The Media’s Portrayal of Islam and the Hijab

Time, folks, culture, society, and the ecosystem we are surrounded by, can generate the development of numerous views regarding an challenge that we see in present day modern society. One particular of several controversial topics is Islam and the Hijab. Many inquiries and generalisations are usually shaped in the minds of lots of non-Muslims in regards to the ideas at the rear of the Hijab by means of the affect of the media.

Throughout the several years of conflict amongst the “West” and “Islam”, the media has strongly altered the minds of non-Muslims by unfavorable exploitation of Islam, and Muslims, in individual on Muslim females. Misconceptions these as, “Are you bald beneath” “Do you go to sleep with that on?” to the affiliation of “terrorism” that contrasts to what Muslim ladies believe that the Hijab signifies.

A typical false impression is “the Islamic Hijab is some thing cultural, not spiritual”. The use of the word “cultural” is faulty when describing the Hijab as it implies that it is a result of customs and techniques that are some thing separate from Islam. The cultural dress is referred to the historic Pre-Islamic Period (Jahiliyah). It is the veil from the Pre-Islamic Period that is viewed as as “conventional” which stops gals from contributing in culture. On the opposite, the Islamic Hijab is not regarded as an informal tradition, nor does it decreased her self-respect. The Hijab is aimed at presenting females with poise and equality in society. An illustration of Pre-Islamic period in our modern day entire world is the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Taliban are a get together who regard this sort of things to do un-Islamic for women, who are prohibited from doing exercises their major legal rights. The Taliban have banned gals from employment exterior the residence, apart from the health sector, and have terminated education for women.

Prophet Mohammad (peace & blessings be upon him) explained, “Trying to find expertise is incumbent upon each and every Muslim”. Even Henry VIII forbid women to research the Bible when the to start with English translations started to look. It is an irony while the Taliban assert their guiding philosophy on gals are in area to be certain the physical safety and self-regard of females, where by as, a lot of Afghan ladies have been killed, crushed and publicly hung. For a lot of Afghan gals dread of becoming severely punished by the Taliban is their principal security concern.

A different misunderstanding is “Muslim girls have no appropriate in Islam”. Islam gave females legal rights about 1400 decades in the past, which is continue to dismissed by several Muslims and non-Muslims currently. Firstly, Islam has specified girls the fundamental appropriate to freedom of speech. In the early days of Islam, the leaders of the Islamic state concerning authorized challenges consulted girls. Rights that have been appointed to Muslim women of all ages since the commencing of time are only just surfacing for non-Muslims. In Islam, a woman is absolutely free to be whom she is inside, and secured from being portrayed as a sexual intercourse image and lusted after. Islam praises the position of a female by commanding that she “enjoys equal legal rights to those people of gentleman in every thing, she stands on an equal footing with male” (Qur’an, Nadvi: 11) and both of those share mutual legal rights and obligations in all facets of everyday living.

Lots of gals are handled in means significantly from Islamic beliefs, however in the name of Islam. The Taliban is an illustration of a cultural and political title that has been branded with Islam. There is no flexibility for ladies if they are imprisoned in their property in the identify of the Hijab and Islam. Additionally, the veil of Islam is not associated with the veil of oppression.

Ladies that are regaining their id and purpose in culture, are now wearing the Hijab and are embracing its idea of liberation. They are using their lawful locations that Islam had awarded them fourteen hundred yrs ago. In fact, the western girls had no rights nor did they have rights over their husband. Not only were being girl the residence of their partner but so were being their possessions. In 1919 women of all ages in England fought for their legal rights to be elected to parliament. Since of their calls for, they were being imprisoned by the governing administration and endured greatly. It was not till the late nineteenth and early twentieth century when women had been provided these rights.

A estimate from the Qur’an in Surah 2: 26 states:
“And for women of all ages has rights over gentlemen, identical to these of males over gals.”

The qualifications history among Islam and the West will lose some gentle as to why Muslims are portrayed so negatively in the media. Some solid contributing things are the medieval western conflict, the crusades, the oil crisis of the 1970’s, the Lebanese civil war, the Iranian revolution, the Gulf war, and the explosive Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the September 11 bombings, the Bali Massacre and the London bombings. All these situations have prompted Islam to be continuously involved with violence and unresolved conflict. Furthermore, the perspective of Muslims as getting violent commonly explains why Muslims are observed to build a menace to the West. 1 of the most effective ways the media tries to by some means avoid Islam currently being observed in a favourable frame is to establish propaganda in opposition to Muslims and Islam.

The media is able to use the Hijab as a usually means of exploiting Muslim females, and degrading them. The media assumes, in some situations, that the actions of one Muslim are representations of the standard Muslim inhabitants. This is generalisation. This sets a illustration for members of modern society to abuse and degrade them.

An graphic of a Muslim female putting on the chador was labelled as “like death out for a stroll” in the Australian Magazine, 25-26 Jan. 1995 problem. The media implied to identify the situation of women of all ages in Islamic culture as dominated. The picture also portrayed the difference in between Muslim and Western Girls in today’s modern society.

In existing affair packages, persons seeing are bombarded with illustrations or photos of Muslims as savage terrorists, killing harmless people with no regret. What success from this is the viewers of these packages, recognise and settle for only the labels, and for that reason with Islam quickly associating it with unfavorable illustrations or photos.

I requested a resident from Parramatta, who wished to be stored nameless if “the September 11th bombings altered their thoughts about Islam and Muslim gals?” He said “I under no circumstances knew Islam and the Qur’an preached terrorism. It has created me informed of Islam and the teachings. It increased my awareness of the complexities of Islam and politics in the Center East including the veiling of Muslim ladies”. This remedy displays how influential the media is to its viewers.

Through the western society, the apply of Muslim women of all ages wearing the Hijab has resulted in extraordinary points of see to their so-named “oppression” and deficiency of liberty. Despite the obvious portrayal of Muslim ladies and myths that surround it these types of as “Muslim women of all ages are oppressed”, there carries on to be an abundance of Western ladies reverting to Islam. What Islam employs to guard women is the Hijab. This is ironic mainly because the Western media typically portray the Muslim veil as a suppressive power in a woman’s life.

Each and every Muslim lady is required to dress in a scarf or some form of head masking and loose-fitting, modest apparel. This is not a indicates of controlling a woman’s sexuality or suppressing her but relatively, a means for defense. It indicates by dressing this way she will not be viewed as a mere intercourse image but will be appreciated for her intellect. Furthermore, it will not issue her to harassment. It is attention-grabbing to point out the head masking for females is not an Islamic innovation but was also practiced by Judeo-Christian gals hundreds of years previously, and still is laughed at by the West right now.

Naima Omar, a pupil of University of Western Sydney says “It is amusing to say the identical veil worn by catholic nuns for God is despised and offered as a image of subjection and domination when it is worn by Muslim women of all ages for the intention to safeguard on their own and devoting themself to God”.

The time period Islam usually means “submission to the will of Allah” and “peace”. Muslims believe Islam is not a faith but a gift that has been awarded to them. They feel Islam is the way of everyday living and that is harmonious even so the media portrays the reverse.

Maria Moskovakis, 18, a Greek Orthodox says “certainly of course Muslims are offered negatively in the news. An action by a person Muslim is offered with so significantly bias. If a single Muslim commits a criminal offense, it is not the individual but the religion introduced that goes to trial. What we hear and see is all managed.

As El-Gharib (1996-97) pointed out, television, books, newspapers, and journals are utilised to existing Islam as being a backward and barbaric religion. It has been found as oppressive and unjust and additional than this, it is noticed as remaining most oppressive to girls. These several kinds of media misrepresent Islam in various techniques, even so mainly reach the same detrimental outcome – the generation of a escalating barrier of misunderstanding and hostility amongst Islam and it can be followers, and the West.

Muslims have an obligation to fulfil which is to educate by themselves, their kids to obtain information which is ordained upon them irrespective of their race, gender and marital standing and so forth.
A Hasan Hadith narrated by Ibn Majah in the Qur’an states:
“Trying to find knowledge is a responsibility on every single Muslim” and for that reason getting understanding is regarded as an act of worship. Stopping any Muslim from attaining an schooling regardless of age and sexual intercourse is not Islamic.

Dr Homer of Sweden was questioned by the United Nations in 1975 to research the status of Ladies in the Arab nations and reported: “It is the Swedish woman who really should demand from customers her freedom, as the girls in the Arab international locations has previously achieved the peak of her freedom less than Islam.” From “Position Of Women of all ages In Islam” web page 23.

Several have develop into employed to believing the phony details that they are spoon fed each and every time they switch on the display screen, pay attention to the radio or open a newspaper.