ok i have a problem! why does the muslim hide the beauty of a woman with all her natrul gifts, body and hair? why>? seems ott to me…a woman should NOT be covered up with covers, if i was a muslim woman now! i would break free…no douth…but some have no choicE…
To be less appealing to men, I think?
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This is a good question, and one which many ask. I hope I can answer it properly. Firstly, God in the Qur’an tells men and women to be modest, to lower their gaze and the women must cover their adornments (beauty) except in front of husband, father, sons, brothers, blood uncles and other women and children below puberty age. Women should also wear an outer garment out in public over their house clothing if the clothing is revealing or tight. Secondly the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) tells women that once they reach puberty, they cover their whole body in unrevealing, loose clothing, all except their face and hands (and maybe feet according to some schools of thought).
So firstly, I cover myself because God tells me so. And secondly because the Prophet (pbuh) said so.
Why cover our beauty? Why aren’t the men required to cover?
Because women are naturally more sexually attractive than men. And men have a naturally more higher sex drive than women when it comes to visual stimulation. If I as a woman see a man with his chest uncovered, I look, but I don’t get majorly stimulated. If however, a man sees a woman in a bikini, he would be sexually charged up (gathering he is heterosexual). Women are naturally more eye-catching. Well, when a Muslim covers up, the reason is to prevent the eyes of men looking at the women and getting unnecessary sexual stimulation. It is one of the means Islam teaches to avoid adultery and fornication. (another is to avoid dating but get married as soon as possible to a suitable man/woman). Islam means to stop immorality and uses the total prevention strategies. A woman’s body is meant for her husband’s eyes only, as well as blood relatives she cannot by law marry.
Another reason is that the woman is not seen as a sex object, but as a personality with a mind, thoughts and feelings. By covering up, she focuses the attention on her personality not her body, so men are prevented from exploiting her.
Another reason is to lower the cases of rape. If two women walk down the street, one wearing a miniskirt and tank top, the other covered in the Islamic way, which woman will get the men’s attention? The one in a miniskirt of course. They would whistle at her and call her sexy and some will go to the extreme and want to take advantage of her sexually as in rape or molestation. The women covered up will help the men to stay away from her, it protects her and helps them to think purer thoughts.
A woman is like a diamond, you wouldn’t want to show off a diamond in public because its so beautiful people would want to steal it. Now when a woman shows off her hair (which is the adornment of a woman) and body, she steals the attention of other men and cheapens herself, because she is giving away part of her personal information to someone else.
Funny enough as it sounds, Islam teaches women to cover up her whole body for the same reason a woman in the Western society covers her nipples and genitals - because it is socially inappropriate to show them off.
Men also have a certain requirement to cover up in Islam - they must cover from the navel to the knee, so Muslim men are not allowed short bathing suits, but must wear long shorts. They can’t wear tight clothing either, because it shows the shape of the body.
Rules rules rules, it all sounds so extreme, and to be honest, I have days when I dearly wish I could show off my hair and wear short-sleeved tops. But I do it in obedience to God and out of wanting to please Him, and I do it because I realise God put these rules there for good reasons - to stop corruption in a society that uses women sexually. God knows what is best for His creatures, who are we to oppose Him?
I hope this helps to clarify it for you!
P.S. Muslim women do have a choice to take off their headscarves, but for the above reasons, it is a better and more informed choice to cover. Islam does not force women to cover, just says it is better for them if they knew.
Oh yes, and in case you are wondering - these rules only apply to a woman being in public or in front of strange men. In her house or at a ladies only function, she is allowed to wear whatever she wants.
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I have heard a lot about Islamic culture, and I think it is fascinating. I am an American, but I would love to visit the Middle East sometime and learn more about Islamic culture.
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My aunt and uncle spent time teaching in Saudi Arabia. They had students who would cover up.
I think it comes from a good place of wanting women to be safe. It doesn’t mean that rapists aren’t the problem. It is a good effort to try and keep rape from happening.
First, let me say that I liked your post, it’s informative. There are two things though that raise my attention.
If that were the case, then why are Muslim nations some of the most notorious for the oppression and mistreatment of women? There are many stories of what women are not allowed to do simply because of their gender.
[quote=“Hadeda, post:4, topic:10223”]
Another reason is to lower the cases of rape. If two women walk down the street, one wearing a miniskirt and tank top, the other covered in the Islamic way, which woman will get the men’s attention? The one in a miniskirt of course.[/quote]
That sounds an awful lot like that horrible idea that if a woman wears certain clothing that she is asking to be raped or that it is her fault. I also don’t think that rape is as sexually driven as it is power driven.
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There has been ongoing debate on similar issue (as mentioned by Malvok) between Islamic party and non-Islamic party in the Parliament of my country.
I think that we should at least try to respect other peoples religion/culture - we do not have to agree with their belief system or traditions - just saying
Who here is disrespecting her religion or culture? Who isn’t even trying to respect her religion or culture?
I was generally speaking - do not get so defensive
I did not realize that my posts were offensive.
In a country where everyone is granted for freedom of religions, it is proven that mutual respect between people of different religions is possible. It is not so easy, but still possible for cooperation between Islamic ruling party and non-Islamic ruling party. It does happen in this country where debate of such issues is found to be unavoidable. Just to share my thoughts.
I meant defensive - I was not directing my statement at you @Malvok
I figured it was either me or @san_pedro . Something must have prompted you to bring this up.
No sense arguing over it though.
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Yeah I do agree no need to be arguing about it - No argument on my part
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I immediately wonder what is wrong with muslim men if they are unable to control their urges and act like gentlemen around ladies displaying a bit of skin.
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I have to agree with @Malvok about rape being power driven. I spent a lot of time in the bdsm world and there were many people that had fantasies about raping or being raped. All of them lovedpower play in their dynamic and as far as cconservative dress goes… A lot of men fantasized about raping nuns, you don’t really get more conservative than that! It was about controlling something so pure. This is the same reason that children get raped. 5 year olds don’t dress provocatively, but, they are still victims.Not that yyou should run around half dressed on the bad side of town.
Actually there are a bunch of women in Iran of all places (an Islamic Republic) that have thrown off what they view as the oppressiveness of the custom…
personally I think that one is a 'can if you want, but don’t force me to do it" type custom. And it is usually MEN who enforce the custom, just as they enforce female circumcision which is a very nasty procedure in some of the countries it is done.
Iranian women protesting in 1979
Today:
So obviously even in strict Muslim countries they do not ALL follow these customs…
…I think that it’s alright to hold an opinion about the morality of wearing short skirts or tight-fitting dresses. But it is not all right to excuse rape by saying the victim asked for it. Nobody asks to be raped…
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