Friday, February 18, 2011
Freedom of Choice
During the past week in Egypt President Mubarak has stepped down and the military has taken over. One of the contending parties is the Muslim brotherhood and they will be faced with decisions on how radical they will be. This afternoon on AM radio news the spokesman of the Muslim brotherhood said if women are elected to parliament it would be up to the individual whether they wish to cover their hair or not. In other countries such as Iran, all women are required to wear burkas at all times. In Turkey however, women are not allowed to cover hair if they are in the parliament. Personally, as an American, i believe that one should be able to make their own choice on how religious they want to be. What do you think on this issue? Should the governemnt be allowed to make rules on women wearing burkas?
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This is very interesting, especially when compared to the post I just blogged, about the mistreatment of women. I'm surprised the Muslim Brotherhood would be so "liberal" as to let women choose their headcovering. I agree with you that women should be able to choose what they do, but I would not expect Muslim countries to allow this. In addition, it is similar to Israel's conflict: is it a Jewish state a state conducted by Jewish law, or a state for Jews? Under new rule, would Egypt be a place for Egyptian people or will it be dictated by what is taken as Islamic law? Countries like Iran that require women to wear burqas are run on what the leaders perceive as Islamic law as opposed to Turkey which prioritizes professionalism and does not impose religion.
ReplyDeleteI'm also surprised the Muslim Brotherhood is liberal enough to give women such freedom in religious choices. Then again, most analysts are saying that al-Ikhwan (the Brotherhood) is much more moderate than the media makes it to be. (There are also those who say to be wary of the Brotherhood's radical portrayal in the media, and that it might simply be the product of pro-Mubarak propaganda.)
ReplyDeleteAccording to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, al-Ikhwan "seeks to interpret Islamic sharia principles in a manner consistent with the values of a liberal democratic system. Although al-Wasat advocates a political system that is firmly anchored in Islamic law, it also views sharia principles as flexible and wholly compatible with the principles of pluralism and equal citizenship rights."