To add to what has been said. I would not be responsible for what my daughter would do to any man who tried to make her take her hijab off.

My 7 year old grand daughter cries when she can not find a hijab to wear to school in the morning. In spite of what most non-muslims think, Muslim women are proud to wear the hijab. It even goes beyond cultural pressure. My daughter and grand daughter are under no pressure to wear it. Just the opposite there is very much pressure for them not to wear it.

You think that Muslim women are oppressed because they wear hijab? And I suppose you think that American women, many of whom wear immodest clothing, are "liberated"? So the more clothing one takes off, the more "liberated" one is? I suppose that means that porn stars are the most liberated women.

Covering the head is not just an Islamic custom. Christians used to do it, too. Tertullian wrote a whole book about this, called On the Veiling of Virgins. In it he exhorts women to cover their heads whenever they go out, as does John Chrysostom, one of the great Church Fathers. Some Russian Orthodox Christian women cover their heads all the time when they go out. The reason that Christian women don't cover their heads now is due to fashion. Christianity is just a religion, not a complete way of life like Islam is. While their Bible tells women to dress modestly, and Deuteronomy 22:5 condemns women wearing men's clothes, most Christians don't take these commandments seriously and disregard them. The average Christian woman in the West would be virtually indistinguishable from the average atheist woman.

When comes the Help of God, and Victory, you will see the people enter God's Religion (ISLAM) in crowds, [110:1:2]

masha Alalh

this is a little off topic, but i think it's a great speech about Muslim women:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Y674CzB_uAo

i apologise if this has been posted before.

salaam

how false. in saudi arabia women can go out by themselves can study and get paid to study

i feel you think women are oppressed under islamic law? islam gives woman the honour and respect she deserves

draco
actually its liberating. why should a woman who doesnt want a man to see her body be considered oppressed. its not of their business what a woman looks like, rather i think the woman who wears little clothes is oppressed because she feels with skanty clothes and much makeup thats the way she can get a man?
are we not worth so much more?

to be honest .. If you search every page in the history pages you will find this unjust look toward women.

Maybe I don't know why .. But I think this look doesn't belong to God teaching .. It's come from our inside men and women.

Have you ever read that the french law until 1938 prevent the women to contracting without her husband or father agreement .. Whereas islam allow her to control her money with out any authority.
Islam freed us from this inferior look and ensure our purity and dignity ..

Now I will leave you with this koranic verses:
"say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: And Allah is well acquainted with all that they do.
And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms …"
"O Prophet! Tell thy wives and thy daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks close round them. That will be better, so that they may be recognized and not annoyed. Allah (SWT) is ever Forgiving, Merciful."
Our god order us men and women to preserve our modesty ..
He put in us this appetite then he congratulate it when we honor it to the right direction .. Marriage

" Among His Signs is this, that He created you from dust; and then, behold, ye are men scattered (far and wide)
And among His signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquillity with them, and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts): verily in that are signs for those who reflect."
As well prophet mohammad peace be upon him said :
(Asma, when a woman reaches the age of menstruation, it is not appropriate that anything besides this and this is visible of her. He said this while pointing towards his face and his hands.)

Our religion doesn't order us to stay at home rather it's order us to be responsible for the society. With our family, with our children, on the streets (in public), at our jobs, with our relatives and our neighbours, these are all our responsibility.
"O Consorts of the Prophet ye are not like any of the (other) women: if ye do fear (God), be not too complaisant of speech, lest one in whose heart is a disease should be moved with desire: but speak ye a speech (that is) just "

but,Yes it's ask us to preserve our femininity only for our good ..
They accuse the Qur’an of directing its speech in the masculine form; therefore, some assume it is talking only to men. In actual fact, the Qur’an talks in the singular form, which is masculine, and that’s because the grammatical rules of Arabic demand that. It would be impossible to speak to both (in plural) in every verse. When Allah says in the Qur’an, what can be translated as, “..and Allah sets forth, as an example to those who believe….” , what do we expect? We expect that He mentions Prophet Noah or moses (peace and blessings of Allah be upon them) or the believer in Surat Yasin; any of the great men. But, in the Qur’an Allah says what can be translated as, “And Allah sets forth, as an example to those who believe, the wife of pharaoh….” and this verse is liable to answer the accusations that are directed to religion which presume that religion says that women are deficient in intelligence and religion.
Where Allah says what can be translated as, And Allah sets forth, as an example to those who believe, He means to clarify for equally both men and women to follow an example in beliefs. The verse is meant to be an example to all humanity. When he gives the second example, we expect that example to be a man.
For the second time, the role model we should take example of is a woman named Maryam (Mary), the daughter of Umran. But why does Allah want the good example of a believer on this earth to be of a woman? And why was the figure to resemble perfect submission to him to be that of a woman? Because the two main problems that lead to a corrupt world, are: 1) money and fame 2) Chastity. These are two main factors that mislead men and, eventually, the world. That’s why Allah has given us those two examples
The wife of Pharaoh where she says what can be translated as, “she said: "O my Lord! Build for me, in nearness to Thee, a mansion in the Garden….” She says a mansion in paradise, not a castle in paradise, as she used to live in a castle on the Nile River. And her husband used to say, “Am I not the king of Egypt and all those rivers run under my feet.”
She was not interested in the fame and money of Pharaoh. She refused money, glory and fame and preferred a house in Paradise. She resisted against the temptation of money and fame, and thus, is better by Allah than most men. Because of her resistance to the temptation of money and fame, she became an example for those men who let money and fame tempt and corrupt them.
Mariam the daughter of Umran that kept her virginity. She is an example for libidinal men and woman who are tempted by the other sex. This is our religion, which heightens the value of the woman.

But this bad picture that come from abusive tradition cover this shining picture of islam .

peace..

First of all are we here to talk about Muslim here ot there, or group of Muslim here or there!?

Or we are talking Islam here!?

When Muslims will be one like ISLAM and we will all have Caliphate that will represent all Muslims Situation and opinion (Majority) then you can say that Muslim (ALL/Majority) say this or that!

Islam accepts all views and all opinions, if the Majority of our opinion here or there says that we cannot make women President then so be it, if the majority will say it is ok then we dont have any problem in that!

So if Brotherhood in Egypt this is thier majority opinion then this is their opinion and they have the full right for that and anyonje can either support or be oposite to it!

May Allah (swt) guide us all!

Peace

was going to point out about women in Saudi Arabia and how ridiculously wrong that fella but others already cover it up , also I hate the type of ppl that talk about other countries like they know exactly what is there and their talk filled with stupidity and ignorance.

oh and yes Culture =/= Islam .. get your facts together!

In Islam, all women are queens, they aren't jailed to the confines of the house, they are assured security, and they can delve into the research and knowledge they want to go into... Today's societies, we find women beggars!... can you imagine that, the entity in this world that Allah uses to bring new souls on this earth is suppressed to begging... not to forget women prostitution which comes from the pressure of society treating women as harshly as men... Islam gives women and men different different rights but they are fair...


It is true that many muslims have altered this and many families give their daughters to other men, just judging the "money" factor... but don't forget, if you seek answers, hit it at its core, read the quran (in Arabic, its perfect form) and meditate... don't judge the beauty and perfect state of islam, from people that claim to be muslims....

Good Luck,
And May Allah Guide You.

To my brother who believes Hijab to be oppressive. I am a Christian. Do you know that the Bible gives very specific instructions to women about covering their heads? Paul outlines it clearly in ICor 11. It says that a woman praying or testifying without her head covered bring shame upon her husband (her head). Read it.

From a personal standpoint I can tell you that Hijab is ANYTHING but oppressive. I sometimes cover my head for the simple reason that I feel a longing in my spirit to do so. I also wear modest clothing that I purchase from a Muslim retailer. I can tell you as a woman that there is a freedom in wearing those clothes that you might not be able to understand if you are not a woman, and if you have never worn them. Our society in the west is so infested with pornography that you don't even notice it any more. Women don't even realize that they are humiliated by all the pornography and seduction around them until they are free from it for a few minutes. We as women in the west, grow up being indoctrinated with the belief that we are only beautiful and valuable if we look, dress and behave like porn stars (you can think of this as Paris Hilton, Janet Jackson, etc but the truth is that it's pornogaphy and once you open your spirit to it you will see that clearly). Men in this culture are wounded by this phenomenon and they don't even know it. We are victims of sexual abuse and we don't even know it. We as women in the west have grown so accustomed to our culture of pornography that we dress our little girls in clothing styles that were specifically designed to elicit sexual arousal in grown men. Perhaps the child's clothing designer did not intend that but the clothing they design is patterned after women's clothing that's purpose is solely the seduction of sexual desire in men. Honest people will call this as it is.

The first time I was free from this was when I slipped on a jilbab and went to church. I felt more beautiful than I ever have in my life. I felt honored, Godly, and respected. People spoke to me in respectful ways. Men spoke and looked differently (so did women). Then when I put on the Hijab the feeling was complete. Having these clothes on feels like being embraced by the arms of God. It is freedom, not oppression.

Imagine if you had grown up going around naked and vulnerable and one day someone gave you some comfortable pants and clothes to protect you from the elements and to cover your private areas for the first time. Wouldn't you feel relieved and finally be able to walk around without feeling naked?

I know one thing about my society but am not sure if it is true in others. It is common among us to have occassional dreams that we have gotten up and went to work or the store or about our daily business and suddenly realize in a very public place that we have forgotten to put our pants or clothes on. Remember those dreams my brother? It's because our psyche knows we are exposed. Imagine how it feels in one of those dreams to get to cover up. Feels good, right?

No, Hijab is not oppressive. Being naked and violated in a pornographic society that gives you no rights to your own privacy is oppressive.

I know this from a lifetime of personal experience.