came across a very interesting posting submitted by HarakahDaily Dot Net’s online reader identified simply by his or her pen name, Bekas Budak UKM. Well, Bekas Budak UKM raised some sensitive current issues regarding Malaysian Malay women and I hope that anyone reading this today would feed on whatever that I’m about to share here with an open mind.First of all, the letter submitted by Bekas Budak UKM to HarakahDaily Dot Net expressed the writer’s concern on the current fashion trends of Malaysian Malay women. Bekas Budak UKM has even listed down his concerns as shown down below:
Some Malaysian Malay women wore short hijabs that did not really cover their ‘aurat’ fully. As matter of fact, their necks are exposed quite clearly.
Some Malaysian Malay women wore hijabs along with their short tee shirts and some are even sleeveless exposing their arms and shoulders. I think what Bekas Budak UKM meant was baby tees, camisoles, raglans and tank tops.
Some Malaysian Malay women wore hijabs along with their incredibly tight fitting jeans revealing the shape of their booties (pardon me for saying this) to everyone.
Bekas Budak UKM did mention a few more concerns but I’m only interested in the first three as mentioned above. For non-Malaysians and non-Moslems who are reading this today, you first must understand that majority (+90%) of Malaysian Malay women are born Moslems. Moslem women are required to cover every part of their body except their face and hands (from the tip of their fingers to the wrist joints) when they have reached puberty. Moslem women are also prohibited from dressing in garments that would reveal their bodily shapes and curvatures. Wearing transparent or thin clothing is also strictly prohibited in Islam.
In a sense, the letter submitted by Bekas Budak UKM is merely an eye opener. I’m a Moslem too and I do not have to be Holy Man to say that the trends of Malaysian Malay women today are not according to the ways of Islam. This is a worrying trend and I do share my concerns on the matter with many other concerned Moslems in Malaysia. Please do not ask me why Malaysian Malay women who are born Moslems behaves and dresses in such manner since I really do not have the answer. By right, every born Moslems here in Malaysia were exposed to some kind of basic Islamic education when they were young. Many were sent to religious teaching schools and were taught all about the Islamic way of life there.
I do wonder just how in the world did Malaysian Malay Moslem women got into this kind of mess in the first place. Were they influenced by the mass media such as television shows, movies and so forth somehow?
We could never find the answers alone. I truly hope that Malaysian Malay women would come forward and have their say in this matter. We are all wondering and only you can provide us with the necessary answers. If you have any comments or feedbacks on this issue, feel free to voice them over at Malay Women in Malaysia blog. Thank you.
Saidul A Shaari is the principal and founder of Sahabatul Ventures, specializing in helping aspiring home based entrepreneurs establish and setup their online businesses cost effectively. An enterprising business individual who turn half ideas into real money making opportunities.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Saidul_A_Shaari
Senin, 20 April 2009
Minggu, 19 April 2009
The Hijab Facts
What is a Hijab? This will be a strange question if one is not a Muslim. Hijab is the modest dress for Muslim women, which most Islamic legal systems define as covering everything except the face and hands in public. There is always a misconception among people that the Muslim women are forced to wear Hijab. This thought about Hijabs is absolutely wrong. To make you understand the fact, I have explained the real meaning of Hijabs here. Just keep reading on to discover the truth.
For a better understanding, the word "HIJAB" can be explained letter by letter. To start with, the word 'H' stands for headscarf. Most people out there think that having a face veil is mandatory for proper Hijab. The truth is that, for a Muslim woman to follow proper Hijab, it's enough to cover her hair, neck, and bosom. Covering the face is not mandatory and in fact, there are absolutely no evidences to suggest that Muslim women are to cover their faces.
The second letter 'I, goes for intentions. What do you think is the reason behind Muslim women wearing a Hijab? Compulsion? No, the absolute reason for this is their belief in GOD. They believe that God (Allah in Arabic) tells them to follow the principles of clothing. When wearing Hijab, it literally means that we are pleasing God (hopefully) and we are guarding our modesty, and we are respecting ourselves and our communities by not showing off body parts that nobody should see unless that person is our husband or very close relative.
However, Hijab is not just a headscarf. It is the complete way of covering your body. The only parts of a woman's body that can shown to the public are her hands, face, and some say, feet. The third letter 'J' of Hijab stands for Jilbab which constitutes the outer garment. It describes a garment that we wear on top of our underclothes. The underclothes can be anything like a long dress, a shirt and pants, a jacket and long skirt, etc.
It is well known that a Muslim women's attire must meet the requirements like: Her clothing must not be tight, her clothing must not be sheer, her clothing must not reveal the shape of her body, and her clothing must not resemble clothing that is primarily worn by men. So the letter 'a' stands for 'attire'.
As already said in the beginning of this article, people have a misconception that Muslim women are forced to sacrifice their beauty by wearing the Hijabs. Muslim woman can do things to make herself feel beautiful and look presentable to the outside world. She can wear clothing that is colorful (although it shouldn't be extravagant), she can wear jewelry like Hijab pins that pleases her (although she should make sure that her jewelry isn't so noisy that it attracts attention), and she can use beauty products that give her a polished look. A Muslim woman should always look neat, clean, and beautiful.
To conclude, beauty is not for the purpose of attracting men, but for the purpose of being a wonderful example of a good, moral person in the world.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stacey_Akines
For a better understanding, the word "HIJAB" can be explained letter by letter. To start with, the word 'H' stands for headscarf. Most people out there think that having a face veil is mandatory for proper Hijab. The truth is that, for a Muslim woman to follow proper Hijab, it's enough to cover her hair, neck, and bosom. Covering the face is not mandatory and in fact, there are absolutely no evidences to suggest that Muslim women are to cover their faces.
The second letter 'I, goes for intentions. What do you think is the reason behind Muslim women wearing a Hijab? Compulsion? No, the absolute reason for this is their belief in GOD. They believe that God (Allah in Arabic) tells them to follow the principles of clothing. When wearing Hijab, it literally means that we are pleasing God (hopefully) and we are guarding our modesty, and we are respecting ourselves and our communities by not showing off body parts that nobody should see unless that person is our husband or very close relative.
However, Hijab is not just a headscarf. It is the complete way of covering your body. The only parts of a woman's body that can shown to the public are her hands, face, and some say, feet. The third letter 'J' of Hijab stands for Jilbab which constitutes the outer garment. It describes a garment that we wear on top of our underclothes. The underclothes can be anything like a long dress, a shirt and pants, a jacket and long skirt, etc.
It is well known that a Muslim women's attire must meet the requirements like: Her clothing must not be tight, her clothing must not be sheer, her clothing must not reveal the shape of her body, and her clothing must not resemble clothing that is primarily worn by men. So the letter 'a' stands for 'attire'.
As already said in the beginning of this article, people have a misconception that Muslim women are forced to sacrifice their beauty by wearing the Hijabs. Muslim woman can do things to make herself feel beautiful and look presentable to the outside world. She can wear clothing that is colorful (although it shouldn't be extravagant), she can wear jewelry like Hijab pins that pleases her (although she should make sure that her jewelry isn't so noisy that it attracts attention), and she can use beauty products that give her a polished look. A Muslim woman should always look neat, clean, and beautiful.
To conclude, beauty is not for the purpose of attracting men, but for the purpose of being a wonderful example of a good, moral person in the world.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stacey_Akines
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