Friday, February 05, 2010

Truth behind the Veil

Read an informative article by Farida Khanam - an associate Professor @ Jamia Milla Islamia New Delhi .Being a student of philosophy it was enlightening - though subscription to the idea is a matter of self judgement.

Some of the interesting points made be her

1.The Burqua is not a part of Islam but an element of Muslim culture and the distinction is important

2.The source of Islam is the Quran rather than the Muslim culture, Muslim culture is a social phenomenon while the quran is the Book of God as revealed to the prophet of Islam

3.Burqua in ancient times meant - a piece of clothing that was used as a protection , especially in winters
4.It becomes clear from her essay that the present ""Burqua" or ""hijab"" are not Quaranic terms ;both are part of the muslim culture and not part of the Quranic commandments.

5.Muslim tradition mayl be judged in the light of the original teachings of Islam instead of regarding the muslim culture as Islam itself.

the above are just salient parts of the article - the article can be read in the times of India edition Jan 30th 2010

- Dr Amit K Saiya