Sei sulla pagina 1di 5

Kellie Konicki 1 Question #1: What method of deriving meaning from sacred texts is the best to use to understand

contemporary ideas about hijab? When reading and interpreting sacred texts such as the Quran, it is important to keep in mind the context in which the text was written. One must not consider the text from a contemporary point of view, but rather extract the meaning from the text within the circumstances that it was written, and then apply the knowledge gained to a contemporary idea or question. There have been many misinterpretations of Quranic verses regarding the hijab as an oppressive moral law imposed on women by men. The Quran has also been misinterpreted for political gain. However, those verses were taken out of context and therefore caused different interpretations that do not align with the inherent values of Islam. The best way to derive meaning from sacred texts in order to understand contemporary ideas about Hijab is the hermeneutical model that Wadud describes, which is concerned with the context in which the text is written, the grammatical composition of the text, and the text as a whole. In order to understand what is written in the Quran, one must first understand how it is structured. The Quran is organized with respect to the location of revelation of verses, whether in Makkah or Madinah (Amir Ali 1). The Makkah makes up almost two-thirds of the Quran and refers to the belief of the monotheism of Islam, the guidance of Muslims through Allahs chosen prophets, physical and spiritual resurrection of mankind, the Day of Judgment, and the life of paradise or hell. The Madinah, however, emphasizes servitude to Allah, and all aspects of relationship with other beings. Many times, determining whether a verse was reveled in Makkah or

Kellie Konicki 2 Madinah can define a lot about how the verse should be interpreted. For example, qital (one aspect of Hijab) was ordained in Madinah whereas in the Makki period emphasis was on keeping the hands tied in face of adversity and persecution (Amir Ali 1). Therefore, a lot of misinterpretations of the Quran and as a result, misunderstandings of its values regarding the hijab, could be due to a lack of knowledge about how, and the context in which, the Quran was revealed. Occasionally, even after the Quran and Islam have been studied thoroughly, there can still be a discrepancy when applying the inherent values regarding women to modernday life that can give rise to certain social issues. For example, in Ferneas Guest of the Sheikh, an American woman goes to a small village in Iraq after learning on her own about Islam in order to work as an anthropologist and gain first-hand experience of the culture and the religion. While there, she made the mistake of inviting a sheltered Muslim woman to go on a drive with a strange man unaccompanied by a male relative, which could have cost the woman her life if not for the protection of her hijab. At the end of her trip, she realized how little [she] really knew about the society in which [she] was living, and that though she had listened and talked and learned a great dealthe pattern of custom and tradition which governed the lives of [her] friends was much more subtle and complex than [she] had imagined (Fernea 266). Therefore, even after studying the holy texts and the religion in great depth, there are still applications of them in modern day life that are easily misunderstood. Not only are there misunderstandings, but there are disagreements between Muslims on how holy texts are applied to contemporary circumstances. For example, in the show Little Mosque on the Prairie, there are several different opinions about whether or not a veil should be worn. Sara, a Muslim convert,

Kellie Konicki 3 only wears Hijab when inside the Mosque, while Rayyan and Fatima choose to veil every time they are outside of their home. In one episode, Ban the Burka, a woman comes to the Mosque wearing the traditional black burka that covers everything but the eyes. There was an effort by some that misunderstood the value of veiling according to Muslim beliefs to prevent the woman from wearing the burka in public (Little Mosque on the Prairie: Ban the Burka). This exemplifies the social implications of misunderstandings of holy texts in modern-day circumstances. Oftentimes, when the Quran is interpreted out of context, it has severe modern social and political implications. Barlas outlines an example of how Muslim conservatives highlight and universalize specific passages from the Qur an in order to restrict women. One passage that they used said that believing women should cast their outer garments over their bodies (when abroad) so that they should be known and not molested" (Y. Ali 33:59). She explains how texts regarding the value of modesty as outlined in this specific verse encouraging believing women to cover themselves and not display their beauty, that was originally intended for the protection of women by identifying them as Muslim during a time when female slaves were being sexually abused, were being misinterpreted to justify not only forms of veiling that involved covering the head, face, hands, and feet, but also domestic segregation (Barlas 55). Thus, something originally intended to help women has been constantly used against them in modern situations involving Hijab due to a misinterpretation of the holy text. Barlas points out how ironic it is that even though there are only about six misogynistic Ahadith accepted as Sahih (reliable) out of a collection of 70,000, it is these six that men trot out when they want to argue against sexual equality, while perversely ignoring

Kellie Konicki 4 dozens of positive Ahadith (Barlas 46). Wadud presents a similar argument that a misinterpretation of the Quran about women leads to sociological consequences. However, Wadud also claims that the problem is not that the Quran is limited to a certain time period because she believes that it is transcendental in time and space, but rather that Muslims must extract a practical, modern application in accordance with the original intention of the text (Wadud 9). In regards to Hijab, she claims that the Quran acknowledges the virtue of modesty and demonstrates it through the prevailing practices of veiling (Wadud 10). Wadud uses a hermeneutical approach to interpreting the holy text that is concerned with the context in which the text was reveled, how the text is grammatically compiled, and the text in its entirety. This method provides the reader with a more accurate view of the real meaning of the text and should be used when making claims about the Quranic perspective on modern issues regarding women and Hijab. In conclusion, sacred texts are prone to misinterpretation and differences in opinion on various explanations of the texts because of the fact that they can be so subjective. These discrepancies can have important social and political implications in regards to the Quran and Islamic texts concerning women and Hijab. Therefore, it is very important that one reads the scriptures within the context that they were revealed, and rather than attempting to conform the text to contemporary issues, they should consider the problems in light of the text by obtaining applicable knowledge based on values fundamental to the religion itself.

Kellie Konicki 5 Works Cited Ali, Abdullah Yusuf. The Holy Qur-an: Text, Translation & Commentary. Lahore: Shaikh Muhammad Ashraf, [194. Print. Ali, M. Amir. "Organization of the Qur'an." N.p., n.d. Web. "Barlas, "Believing Women" in Islam, University of Texas Press." Barlas, "Believing Women" in Islam, University of Texas Press. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2013. "CBC Television - Little Mosque on the Prairie." CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, n.d. Web. Mar. 2013. Fernea, Elizabeth Warnock. Guests of the Sheik: An Ethnography of an Iraqi Village. New York: Doubleday, 1989. Print. "Qur'an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman's Perspective [Paperback]." Qur'an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman's Perspective: Amina Wadud: 9780195128369: Amazon.com: Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2013.

Potrebbero piacerti anche