In the interest of equality should Muslim men be made to wear a bag over their head like they make their women

Question

Muslim women are dressed from head to toe in that bag they call a dress. Yet Muslim men can wear anything they like. I find this very two faced. I'm all for equallity and if the women can't wear reasonable clothing I think the men should be made to wear a similar outfit as their wives. What do you think?

Answer 1

who said that Muslim men can wear anything they like

read the following please

The following article is abridged from: http://www.irf.net/irf/dtp/dawah_tech/mcqnm3.htm

The status of women in Islam is often the target of attacks in the secular media. The ‘hijaab’ or the Islamic dress is cited by many as an example of the ‘subjugation’ (or oppression) of women under Islamic law. Before we analyze the reasoning behind the religiously mandated veil, let us first study the status of women in societies before the advent of Islam...


In the past women were degraded and used as objects of lust
The veil is for men too!!!!!!!!
Six criteria for the veil
The veil includes conduct and behavior among other things
What the veil prevents
Example of twin sisters
Capital punishment for the rapists
Western society claims to have uplifted women
USA has one of the highest rates of rape
The results of Implementing the Islamic law on the rates of rapes
In the past women were degraded and used as objects of lust
The following examples from history amply illustrate the fact that the status of women in earlier civilizations was very low to the extent that they were denied basic human dignity:


Babylonian Civilization:
The women were degraded and were denied all rights under the Babylonian law. If a man murdered a woman, instead of him being punished, his wife was put to death.

Greek Civilization:
Greek Civilization is considered the most glorious of all ancient civilizations. Under this very ‘glorious’ system, women were deprived of all rights and were looked down upon. In Greek mythology, an ‘imaginary woman’ called ‘Pandora’ is the root cause of misfortune of human beings. The Greeks considered women to be subhuman and inferior to men. Though chastity of women was precious, and women were held in high esteem, the Greeks were later overwhelmed by ego and sexual perversions. Prostitution became a regular practice amongst all classes of Greek society.

Roman Civilization:
When Roman Civilization was at the zenith of its ‘glory’, a man even had the right to take the life of his wife. Prostitution and nudity were common amongst the Romans.

Ancient Egyptian Civilization:
The Egyptians considered women evil and as a sign of a devil.

Pre-Islamic Arabia:
Before Islam spread in Arabia, the Arabs looked down upon women and very often when a female child was born, she was buried alive (As most women grew to become prostitutes, thus they were afraid that their daughters might become a source of SHAME, so they got rid of them by burying them when they were born).
The veil is for men too!!!!!!
People usually only discuss the veil in the context of women. However, in the Glorious Quran, Allah first mentions ‘hijaab’ (The veil) for men before ‘hijaab’ for the women. The Quran says:

"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do."
[Quran 24:30]

The moment a man looks at a woman and if any brazen or unashamed thought comes to his mind, he should lower his gaze.

Veil for women.

The next verse says:

" And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands’ fathers, their sons..."
[Quran 24:31]
Six criteria for the veil
According to Quran and Sunna there are basically six criteria for observing the veil:

1-Extent:

The first criterion is the extent of the body that should be covered. This is different for men and women. The extent of covering obligatory on the male is to cover the body at least from the navel to the knees. For women, the extent of covering obligatory is to cover the complete body except the face and the hands up to the wrist.

All the remaining five criteria are the same for men and women.

2-The clothes worn should be loose and should not reveal the figure.

3-The clothes worn should not be transparent such that one can see through them.

4-The clothes worn should not be so glamorous as to attract the opposite sex.

5-The clothes worn should not resemble that of the opposite sex.

6-The clothes worn should not resemble that of the unbelievers i.e. they should not wear clothes that are specifically identities or symbols of the unbelievers’ religions.
The veil includes conduct and behavior among other things
Complete ‘veil’, besides the six criteria of clothing, also includes the moral conduct, behavior, attitude and intention of the individual. A person only fulfilling the criteria of ‘hijaab’ of the clothes is observing ‘hijaab’ in a limited sense. ‘Hijaab’ of the clothes should be accompanied by ‘hijaab’ of the eyes, ‘hijaab’ of the heart, ‘hijaab’ of thought and ‘hijaab’ of intention. It also includes the way a person walks, the way a person talks, the way he behaves, etc.
What the veil prevents
The reason why the veil is prescribed for women is mentioned in the Quran in the following verses:

"O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad); that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
[Quran 33:59]

The Quran says that Hijaab has been prescribed for the women so that they are recognized as modest women and this will also prevent them from being molested.
Example of twin sisters
Suppose two sisters who are twins, and who are equally beautiful, walk down the street. One of them is attired in the Islamic veil i.e. the complete body is covered, except for the face and the hands up to the wrists. The other sister is wearing western clothes, a mini skirt or shorts. Just around the corner there is a hooligan or ruffian who is waiting for a catch, to tease a girl. Whom will he tease? The girl wearing the Islamic veil OR the girl wearing the skirt or the mini? Naturally he will tease the girl wearing the skirt or the mini. Such dresses are an indirect invitation to the opposite sex for teasing and molestation. The Quran rightly says that hijaab prevents women from being molested.
Capital punishment for the rapists
Under the Islamic law, a man convicted of having raped a woman, is given capital punishment. Many are astonished at this ‘harsh’ sentence. Some even say that Islam is a ruthless, barbaric religion! When asking a simple question to hundreds of non-Muslim men. Suppose, God forbid, someone rapes your wife, your mother or your sister. You are made the judge and the rapist is brought in front of you. What punishment would you give him? All of them said they would put him to death. Some went to the extent of saying they would torture him to death. To them I ask, if someone rapes your wife or your mother you want to put him to death. But if the same crime is committed on somebody else’s wife or daughter you say capital punishment is barbaric. Why should there be double standards?
Western society claims to have uplifted women
Western talk of women’s liberalization is nothing but a disguised form of exploitation of her body, degradation of her soul, and deprivation of her honor. Western society claims to have ‘uplifted’ women. On the contrary it has actually degraded them to the status of concubines, mistresses and society butterflies who are mere tools in the hands of pleasure seekers and sex marketers, hidden behind the colorful screen of ‘art’ and ‘culture’.
USA has one of the highest rates of rape
United States of America is supposed to be one of the most advanced countries of the world. It also has one of the highest rates of rape in any country in the world. According to a FBI report, in the year 1990, every day on an average 1756 cases of rape were committed in U.S.A. alone. Later another report said that on an average everyday 1900 cases of rapes are committed in USA. The year was not mentioned. May be it was 1992 or 1993. May be the Americans got ‘bolder’ in the following years.

Consider a scenario where the Islamic veil is followed in America. Whenever a man looks at a woman and any brazen or unashamed thought comes to his mind, he lowers his gaze. Every woman wears the Islamic veil, that is the complete body is covered except the face and the hands up to the wrist. After this if any man commits rape he is given capital punishment. In such a scenario, will the rate of rape in America increase, will it remain the same, or will it decrease?
The results of Implementing the Islamic law on the rates of rapes
Naturally as soon as Islamic law is implemented positive results will be inevitable. If Islamic law is implemented in any part of the world, whether it is America or Europe, society will breathe easier. The veil does not degrade a woman but uplifts a woman and protects her modesty and chastity.
A story of a western woman who embraced Islam & put on the veil
"As a non-Muslim living in Western society, the idea of modesty was not exactly foremost in my mind. Like all other women of my generation and mind-set, I thought such ideas were antiquated and excessive. I felt pity for the poor Muslim woman who had to "wear all that junk," or "walk around in bed - sheets" as I used to call it.

I was a modern woman, educated and liberated. Little did I know the awful truth? I was more oppressed than any Muslim woman in the most culturally oppressive village in the Muslim world. I was oppressed not by an inability to choose my clothing or to choose my life-style; I was oppressed by an inability to see my society for what it really was. I was oppressed by the idea that a woman's beauty was public, and that lustful admiration was equal to respect.

It was when Allah guided me to Islam, and I put on the hijab (covering), that I was finally able to step out of the society in which I lived and see it for what it really is.

I could see how the highest paid women were those who exposed themselves to public display, like actresses, models and even strip-tease dancers. I was able to see that the relationship between men and women was unfairly stacked in the man's direction.

I knew I used o dress to attract men. I tried to fool myself by saying I did it to please myself, but the painful reality was that what pleased me was when I was admired by a man I considered attractive. I now know that there is no way for a person to know that he is dirty if he has never been clean.

Similarly, I was not able to see that I was oppressed until I stepped out of the darkness of this oppressive society into the light of Islam. With that light shined on the truth, I was finally able to see the shadows that had been so obscured by my Western philosophies. It is not oppression to protect yourself and society; it is oppression to voluntarily throw yourself into the quagmire while denying it is dirty.

I am grateful to Allah that He allowed me to recognize that

• when I covered my head, I was taking away from people any means for judging me other than my mind, my soul and my heart.

• When I covered my head, I took away the incentive for exploitation based on beauty.

• When I covered my head, I made people respect me because they saw that I respected myself.

• when I covered my head, I finally opened my mind to the truth. "

Sister Shariffa Carlo

Answer 2

The reason the women were to wear the veil exposing only the eyes was to keep men from seeing what the woman looked like thus cutting down on the bulid up of lustful actions . Only family could see the females face uncovered.
Men also can wear a veil to hide their features .
All wear a veil to protect their faces during sandstorms.

Answer 3

The "bag" as you call it is only in certain cultures and is more a part of the culture than the word of the Koran. Look at Syrian women, Egyptian women, Malaysian Women. They may wear a shawl to cover their heads, but they're every bit as woman as women in the West.

It is actually written in OUR bible as well that women have to cover their heads in public... In fact, it was a public social requirement up until the 20's. Women who went outside the house without a hat or a shawl were viewed as brazen hussies back then.

Answer 4

for your information, we don't make our women wear those long dresses. our religion teaches us to be modest. and i would like to add that those dresses are traditional dresses of the arabs and they feel comfortable in them and they can choose to or not to veil their faces .and one more thing it's not against the religion to not wear that long black dress. any dress will do as long as they are not too revealing. men too have restrictions on what they can and cannot wear. they can't show any skin below the navel all the way down just below the knee. even then, men are not allowed to show that much skin even in the company of other men. why? because human eyes are constantly prying. (BS if you say you don't.) anything that is tight or body-hugging is not permitted for both sexes. next time , before you criticize , do your homework. your stunt on our dressing just goes to show that you are irresponsibly ill-informed (i'm sure you allowed yourself to be ),socially ignorant and blatantly prejudiced towards others of other faith and a total zero on that too

Answer 5

Ok so women have to wear a bag over their heads, bid deal the men have to have sex with the camels, I would say even in the middle eastern countries women are ahead of the game.

Answer 6

Islam give more right's to women than men.
1.woman aren't obliged to join a battle.
2.In the golden age of Islam,women isn't obliged to do anything.The husband is obliged to do chore's like washing the dishes,take care of the children,etc.Women is only obliged to serve the husband.
3.A man who accused a Muslim woman of adultery without proof is beaten with 80 time's.While there is no such punishment for woman who accused a man of adultery.
4.In Islam,Paradise is at a mother feet not the father.
5.The man cannot take back any wedding gift after the divorce no matter how expensive it is in Islam.
6.The women who suffer in the pain of childbirth is clean from any sin like a newborn baby in Islam.
7.The prophet Muhammad once scold a man for beating his wife.He said,"why did you beat the women who serve you and who raised your child?"
8.Prophet Muhammad once insult the man who beat their wive's.He say's,"Don't you feel ashame that you beat your wife in the day and come to her at night?(to have sex with you).
9.Umar(the companian's of the prophet) once been yell by his wife,but he just keep quite.A man who witness this asked,how could he bear all that yelling.Umar answer",My friend,our wife have serve us for year's,therefor it is not nice to hate them just because they do a little mistake to us."

Now you could see how women is treated in Islam.Women in Islam is obliged to wear the hijab to set a difference between Muslimah and a prostitute according to the Quran.Who ever said that Muslim men could wear anything they like?They also have part's that obliged to cover,just lesser than the women.We need to cover our stomach untill our knee.

Answer 7

I agree with you 100 %. Muslim men are the pits because there is no equality. I know for a fact that boys have a higher value than girls. That is wrong.

Answer 8

It is not the men that always make them wear it. It is just some people are *extremely* weak willed and believe that it is somehow going to get them better recognition with their maker.

Religious fanatics are friggen dumb..

Answer 9

Great point, I agree, women wear veils, men wear paper bags.

Answer 10

Muslim men are not intrested in equality.

Answer 11

Only if you enforce the rule Johnny boy.