Hello Caroline,

Thank you for sharing you thoughts you've spoken much truth about the reality of society.

the Bbile ain't exactly the brightest bit of human literature, let alone Paul's letters.
And anyway, 1 Cor 11 say women are to be covered only during prayer.
It's not oppressive when women can choose to wear it. If it's compulsury, then it's opressive. And if I'm not wrong, the hijab is compulsory...
It depends. If it weren't to cold and rainy and if other people were naked as well, I'd probabyl feel fine. Clothes would most probably annoy me, I might find them oppressive..
In traditional societies people walk around naked or semi-naked all the time and don't feel ashamed at all.
It's mostly the religious upbringing that inflicts us with "fear" of being naked. And there's also the idea of perfection brought to us by the media which causes low self-esteem about one's looks.

praying OR prophesying... some translate that as testifying or speaking of the Lord.

As for the rest, I can tell you as a woman in western society, that I feel oppressed and violated by the pornographic nature of our culture and that wearing hijab made me feel removed from that violation of my femininity. I felt I had reclaimed something that had been taken from me. It does NOT feel oppressive.

All I can do is share with you how it feels from my perspective.

it's big difference between God ordinance and human ordinance .. because God do not the least injustice to his Servants.

but, If Hijab compel on women from her husband or father then I can said with you it's oppressive, this two situation are completely different.

Women are only oppressed if they feel oppressed. That might sound strange, but it is true of anyone. The fact that many Muslim women choose to wear a hijab or whatever form of headwear is a personal and religious choice. It is only oppression if they wish to remove it but are beaten or threatened if they do so. I'm sure there are Muslim women somewhere who feel oppressed by the garments their religion dictates, but I'm sure there the majority do not feel oppressed...I would imagine most of them even feel "special" that they do so.

I have seen several instances in which a young teenage girl chooses to wear hijab even though her parents are discouraging her from it. When you see these young women speaking to their parents saying that they are willing to endure prejudice and bigotry because they prefer the hijab you understand that it is not oppressive. It is the bigotry and sexism of the society around us that is oppressive -- not the hijab which gives a woman privacy and honor and respects the rights of her femininity.

I know. I appreciate your view and above all I appreciate your courage. I'm sure many women want to wear it but are to afraid to.
You chose to wear it so logically it doesn't feel oppressive. Some women, on the other hand, have to wear it. I believe most don't find it oppressive as it is commanded in a book they strongly believe in, but some do. And those do not have the right to put it off. If they did, they could face prosecution. Now that's oppressive.

The US has laws about clothing as well. Indecent Exposure used to be a crime -- is it still? Of course the definition of "indecent" has changed a LOT. But I believe that's because the US has become such a pornographic society and our ideas about sexuality have become so perverted we don't even know how to respect our sexuality any more. Men marry strippers and don't care that their wife is up on stage before a bunch of strange men every night. It's amazing. It's really frightening when you think about it.
Where are we headed? probably.

I don't usually enter this kind of conversation/debate, but the issue of the hijab is one that really gets to me.

I live in one of the most "liberated" cities in North America and I was raised catholic (although my family does not practice).

It was a few years ago that I started to notice how skewed things were here. I find it funny how we talk about feminism and being liberated yet we constantly demote ourselves to the status of disposable sexual objects for men to look upon, lust after for a few moments and then toss us aside! How demeaning! And yet we keep coming back for more! And we keep calling it freedom and EQUALITY!

I think that if a woman decides to wear a hijab and dress modestly (by her won choice), then good for her! I encourage it greatly and hope someday to have the guts to do it myself! I'm not saying I dress provocatively here, but there are times when I wear some clothing to go out and I just feel very self conscious and somewhat uncomfortable.

On another topic: I was reading that a man can hit/strike his wife if she dissobeys him repeatedly (and he has tried to reason with her, etc). Now, what if a man dissobeys his wife and she has tried to reason with him repeatedly - can she strike him? By dissobey, I don't interpret it as meaning something petty like not washing the dishes, I consider it to be something more fundamental, something that truly is wrong/immoral.

that's very bad, that u say youre muslim, or jew or catholic but never practice.. i would say i'm atheis than muslim if i don't practice Islam...

yes, u get the idea then...


yes, like if the wife doesnt pray or fast ..and the husband tell her to pray, tell her the importance of praying, the mandatory of praying and fasting...

but the wife doesn't listen to him, the husband can do it.. but Islam also has regulation on that... it mustn't be painful....

The point is people -- RESPECT.

Respecting yourself respecting others and respecting your spouses.

Respecting yourself and others by dressing modestly and if your muslim wearing the hijab (though it was only a man made decision for the catholics to stop wearing their hijabs - at least to church).

and respecting your spouses by respecting their rights and so you dont inadvertantly oppress them and for them to feel you treated them unjustly (these rights have been clearly set out for us in Islam).

The whole purpose of having a spouse in the first place is not to strike each other is it? Or incite feelings better left un-incited (for lack of a better word) by flaunting your body down the street for the whole world to see? How many marriages has this act alone inevitably caused their breakdown?

We find a spouse to be loved and cared for respected and treated well and to have a family with so that our Creator is pleased with us.

In Islam we are blessed with these rights clearly stated for husband and wife -- a set of guidelines to gauge your marriage and strength of your relationship by.

We are not left to wander in the dark or turn to other measures outside of our beautiful deen or to seek a 5 second passing ogle from a stranger as a means of self assurance.

By practicing I mean we do not go to church. We still have gatherings for Christmas and Easter (and other civic holidays), but all these things have lost meaning for me in the past few years.

Strange as though it may seem, the more I move away from the catholic faith that was taught to me in school and away from the teaching of the Church, the more I make the right decisions in order to lead a better life, and I feel much closer with God than I ever have. Sorry, I'm off topic here.


I think the need for outward validation is something that many people seem to fall victim to. It's very sad, it's something I struggle with every day. I ask God to give me and others the strength to reject this type of silly nonsense. But it is hard when you're taught all your life to live up to others' physical expectations even if you know it defies logic.

It really is all about respect. Unfortunately, I am often left wondering if many people even really have a notion of what respect is (for themselves and for others).