The Niqab: Should it be banned? (UCL)

[Hafsah]

The Niqab: Should it be banned?


Only a few weeks ago, Jack Straw former foreign seceretary commented on the veil which sent shockwaves throughout the Muslim community and the British public. Questions have arisen amongst the Muslim community:

Is this veil a fard (obligation)?
Should we stand and support Muslim women who wear the veil?
Does the veil hinder communication?
Is it, as suggested by Tony Blair, a mark of separation?
Is it further proof that Muslims are segregating themselves from the rest of society?
Are we being veiled from a hidden agenda?
All these questions and more will be discussed, and this is also a chance for yourself to join the debate and question the speakers.


DATE: Thursday 2nd November
TIME: 5:15pm (Doors open at 5pm)
VENUE: Chemistry Auditorium (UCL)

SPEAKERS: Shaykh Haitham al-Hadad
Yvonne Ridley
Sultana Parveen

[Umm 'Umarah]

where is UCL?

[Hafsah]

UCL is near euston...you can take the tube to euston..euston square...russel square...

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/access-ucl/self-guided-tour

[.: Anna :.]

its near euston

[Umm 'Umarah]

i'd love to go...but its too far, if anybody goes please give us a summary Insha'Allah

[TEH]

Haha, Imperial's one sounded better...

They had Yvonne Ridley debating with some rightwing Jewish journalist for The Times...

But hey Shaikh Haytham and his accent.. :inlove:

[ummabdul-Latif]

excuse my ignorance but this lecture is in support of the the niqab right?

[ibn suleman]

excuse my ignorance but this lecture is in support of the the niqab right?

yep!

insha'Allah it shud be recorded!

[Enigma Dreamer]

Assalaamu aleykum.
It is not the business of Kufaars to talk about Niqaab or not. Who are they to ban the Niqaab? You know this is a campaign against the Mu'miniins. You remember the French did,the Germans are thinking of making it banned in the whole of German, and maxbe, more wil do so. It is pure conspiracy based on hatred. But if u are careful, u will see that this thing always backfires. The more they ban, the more Muslims take it up and even many christians accept Islam. Muslim women need to be strong in front of all this hardship. This is a test to the Muslim ummah to see how we can perform. Sisters, be strong in ur religion. Fathers and Mothers, remeber u are responsible for ur daughters and Allah (s.w.) will ask u. Let those Mothers in France be a role model for u. They are sending their daughters (with their brothers) to countries like Austria where they can study freely without the French's hatred, what a commitment to the religion! And Allah (s.w.) will reward u in a day where the much u ammassed won't help, rather ur deeds.

[.: Anna :.]

Haha, Imperial's one sounded better...

They had Yvonne Ridley debating with some rightwing Jewish journalist for The Times...

But hey Shaikh Haytham and his accent.. :inlove:
I caught the end of that, yeah it was good (imperial thng)

[TEH]

Even if she did lose the debate, the Jewish dude was good.. :I

Shame their ISoc didnt arrange it though...coulda helped out charity week.. :D

[Abu Hurairah]

Haha, Imperial's one sounded better...

They had Yvonne Ridley debating with some rightwing Jewish journalist for The Times...

But hey Shaikh Haytham and his accent.. :inlove:
Yeah Shaykh Haythams accent is top masha'allah :D, he's comming to this on Monday: http://www.ummah.com/forum/showthread.php?t=100434

[Al Qadr]

We had a talk on the veil in my uni on tuesday :hidban:

[amna_ms]

I respect all ladies wearing Niqab and I strongly believe that it is their sole right to decide on how to dress. However I see that the Niqab presents a problem of identification. People need to see the face at many times to ensure that this is the same person who is allowed admission. Refusing to show the face will then create a lot of problems to both parties. I feel that not seeing the person that we deal with may not be very comfortable and hence could create an obstacle to interaction within the community - especially at work or education, where it is the role of a Muslim lady to represent Islam well and try to educate those around her with its teachings(do Daawa). I searched for this issue and am quoting a summary of a Fatwa - (or scholar's advice) to a lady asking if Niqab is compulsory. This was posted on www.islamonline.net on November 1 2006.

"The majority of imams — including those of the four schools of fiqh as well as others — hold the opinion that a woman is not obliged to cover her face and hands. So niqab is not considered an essential part of Islamic attire for women. Therefore, in your earnest desire to dress modestly to comply with the teachings of Islam, you need not go as far as wearing niqab.

In his response to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states the following:

Coming to the question of niqab, I must say that it is absolutely not considered an essential part of Islamic attire for women. The vast majority of scholars and imams do not consider it as an integral part of the same. It is only a tiny minority who does so.

[Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: and God is well acquainted with all that they do. And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their zeenah (charms, or beauty and ornaments) except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their khimar (veils) over their bosoms and not display their zeenah except to their husbands, their fathers ... and that they should not strike their feet so as to draw attention to their hidden zeenah (ornaments)] (An-Nur 24:31-32).

Commenting on this verse, Ibn `Abbas, the inspired commentator of the Qur'an and the eminent Companion of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), said, "What is to be covered is all of the body except face and hands." The above divine order to lower one's gaze makes sense only where women do not veil their faces.

Furthermore, there is no mention of face veil in the authentic Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); if it had been an absolute requirement for women to cover their faces, then the Prophet would have said so clearly. It is no wonder then that the vast majority of scholars and jurists have never included the face veil as part of women's attire.

Therefore, in your earnest desire to dress modestly to comply with the teachings of Islam, you need not go as far as wearing a niqab. Once Islam has permitted women to expose their face and hands, you need not court hardship by going that route. Rigidity, I must add, is not an Islamic virtue; in fact, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) condemned it as being extreme.

My own advice, therefore, to you is that you should wear modest Islamic attire: Wear a scarf and loose-fitting clothes that manifest modesty and do not bother about wearing a niqab.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also said, "This religion of ours is easy and simple; whoever makes it hard will only be defeating themselves."

In conclusion, while you should be truly proud of your Islamic attire, you need not wear niqab (face veil), for it cannot be considered as an integral pat of women's attire in Islam".

[TEH]

As good as it was, this event so shot me in the foot..it might not have been the best for non Muslims..

:I

[Hafsah]

As good as it was, this event so shot me in the foot..it might not have been the best for non Muslims..

:I

unfortunately i couldn't go... why do you say

..it might not have been the best for non Muslims..

??

[TEH]

Because I took some Non Muslims...and one of them had a 'battle' with Yvonne Ridley, and he asked the same question twice, but she wouldnt answer it...she would talk about something else completely..

And I personally thought she just didnt understand his qs (but its one of those 70 excuses things, you know when you see someone doing sin, but you make an excuse for them, but it is so obvious they are doing something wrong), and now the non muslim dude thinks she purposely avoided his questions...

And then she left just as quickly as she had come... :I

No disrespect though, she is still a brilliant speaker masha allah.. :)

[Hafsah]

ah...see what you mean

i remember once there was a murtada khan talk...it was supposed to be about the Prophet SAW (Mohammad: the man, the messenger ... i believe the title was)...and one of my lecturers who was interested in islaam came

it went totally off topic...and was probably quite strange/harsh for a non-muslim

the lecturer was not very impressed and seemed quite angry about it

[.: Anna :.]

Even if she did lose the debate, the Jewish dude was good.. :I

Shame their ISoc didnt arrange it though...coulda helped out charity week.. :Done bro from their isoc has made his own separate society for doing those kind of events, which is slightly dif than the regular isoc stuff...it seems an okay idea.