quran aloner with a rational perspective of understanding our most Noble Quran (which according to the Quran is a lot more important than hiding or revealing the face), I do not consider fatwas / hadith a part of my faith at all, and no matter how much these people misinterpret the Quran, Allah has already stated there that no one has the final authority on the Quran and that we are all entitled to understand it as we deem correct as long as we don't try to interpret it with personal or selfish motives.  That I never do and I'm sure you don't either despite our differences of opinion. What's important is the sincerity of intention, not the differences of ideas.  For me, this sincerity of intention is the Truth.  As for the issue of niqab, I wouldn't associate it with truth.  I would associate it with attitude and politics. 

Coming back to the above topic, by mentioning the term "disrespect" I was referring to the current attitude of the Western society and govt, not any individual.  I promise I never meant you, brother.  I've read many of your posts and I've never found you disrespectful in any way at all.  I hope I've cleared this misunderstanding Smiley  Here's what I really meant. 

Sometime ago, the British foreigh secretary, Jack Straw picked up this issue and poured out a barrage of negative comments about niqab.  That kinda surprised me.  I thought that someone of his status should have more important matters to take care of than worry about the facial experssions of women behind their niqabs.   You see, if me or you or any other individual critisize the niqab or hijab it's okay.  But if it's done at a governmental or public level, it becomes quite another matter.  It makes a mockery of their loud claims on tolerance and freedom.  Such moves also instigate the racist members of the mainstream society who become more brave about their bias against the minority immigrants.  When the hijab was banned in French schools, I saw on TV a teacher tellin a Muslim student that Muslim females "should learn to accept their bodies."  The poor girl being the underdog remained silent but I'm sure she had a lot to say.  A Muslim female does not wear a hijab or niqab because they don't accept their bodies.  It's not about acceptance, it's about modesty.  Different Muslim women have different opinions about modesty.  Some might like to cover more than others.  The Noble Quran tells both men and women to be modest.  The Quran also refers not to reveal the contours of our bodies and for this reason tells us to wear the loose outer garment which elderly women can discard.  The Quran gives a basic guideline to modesty, which I repeat, different women interpret according to their views.  Yes, you are absolutely right that the minds of many women have been influenced by the unsightly fatwas.  For that I very much appreciate your move to present this clarification.  However, since the Quran does not go into any details condemning women if they wish to over-dress, we shouldn't make it sound that wearing a niqab or hijab is against the will of Allah.  That would be declaring something about God without having sufficient knowledge and therefor personally I can't associate it with truth.  Also,, let's not foreget, many of the wrong doings carried out in the Muslim community by the fatwa givers and seekers are of far greater magnitude than niqab and hijab.  We as Muslims should be more aggressive about those bigger problems than these relatively smaller issues.  That French teacher should know that it's the Westerners who by and large don't accept their bodies.  For that reason, plastic surgery has become such a roaring business in their society.  As Yvonne Ridley had stated, if reading peoples' facial expressions has suddenly become so important to the British govt, then they should ban all radio programs and all audio systems should go off the market. 

Muslim women in the post 9/11 era have gotten sandwiched between the 'devil and the deep.'  The pressure of weird fatwas has been on them since long about what to wear or not to wear.  And now, after 9/11, they're constantly under scrutiny by the West too concerning their dress code in a different way.  Muslim female immigrants have been living in Europe and North America since so many decades.  Uptil Sept.10, 2001 never was any Muslim woman singled out because of her traditional garments, let alone niqabs and hijabs reaching the governmental level.  A Muslim woman had as much right to wear a niqab as another woman had the right to wear a bikini.  But overnight the Muslim woman's dress code has been demonised in the western society so aggressively that even a fool can see that it's an attitude problem of double standards involving race and religion.  It has nothing to do with protection of their rights.  It's all about forced assimilation of Muslim immigrants with the mainstream.  Imperialism is a habit that dies hard and has a long and sordid history.  This is what I meant by disrespecting the free choice of dress code.  Here I would add that such an attitude brings the Western hypocrisy more into the limelight than the lies of the imams.  The falsehoods of the imams and ulemas of our community was never a secret.   But the West has always taken much pride on their tolerance and appreciation of multiculturalism.  Now we find that that's a pack of lies too.  Their new policy says 'you have every right to do what you please ...... as long as I agree with it.'  It is the same mindset as that of the imams.

I again apologize for the misunderstanding.  I sincerely appreciate your thoughts and good efforts very greatly dear brother.  I hope you will overlook our minor differences just as I overlook them. 

Peace to you ..  Smiley
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« Reply #6 on: February 15, 2008, 08:05:13 am »


Peace sister,

Thanks for your response. We are absolutely on the same track. First of all, praise be to Allah alone, its always great to know another person who follows the Qur'an alone.

The leaders and people you speak of in the western world are purely lead by their own inner-selves and desires. However we are lead by our Creator, the surest strong-hold.

I am glad you understood that this was tackling the fatwas and not the people who choose to cover their face.

May Allah guide our hearts stronger in true devotion to Him.

Peace.

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« Reply #7 on: February 15, 2008, 10:52:03 pm »

I found this thread an enjoyable read with some very solid points of discussion.  The fatwas on just about everything in life, particularly clothes and lifestyle of women, have been an age-long nuisance by imams and 'ulemas.'  They go to such extremes that the coolest of minds often loses patience and the very image of a clergy becomes a symbol of falsehood.  As if this wasn't enough, the evil of 9/11 has brought a new set of aggressive unwritten rules by another group of people where a mere culture oriented Muslim outfit becomes a cause for associating people with criminals.  A truly pathetic state of affairs.
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