News: IANS/ Courtesy: DaijiworldNew Delhi, Aug 20 (IANS): The Karnataka college that disallows its students from wearing either burqas or headscarves has found unexpected support amongst a section of Islamic scholars who say rules should be followed because Islam is not particular about imposing any dress code.
"Burqa is not a part of Islam. It is a part of culture, the culture that the people of the subcontinent have been following since ages. Nobody can enforce a dress code in the name of Islam. It is categorically un-Islamic," renowned Islamic scholar Maulana Wahiduddin Khan told IANS. "If a college has a rule to not wear a burqa or headscarf then that should be followed and respected. If you don't agree, you quit the college," Khan, who has authored 10 books, said.
His comments came a day after Mangalore's Sri Venkataramana Swamy College disallowed 19-year-old Ayesha Ashmin to attend classes for 12 days because she insisted on wearing a headscarf. The B.Com first year student alleged she was being persecuted for her religious beliefs as she was wearing a headscarf. The college has denied the allegation and said the girl had violated the rules of the institution. Khan, 82, does not disagree with the college.
"Islamic dress is your inner character, not what you wear outside."
"Man or woman, anyone can wear anything they feel is decent. What matters is your truthfulness and honesty in character," said the author of "Discovering Islam From Its Original Sources" that draws a distinction between Islam as presented by Prophet Muhammad and modern day Islam. Fareeda Khan, who is also an Islamic scholar and teaches in the capital's Jamia Millia University, echoed the views.
"The burqa has become the symbol of rigidity and has nothing to do with Islam. You should accept that the burqa, a part of subcontinental culture, has been misused for suicide bombings. Why not avoid the burqa? Burqa is not part of any Islamic dress code," she said.
"I also suggest to my students to not wear a burqa in the university. What is the big deal about it?" Fareeda, who is also the daughter of Wahiduddin Khan, said.
"Burqa is not a part of Islam. It is a part of culture, the culture that the people of the subcontinent have been following since ages. Nobody can enforce a dress code in the name of Islam. It is categorically un-Islamic," renowned Islamic scholar Maulana Wahiduddin Khan told IANS. "If a college has a rule to not wear a burqa or headscarf then that should be followed and respected. If you don't agree, you quit the college," Khan, who has authored 10 books, said.
His comments came a day after Mangalore's Sri Venkataramana Swamy College disallowed 19-year-old Ayesha Ashmin to attend classes for 12 days because she insisted on wearing a headscarf. The B.Com first year student alleged she was being persecuted for her religious beliefs as she was wearing a headscarf. The college has denied the allegation and said the girl had violated the rules of the institution. Khan, 82, does not disagree with the college.
"Islamic dress is your inner character, not what you wear outside."
"Man or woman, anyone can wear anything they feel is decent. What matters is your truthfulness and honesty in character," said the author of "Discovering Islam From Its Original Sources" that draws a distinction between Islam as presented by Prophet Muhammad and modern day Islam. Fareeda Khan, who is also an Islamic scholar and teaches in the capital's Jamia Millia University, echoed the views.
"The burqa has become the symbol of rigidity and has nothing to do with Islam. You should accept that the burqa, a part of subcontinental culture, has been misused for suicide bombings. Why not avoid the burqa? Burqa is not part of any Islamic dress code," she said.
"I also suggest to my students to not wear a burqa in the university. What is the big deal about it?" Fareeda, who is also the daughter of Wahiduddin Khan, said.
5 comments:
If Muslims want religious freedom as they want it to be let the criminal procedure code also be Islamic as far as Muslims are concerned.they want to have the best of both worlds which is not acceptable.They want the freedom of democracy and the liberty to do whatever they feel like doing.What is the meaning of uniform?there can be no compromise in this matter.Tomorrow i will ask the head of the institution whre my son is studying to allow my son to wear dhoti and angavastra and a turban as a brahmin is supposed to do,will it be OK?
After muslims what next will you ask sikhs to remove their turbans and shave their faces? Will the school force brahmin boys to remove their janivaras and only then will they be allowed to attend school/colleges? We are not French or the Taliban where other faiths are not tolerated. We are Indians!!! We embrace all religions and their rules no matter who they are. We had Hindu, Muslim, Sikhs and Jains who died to give you this freedom. They would be rolling in their graves if they saw this India where a girl is not allowed to study because of her beliefs.
Whether Burkhas are Islamic or not, nobody has the right to tell an INDIAN what she can or cannot choose to believe. As an Indian, it is her birthright to choose her beliefs and follow them the way she wants to.
Everyone goes to college to study so that they get jobs. As long as the dress they wear are conservative and do not in anyway disrupt or distract the class, it should be allowed. Now how is a fully covered girl who only shows her face distracting or disturbing?
As far as dhoti and angavastra and a turban are concerned well there are colleges which allow that. They call that day "Culture Day". But in lots of colleges people who go to sabrimalai are allowed to wear malay as well. So why not allow a girl to wear burqa. The point is no one in India can force anyone to withdraw their beliefs. And as Home minister of our state it is your duty to see that no one's freedom of religion is hurt.
I am a Kannadiga Hindu Brahmin and I am ashammed of this happening in Karnataka. We were never ever this fascists till 2 years ago. Now we have Sri Ram Sene and this and hindus beating christians. We have not left anyone. And well as a Hindu I believe in the law of Karma "Do bad things and bad thins will happen. Do good thins and good things will happen."
The views expressed in this post are not the views of the Home Minister. Idea of posting this is to generate a discussion, with the hope of finding facts, ideas...Only when one thinks with a cool mind, then ideas flow...So while commenting, be responsible...inflammatory comments would be best left in own personal blogs!
The turban of the Sikh student does not conflict with the school uniform,
nor the kumkum put on the forehead of a girl student.
But the burka UNDOES the purpose of the school uniform. The burka serves the purpose of differentiating a muslim student from the general community of students. Muslims should understand that they should rather freely mix with non muslims than create their own small island.
@ K. Bhat, MBBS, we the muslims would love to have the islamic law 'Shariah' imposed on muslims, we are not against it and were never against it, if you want to know how effective the shariah is in dealing with crimes, pls go to saudi arabia & see how many crimes are committed there and whats the conviction rate, or atleast read up on shariah, the shariah has STRINGENT rules for crimes comitted, the thumb rule being 'exemplary punishment' , so harsh, that if 1 person dares to commit a crime and is therefore punished under the shariah rule, a 1000 persons would not dare to even THINK in their minds of comitting crimes, let alone do it...so, pls mr. K. G. Bhat, I REQUEST you to read up on islamic law and find it out for yourself.
In good faith.
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