HU

The Hilali comments and the Muslim community

Sorry Hu is so late on posting about this subject.

A few days ago, the mufti of Australia, Sheikh Taj el-Din Hilali made a controversial khutbah during Friday prayers.

Here are some translated excerpts of his speech at the BBC website.

His assertion that adultery and/or rape is the fault of the uncovered woman is astounding, to say the least. However, let us admit that such attitudes about women and their dress, especially in the subject matter regarding adultery, are nothing new in the Muslim community. Though far from being a universal attitude, I think it is also important for us as Muslims to recognize that this opinion still holds a lot of popularity as well.

And therein lies a larger problem which is currently not being addressed as it should be- the underlying attitudes that some in the ummah hold. I doubt the sheikh would have made such a speech if he thought half of the congregation would stand up and walk out of the mosque. It is something we all need to see for what it is: not only the misogynistic comments themselves, but the silent assent as well as the lack of objection by those of us who disagree vehemently with such points of view. This is what keeps various speakers in their positions of authority-- our lack of vocal dissent.

Another item I'd like to bring up is this: what if Hilali's now infamous speech hadn't made it to the mainstream Western media? I speculate that if it had not, it would have passed by without comment by the majority of the Muslim population there, even though there are now obviously so many who disagree openly and are angered by his words. How many times have we, as Muslim men and women, sat in the mosque during a presentation or speech, and heard something such as this? And how many of us have stood up and challenged it? Even I admit to not speaking up at times when I know I should have, so what about those who are generally less vocal (and I can be LOUD in my protestations) and those who fear a community backlash against them by their peers?

Ideas about the physical hijab and body covering are not new. What should also be out there are the variant views, the reinterpretations, and pure logic. Even in countries where Islamic dress is mandated, there is adultery, and there is most definitely rape. Statistics are unavailable, but I speculate that especially in the case of rape, the numbers are most likely similar to those in the West. However, without numbers, and the lack of reporting due to legal ramifications under various forms of law, family "honor" issues, and fear, I doubt we'll be getting anything accurate any time soon.

Blaming the victim. It is time for it to STOP. It is also, as Yakoub states, the main argument that is used by rapists themselves: "she asked for it."

Finally, one issue not yet brought up much is the issue of how these attitudes relate towards our perceptions of men. These comments are also very offensive in that it portrays the male sex as ill-controlled and sex-crazed. It assumes that self-control is a characteristic not shared amongst the male sex, his control over his urges being weak at best. This right here is the sub-subtext that also needs to be addressed in the larger community: we know that this is not true, yet this is also a common attitude. In my opinion, males don't need to be infantalized any more than women, and this attitude does just that.

More reading on this topic can be found all over the web at this time. I'll direct you towards a few I found good reading:

Another site showing his speech

Yakoub's analysis of what's going on, also bringing in the context of both the media as well as timing, and Australia's circumstances.

Planet Irf's issued statement by many leading Australian Muslims

Firas Ahmed weighs in on the altmuslim website, also with analysis on media response.

A comment over at Delicto Aquinas

The Magic Hijab: a satire piece written a while ago by a fellow Hu-er

Anf from two posts down, Koonj's Moratorium: the subject of women's clothing in khutbahs (talk about timing!)

posted by Leila M. at 16:21