The French state’s decision to ban the wearing of the Muslim headscarf and veil, along with public displays of Jewish or Christian religiosity, in public schools has led to an negative reaction in the Arab world.
More controversial for the Arab press even than the French decision, however, was the recent statement made by Sheikh Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi, Egypt’s leading Islamic leader and the mufti of Al-Azhar University. He ruled that Islamic law allows women to adhere to a law banning the hijab (Muslim headscarf) as long as they live in a non-Muslim country.
The Afaq Arabiya daily, the unofficial mouthpiece of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt criticized Tantawi this week: “We hoped that Al-Azhar and its sheikh would express the true opinions of Muslims to the French officials. We hoped they would protest attempts to deny Muslims the right to worship and practice their religion wherever they may be.”
As for France itself, the newspaper condemned the ban and commented, “The veil has become a weapon of mass destruction in the eyes of the French state… a weapon which threatens the value of French secularism.”
Yet another Egyptian newspaper, Al-Arabi, declared that Tantawi was guilty of “failing” the Muslim community. According to Al-Arabi, Islamic groups around the world condemned the new law as an “attack on freedom of religion that will alienate France’s 5 million Muslims rather than integrate them.” Furthermore, the paper warned, France would lose its role as a prominent cultural model in Europe.
A slightly different comment came from within Europe itself. The columnist Mohamad Jaber Al-Ansari wrote in the London-based Al-Hayat (January 7, 2004) that the debate over the anti-veil law in France merely “keeps Arab and Muslim minds busy while their land is occupied and their rights are abused.” In fact, the columnist continued, “We should acknowledge that the issue of the veil is not a priority to the essence of Islam, or to progress. The veil is more of a political symbol of opposition and dissent.”
The Al-Hayat article praised Islam for its values, saying that the veil issue is not at its core. “It is somewhat redundant to repeat that Islam honored women and protected their rights....” Al-Ansari declared. Furthermore, he continued, “forcing women to veil themselves, as did the Taliban in Afghanistan, does not mean at all that Islam's message of liberation has been accomplished.” If it were not for what Al-Ansari called “position of Islam, [then] the Islamic humanistic civilization, which extended from Europe to China and overcame all differences of color and race, would have never taken place.”
“In these difficult times,” the columnist recommended, “we, as Muslims, should end the dispute about what Islam allows, and what it does not, and about backwardness versus progress. We should remember that cultural regression is the only thing Islam does not allow.” He went on to explain by way of example: “The Muslim Iranian woman, Shirine Abadi, has deservedly been awarded the Nobel Prize for her work in the field of women's and human rights. Yet, some have reservations that she is not veiled. Is this truly the primary Muslim problem? Is this the number one issue the Muslim woman has to deal with?”
As for the Western countries, to demand of them “to take the rights of the veiled Muslim woman into consideration is as naive as demanding of Israel and America to protect the rights of the Palestinians!” Al-Ansari declared.
More controversial for the Arab press even than the French decision, however, was the recent statement made by Sheikh Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi, Egypt’s leading Islamic leader and the mufti of Al-Azhar University. He ruled that Islamic law allows women to adhere to a law banning the hijab (Muslim headscarf) as long as they live in a non-Muslim country.
The Afaq Arabiya daily, the unofficial mouthpiece of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt criticized Tantawi this week: “We hoped that Al-Azhar and its sheikh would express the true opinions of Muslims to the French officials. We hoped they would protest attempts to deny Muslims the right to worship and practice their religion wherever they may be.”
As for France itself, the newspaper condemned the ban and commented, “The veil has become a weapon of mass destruction in the eyes of the French state… a weapon which threatens the value of French secularism.”
Yet another Egyptian newspaper, Al-Arabi, declared that Tantawi was guilty of “failing” the Muslim community. According to Al-Arabi, Islamic groups around the world condemned the new law as an “attack on freedom of religion that will alienate France’s 5 million Muslims rather than integrate them.” Furthermore, the paper warned, France would lose its role as a prominent cultural model in Europe.
A slightly different comment came from within Europe itself. The columnist Mohamad Jaber Al-Ansari wrote in the London-based Al-Hayat (January 7, 2004) that the debate over the anti-veil law in France merely “keeps Arab and Muslim minds busy while their land is occupied and their rights are abused.” In fact, the columnist continued, “We should acknowledge that the issue of the veil is not a priority to the essence of Islam, or to progress. The veil is more of a political symbol of opposition and dissent.”
The Al-Hayat article praised Islam for its values, saying that the veil issue is not at its core. “It is somewhat redundant to repeat that Islam honored women and protected their rights....” Al-Ansari declared. Furthermore, he continued, “forcing women to veil themselves, as did the Taliban in Afghanistan, does not mean at all that Islam's message of liberation has been accomplished.” If it were not for what Al-Ansari called “position of Islam, [then] the Islamic humanistic civilization, which extended from Europe to China and overcame all differences of color and race, would have never taken place.”
“In these difficult times,” the columnist recommended, “we, as Muslims, should end the dispute about what Islam allows, and what it does not, and about backwardness versus progress. We should remember that cultural regression is the only thing Islam does not allow.” He went on to explain by way of example: “The Muslim Iranian woman, Shirine Abadi, has deservedly been awarded the Nobel Prize for her work in the field of women's and human rights. Yet, some have reservations that she is not veiled. Is this truly the primary Muslim problem? Is this the number one issue the Muslim woman has to deal with?”
As for the Western countries, to demand of them “to take the rights of the veiled Muslim woman into consideration is as naive as demanding of Israel and America to protect the rights of the Palestinians!” Al-Ansari declared.