My girlfriend recently came and visited me here in Egypt. Her field is American Studies and as a result her knowledge about Islam, and the way it is manifested in Muslim societies, is pretty limited. I found myself answering lots of questions and realizing that after quite a bit of time here there were some that I didnt have answers to.
This letter will be an attempt to put that process into writing, with the hope that it might spark some discussion and further inquiry. Before I begin, however, I should note that I am by no means an expert on Islam, and further, that I know that cultural practices and religious interpretations vary greatly. I will try to reflect that knowledge in what I say here.
Q: Are women who wear the niqab (full veil) more pious than the women who just wear hijab (hair covered) or do not wear any veil?
This is obviously a very loaded question. No woman wearing hijab would ever admit that she was somehow a bad Muslim for not being fully covered. According to a professor of mine at AUC, the niqab is not mentioned anywhere in the Qur'an, and in fact comes from a hadith (collected stories of the Prophet and his companions) in which Aisha (Muhammad's wife) covers her face with a piece of fabric. Therefore, some people argue that the niqab is not actually rooted in Islam at all. The same professor likewise argues that the Muslim women are also not required to wear the hijab (she herself does not).
Q: Why do women wear hijab but then wear tight or otherwise flashy clothing (skinny jeans, tight tops, and lots of make-up)?
This is actually a hot topic at the moment. Many female students at AUC wear hijab in combination with otherwise Western and decidedly not conservative clothing. One of my Arabic teachers actually came out and said that such girls are not really wearing hijab even if they are covering their hair. On the flip side, some argue that as long as they wear clothing that doesn't show skin, then they are dressing appropriately.
Q: Why are some women wearing niqab while their husbands wear Western clothing?
This was a particularly good question, and one that I couldn't really answer. Clearly if the rational is, since women during the time of the Prophet wore the niqab then so should women now, then the same should hold for men. Muhammad definitely didn't wear Nikes. Obviously that is a pretty broad characterization, but I do think that this question points to a certain hypocrisy at play.
Q: Many Egyptian men seem to have a bruise or a scab on their foreheads why?
These marks are the bruises/scabs that result from praying five times every day. In Arabic, they are called zabeeb, which means raisin. There is a bit of a debate about these marks, as some argue that men intentionally press their heads into the ground in order to get a bruise and appear more pious. To elaborate, my doorman prays five times a day but does not have a zabeeb. These marks were particularly prominent last fall during Ramadan, when more people pray five times a day (and more men want to appear to be very pious). I have never seen a woman with a zabeeb, but that does not mean they don't exist.
Q: I have seen a few surveys that put the prevalence of female circumcision in Egypt somewhere between 85 and 95 percent. Does that have anything to do with Islam?
Those surveys are accurate, but as far as I know, the practice of female genital mutilation reflects the persistence of a cultural tradition and has nothing to do with Islam. I spoke with a friend of mine who works at the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights about this issue. She said that the number might be as high as 97 percent.
In retrospect, nearly all of these questions have dealt in some way with the role of women in Islam, and they all point to some central questions. How do Muslim societies define good Muslim women? How much agency do Muslim women have in their own lives? The answers obviously vary according to country, social class, level of education, and numerous other factors, but I will not attempt to delve deeper in this letter.
Q: Are women who wear the niqab (full veil) more pious than the women who just wear hijab (hair covered) or do not wear any veil?
This is obviously a very loaded question. No woman wearing hijab would ever admit that she was somehow a bad Muslim for not being fully covered. According to a professor of mine at AUC, the niqab is not mentioned anywhere in the Qur'an, and in fact comes from a hadith (collected stories of the Prophet and his companions) in which Aisha (Muhammad's wife) covers her face with a piece of fabric. Therefore, some people argue that the niqab is not actually rooted in Islam at all. The same professor likewise argues that the Muslim women are also not required to wear the hijab (she herself does not).
Q: Why do women wear hijab but then wear tight or otherwise flashy clothing (skinny jeans, tight tops, and lots of make-up)?
This is actually a hot topic at the moment. Many female students at AUC wear hijab in combination with otherwise Western and decidedly not conservative clothing. One of my Arabic teachers actually came out and said that such girls are not really wearing hijab even if they are covering their hair. On the flip side, some argue that as long as they wear clothing that doesn't show skin, then they are dressing appropriately.
Q: Why are some women wearing niqab while their husbands wear Western clothing?
This was a particularly good question, and one that I couldn't really answer. Clearly if the rational is, since women during the time of the Prophet wore the niqab then so should women now, then the same should hold for men. Muhammad definitely didn't wear Nikes. Obviously that is a pretty broad characterization, but I do think that this question points to a certain hypocrisy at play.
Q: Many Egyptian men seem to have a bruise or a scab on their foreheads why?
These marks are the bruises/scabs that result from praying five times every day. In Arabic, they are called zabeeb, which means raisin. There is a bit of a debate about these marks, as some argue that men intentionally press their heads into the ground in order to get a bruise and appear more pious. To elaborate, my doorman prays five times a day but does not have a zabeeb. These marks were particularly prominent last fall during Ramadan, when more people pray five times a day (and more men want to appear to be very pious). I have never seen a woman with a zabeeb, but that does not mean they don't exist.
Q: I have seen a few surveys that put the prevalence of female circumcision in Egypt somewhere between 85 and 95 percent. Does that have anything to do with Islam?
Those surveys are accurate, but as far as I know, the practice of female genital mutilation reflects the persistence of a cultural tradition and has nothing to do with Islam. I spoke with a friend of mine who works at the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights about this issue. She said that the number might be as high as 97 percent.
In retrospect, nearly all of these questions have dealt in some way with the role of women in Islam, and they all point to some central questions. How do Muslim societies define good Muslim women? How much agency do Muslim women have in their own lives? The answers obviously vary according to country, social class, level of education, and numerous other factors, but I will not attempt to delve deeper in this letter.
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