Viewpoints: Europe and the headscarf
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The islamic headscarf has become one of the most hotly disputed items of clothing in Europe. The French ban on headscarves in state schools comes into effect on 2 September, and politicians in Germany and Belgium want similar laws.
Fanny Dethloff is a pastor at a Hamburg church and is responsible for refugee issues in the community
It makes absolutely no sense at all to bar Muslim women from public places because they wear the scarf. This kind of exclusion prevents these women gaining access to jobs, stops them from being integrated. It does nothing for emancipation - indeed, by shutting out those women who are trying to better themselves, it has quite the opposite effect.
 |  Cracking down in this way is only likely to lead to a sense of victimisation, which will fuel extremism, not reduce it  |
Of course we want to condemn fundamentalism, but we don't do that by punishing the women - it is not the women who are involved with pushing this kind of intolerant, politicised Islam, it's the men. At a time like this we need more understanding, more tolerance, not less. And indeed, cracking down in this way is only likely to lead to a sense of victimisation, which will fuel extremism, not reduce it.
It is also problematic to assume, as some people do, that women are forced into wearing the scarf by overbearing men. While it is certainly the case that some are pressured into putting it on, many Muslim who wear it do it quite self-consciously. We need to respect their wishes, not ourselves oppress them by trying to make them take it off.
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Saya pernah diajukan soalan tentang hijab/tudung oleh seorang kawan dari Germany. Dia merasakan pemakaian tudung ini datang dari kaum lelaki (ayah, abang atau suami) yang berniat mengongkong kaum wanita. Saya cuba jelaskan kepadanya setakat mana yang saya tahu, sekurang-kurangnya berdasarkan kenapa saya memilih untuk memakai tudung. Saya jelaskan menutup aurat ini datang dari Allah yang dinyatakan dalam Al-Quran, dan saya tegaskan yang Islam bukan hanya berdasarkan kepercayaan semata-mata, tetapi Islam juga sebagai cara/gaya hidup.
Secara jujurnya, saya mula memakai tudung pada usia yang agak muda (9 tahun) atas permintaan ayah dan ibu. And it took me almost 15years later to realise the REAL reason for wearing the hijjab. Sebelum itu, saya memakai tudung kerana sudah menjadi kebiasaan sejak dari kecil. Saya sentiasa kagum dengan kawan-kawan dan kenalan yang memilih untuk memakai tudung atas keputusan sendiri. Alhamdulillah.
Mungkin ramai yang akan kata, memakai tudung tidak menjamin perilaku yang baik. Kita masih manusia, yang lemah dan mudah terpedaya dengan godaan syaitan. Apa yang kita mampu buat, berdoa semoga Allah pelihara kita dari hal-hal yang tidak baik, dengan kita memilih untuk menutup aurat. Insya-Allah.
