Blogger: Muslimah Media Watch: Looking at Muslim women in the media and in pop culture
Article: Looking at Muslim women’s clothing… again.
Originaly Posted On: 2008-07-28 07:00:00

Every week, the Friday links here at Muslimah Media Watch include several stories about Muslim women’s clothing. Our posts often cover these issues as well. We look at definitions of veiling and modesty, and how these are perceived by Muslim and non-Muslim media. How some Muslim women are often seen as oppressed by their clothing, or other times are seen as stronger/better/more pious because of their clothing, and how people’s identities are always much more complicated than this.

But most of you who read MMW don’t actually need me, or any of the other writers, to tell you this stuff. I could probably write a different post each week focusing only on representations of clothing or headscarves, but that might get old. As much as I’m having fun pulling apart some of the ridiculous articles that come our way, this is something that many of you can do on your own.

Last week, when writing about the Charming Burka, I promised to have more of a discussion on these clothing issues and why they get talked about so much. So, a question. This might be a bit of a can of worms that I just may be opening here, but here goes. I guess I’m essentially wondering why there’s such a focus in the media on issues of how Muslim women dress, and especially on this clothing as oppressive. Before this starts to sound just too simplistic, let me explain. I’m working on the assumption that most women choose how they want to dress, and are entitled to make that choice (acknowledging that the concept of “choice” can be problematic inside and outside of Islamic contexts, but we’ll talk about that one another time.) However, there are also some women who may indeed dress a certain way because they are forced to do so because of whatever oppressive and patriarchal forces they are up against. (These categories are not necessarily so clearly defined.)

Given that we’re talking about images of Muslim women, this second category usually manifests as women who are forced to wear a burqa (or niqab, or hijab) because of overbearing and/or abusive fathers, or other male family or community members. This certainly does not represent anything close to all Muslim women, and even those covered by this category have much more complex lives than it suggests. (It is also certainly not unique to Muslim communities.) But let’s accept that some women do fit into this category in some way.

The thing is, even for this segment of the population for whom clothing is something imposed on them, should what they wear really be our biggest concern? My impression is that if a woman is in a situation where she truly does not have any say in what she wears, chances are she is probably facing greater abuse (or threats thereof) than the cloth that she is wearing on her body. Why, then, does the focus so often stop at the level of clothing? If the writers of these articles truly feel that these women are oppressed, then why don’t they look at the actual oppression that they are living with, rather than the headscarf (or face-covering, or whatever) that supposedly indicates this oppression? Or do the writers truly think that hijab, in whatever form it takes, is so inherently oppressive that it warrants constant media coverage and analysis?

I’m having a hard time articulating this, since it is often really inappropriate to assume that someone else is oppressed (or worse, needing you to save them), whether the issue is clothing or anything else. I do not want to be saying that people writing these articles should just switch to another issue without also looking critically at themselves and their own position and relation to the topic. But even when people do feel some need to write about “oppressed Muslim women,” why is this done so often in the context of their clothes? Is this just a continuation of the veil-fetish art and literature of colonial times? Is it simply because the scarf is such a visible marker of being different from mainstream European/North American society? Is it really just a misunderstanding that seems to lead people to see the scarf as inherently oppressive, or is there an agenda behind wanting to portray Muslim women (and by extension, Muslim cultures) in certain ways? Is this talked about differently in Western and non-Western media? I’d love to hear people’s thoughts on this.

Major disclaimer before anyone starts thinking about commenting: As usual, Muslimah Media Watch is a forum to discuss representations of Muslim women. This means that, as usual, this is not the place to discuss whether burqas (or headscarves) are required in Islam, or whether they are inherently oppressive. The question is about why these get talked about in the ways that they do, and specifically why they often get seen as the form of oppression that women are dealing with.

Blogger: Point of no return
Article: Mood in 1948 Cairo was of anti-Jewish terror
Originaly Posted On: 2008-07-30 05:08:00

Solomonia has been posting fascinating extracts from the photo-journalist John Roy Carlson’s 1951 work, Cairo to Damascus (link to in-print paperback). [All posts in the series collected on this page.] This excerpt captures the anti-Jewish mood in Cairo before the outbreak of the Arab war with Israel.

Still in early 1948, still in Cairo, before the official end of the mandate. pp. 118-119:

Blogger: jerusalem wanderings
Article: Conversations Around My Sabbath Table
Originaly Posted On: 2008-07-26 04:56:00

Most people indulge happily in wonderful theological discussions around the Sabbath table on Friday nights - either with guests or just with their family. MY Sabbath table discussion went something like this.

Son: Man, that soccer ball hit me hard in the eggs.

laughter

Hubby looks confused. I explain:

“In the US they call them “nuts” and in Israel they call them “eggs” because perhaps they’re bigger here. Who knows?

Hubby: So what do they call them in Nigeria then? Coconuts?

more laughter

At least there’s laughing going around the table even if no intelligent conversation is forthcoming. The kids don’t want to hear about my constant rendezvous with Palestinians. The meeting I had today was so uplifting, I didn’t care that they didn’t want to hear but I told them anyways about our trip to the Israel Museum this morning. We were a group of nine people visiting the exhibit of Isaiah’s Scroll of Peace, walked around the exhibit of art looted by the Nazis during the Holocaust and discussed the prophet Isaish over coffee later on.

Son: Are they allowed to go into the Israel Museum?

Me: Yes, if they have permits!

Daughter: Who gives them the permits?

Me: Our interfaith organization requests permits from the army.

Daughter: MUM! The army is going to come here and question you.

Me: Let them question me, bug my phone, whatever they want. I’ve got nothing to hide. In fact, the army, the government, everyone in bureaucracy - they’re all invited to my meetings to see what I do here.

Daughter: And you think this small group of people will bring about peace?

Me: Well, once you see what goes on in the meetings, it’s pretty contagious. We’re not the only interfaith meetings around. They’re so many groups that aren’t these angry political groups.

Daughter’s Boyfriend: What do you think about Tali Fahima?

Me: What about her? She visits with families of Palestinian terrorists in their mourning tent. I’d never do that - not with Jewish or Arab terrorists. A terrorist is a terrorist. She’s crazy and she’s angry and she’s anti-Israeli. I’m not anything like that!

Daughter: Why doesn’t she just convert to Islam?

Me: That’s not too difficult to do. I think I already might have.

They all look at me like I’m crazy and continue eating silently. I remember sitting around the Israel Museum coffee shop this morning in conversation with a teacher and pharmacist from Abu Dis how I do believe that there is only one God and I also believe that Mohammad is one of God’s prophets. They seemed amused, while I asked them, “doesn’t that make me an instant Moslem?”

How I do look forward to these conversations around the Sabbath table each week!

Blogger: Chaldean Thoughts
Article: World Youth Day 2008 And The Iraqi Youth
Originaly Posted On: 2008-07-08 01:24:00

Next week, more than 125,000 international visitors will attend World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney, Australia. Unfortunately, the Iraqi Christians youth team has been denied the opportunity to meet with the youth from around the world.

BaghdadHope wrote on his blog:

On March 2007 Father Rayan P. Atto, parish priest of the Chaldean church of Mar Qardagh in Erbil, expressed a dream. Today, more than

Blogger: Baha’i Faith in Egypt & Iran
Article: The Irony of Denial
Originaly Posted On: 2008-07-29 05:04:00

Another comic by Mideast Youth clearly illustrates the unfortunate situation facing the children of Baha’is in Egypt in their desperate attempts to enter school. One clear observation was that the Ministry of Education official denying the admission of a child to school wrote her denial on an apparently disposable piece of paper. The irony is that this poorly presented denial requests a computerized birth certificate from the child.

The comic speaks for itself (click on it to enlarge):

Blogger: The Muslim Network for Baha’i Rights
Article: Re-defining “Official”
Originaly Posted On: 2008-07-28 17:03:04

Several days ago, “Egyptian Baha’i” brought the world’s attention to the distressing story of Noor and Hannah, two little girls who were denied their right to an education for no other reason than their being Baha’is. While reporting on the story, we were struck by not only the Egyptian government’s reluctance to abide by its own law and guarantee all its citizens are treated equally regardless of gender, race or religious affiliation.

What struck us was the sheer absurdity of what the government considers to be an “Official Document”.

  Click for larger image.

  Click for larger image.

Blogger: Point of no return
Article: Lebanese Jews quake amid talk of revival
Originaly Posted On: 2008-07-29 06:25:00

The Magen Avraham synagogue in Beirut, destroyed during the Lebanese civil war.

This AFP piece on the Jews of Beirut reports that there are plans to restore the ruined synagogue with money from expatriate Jews. But any community revival would seem like ‘pie in the sky’ as long as the few Jews who remain are too terrified to reveal themselves. (With thanks: a reader)

BEIRUT (AFP) — It’s not easy being Jewish in Beirut where the synagogue is crumbling, the rabbis have left, the community is dwindling and where Jews are commonly branded “Israelis”.

The last vestiges of the Jewish community in Lebanon, the Magen Abraham synagogue in the Lebanese capital, reflects a community falling into oblivion.

Built in 1920 in the area of Wadi Abu Jamil, formerly known as Wadi al Yahud (the Jews’ Valley), the synagogue is today a place of desolation.

The building is in a state of severe disrepair, the grounds overgrown and the gate shackled with lock and chain.

“Everything was looted during the (civil) war, marble benches and even windows,” bemoaned Samuel, a member of the Jewish Community Council in Lebanon, who preferred to use a pseudonym.

Without a synagogue, or even a rabbi, the handful of Jews still left in the country — about 300* according to official estimates — are forced to pray at home.

“What we (also) lack is a place to buy locally produced kosher. We have no Jewish schools to teach our children prayer and Hebrew,” said the 60-year-old Samuel, sitting in his shop near the seafront.

The seminary near the Beirut synagogue was destroyed during the war and the community has had no rabbi for years.

“We only speak Arabic. We just use Hebrew for prayer,” added Samuel.

In the capital, along the former demarcation line between the Muslim and Christian areas, another vestige survives: the Jewish cemetery.

The inscriptions in Hebrew and stars of David on the entryway are covered with dust. “Very few people come,” said Samuel.

Efforts are now being made, however, to revive the community, with plans under way to renovate the synagogue and the starting of an online blog called “Jews of Lebanon” (thejewsoflebanon.org). (This blog is not associated with the Jewish community, but was established by a Muslim - ed)

“We hope that this synagogue, one of the largest in the Arab world, will be renovated later this year or in 2009,” said Samuel, adding that the renovations would be funded mainly by expatriate Lebanese Jews.

The blog seeks to raise the awareness of the Jewish community and to make it an active participant in public life.

Judaism is recognized as one of the 18 religious confessions in Lebanon, although the Jewish community has dwindled over the years, in the face of violence and prejudice.

“Before the (1975-1990) civil war, there were about 22,000* of us. It was after the 1982 (Israeli) invasion of Lebanon that our presence became considerably diminished,” said Samuel.

For Efraim, also a merchant and a member of the Jewish Council, the community’s official authority, one of the annoyances is living in a country where mixing the terms “Jewish” and “Israeli” is common.

Lebanon is technically in a state of war with Israel, which is commonly dubbed “the Zionist enemy.”

“People still occasionally ask me if I am Israeli,” said Efraim, also speaking under a pseudonym.

To him, “that’s exactly as if we used the term Iranians to describe Lebanese Shiites.”

“They do not understand that Israel means nothing to us. We consider it an enemy country as do all the Lebanese,” he insisted.

Read article in full

Reprinted in Ynet News

* the usual figures given are: fewer than 100 are left of an original number of 14,000

NB There will be a showing of Yves Turquier’s film Jews of Lebanon on 24 September in London. For details email info@harif.org

Blogger: Baha’i Faith in Egypt & Iran
Article: Egypt’s Ministry of Education is Put to Test
Originaly Posted On: 2008-07-24 17:23:00

The recent statement of Egypt’s Ministry of Education regarding the admission of Baha’i children to schools was put to test. An Arabic language blog named “Egyptian Baha’i” wrote about this recent development and expressed the rising degree of frustration caused by the inability of Baha’i parents to enroll their children in schools in Egypt.

As was posted recently here, the Ministry of Education had clearly expressed its position regarding this matter, that is, admission to schools will be based on citizenship alone, and that there will be no discrimination in the admission process based on religion. The Ministry went further by stating that it will accept children of Baha’is with (–) “dashes” in their documents.

The parents at the center of this controversy were unable to register their daughters to begin their formal education in a private elementary school because of their religious affiliation and the consequent administrative hurdles. They were referred to the Ministry of Education for an appeal. The Ministry, which had just publicized its position against discrimination, responded today with rejection of admission to the child. The reason given is that the child in question does not hold the newly issued computerized birth certificate, but rather presented them with the old “paper” birth certificate. None of the Baha’is were able to obtain the new computerized certificates (or ID cards) as had been mandated in the 29 January 2008 court verdict that allowed them to insert (–) dashes instead of their religious identification.

The handwritten response of the Ministry to the parent (in Arabic) is attached with this post. Its translation reads:

Governorate of Cairo
New Cairo Education Administration
Elementary Education

In response to the request presented by the [student’s] guardian, Wassim Kamal El-Deen Nosseir regarding the admission of his daughter, Hana Wassim, using a paper birth certificate. The paper birth certificate cannot be accepted and will not be used for that purpose. A computer birth certificate must be presented instead. The signature of the Director-General is taken [as a confirmation] to reject the student’s paper birth certificate.

[signed:]
Mona Abd El-Aziz Abd El-Hafez
Director of Elementary Education
24/7/2008
[official stamp]

Based on this new development, the Ministry of Education has already abandoned its declaration of not discriminating based on religion. The Ministry has clearly stated that the only condition is “Egyptian citizenship.” It did not make any mention of what kind of proof of identity is required, i.e. paper, computerized or any other form. The parents of this child submitted a proof of citizenship: an Egyptian birth certificate. Now the Ministry returns with rejection of this proof and requires that the certificate must be computerized. The Ministry knows very well that none of the Baha’is were able to obtain any of the newly-issued computerized documents, even though the court had ordered the Ministry of Interior to issue them such documents. The Ministry of Interior did not appeal the court’s verdict, but has been slow to implement the ruling. Actually, so far, it did not issue any documents to any of the Baha’is of Egypt (including the individual litigants).

This current crisis requires immediate attention by Egypt’s senior leadership. Depriving helpless children of their right to education can be seen as, yet another, serious violation of standard international human rights. This matter is now in the public eye…the facts are clear, and it cannot be ignored. There is no other choice but to issue the Baha’is of Egypt their identity documents. In the interim, the schools and other agencies must accept whatever documents these citizens currently hold.

Blogger: Point of no return
Article: Iraqi-Jewish festival in London: an Arab view
Originaly Posted On: 2008-07-17 08:08:00

The poet and author Khalid al-Kishtainy has written this fascinating report on last month’s Iraqi-Jewish festival Halahel - the word means ‘ trilling for joy’ - in the London-based Arabic newspaper Ashark al-Awsat (With thanks to Eileen K for the link and for her translation):

“The Jewish Iraqi community in London organised, under the leadership of Niran Basson-Timan and Edwin Shuker, a festival called Halahel celebrating the heritage of the Jewish community in Iraq, which is considered to be the oldest and most prominent of the Jewish communities in the world.

“Its history goes back to the Babylonian captivity when the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzer captured Jerusalem and took its inhabitants back to Babylon as captives. There, they absorbed the rich Babylonian heritage and blended it with their own heritage to establish the structure of their religion and culture.

“The festival included different topics ranging from politics and history to music and the arts. Many prominent personalities from Israel and Britain participated in all these topics, having one
thing in common, namely their Iraqi roots. Iraqi Jews, unlike other Jewish communities could not get rid of their Iraqi roots and their longing for Baghdad and Basra. For instance,
the musician Sarah Manasseh’s ancestors had left Iraq in the nineteenth century for India where she was born and brought up. She then emigrated to Britain without ever setting foot in Iraq. Yet
despite all that she devoted her life to Iraqi music and formed a musical group called The Rivers of Babylon.

“Wailing and lamentation are an important part of the Iraqi personality. The programme contained many such events like the Farhood ((The Looting in 1941) and the Taskit (The stripping of Iraqi nationality) and all the suffering that the Iraqi Jews had faced since the Thirties when the Palestinian problem erupted.

“I listened a lot and conversed with many of the people present. However, I did notice that the Palestinian subject was avoided in our conversation. Neither myself nor the people present breached the subject.

“To me, this is a very important point. Unlike other Middle Eastern Jews, Iraqi Jews were known for their political maturity plus their liberal and left-wing intellectual spirit. Many of them were communists and the Israeli society had a special respect for them as the grandchildren of Babylon. It was expected that they would play an important role as a bridge between the Arabs and Israel and also to direct their government towards an accord with the Arabs to achieve peace and respect the rights of the Palestinians.

“Unfortunately that never happened. Most of the peacemongers and friends of Palestine are Western Ashkenazi. The Eastern Jews supported the right-wing. That support has become an obstacle against achieving peace as the radical right-wing always get the Eastern Jewry’s vote.

“I can understand their hesitation as in the beginning they had to prove to the European Ashkenazis their loyalty and enthusiasm for the country and their complete detachment from their original Arab countries. However, it has been 60 years since the establishment of
the State of Israel and their migration there. They have shown their loyalty and attained important positions in the country.

“There is no one now in Israel that doubts their loyalty. In fact they are more zealous than the Ashkenazis. It is time for them to speak up about reality and the need for a dialogue with the Arabs based on justice, fairness and the admission of mistakes on both parts. They need to do that for Israel’s future and the future of their children and the children of all the inhabitants of the region.”

Read original article (Arabic)

My comment: For all his sympathy with Iraqi Jews Khalid al-Kishtainy misunderstands them. If they have failed to be a bridge between Israel and the Arab world over the Palestinian question, if they continue to vote for rightwing parties, it is not because the Eastern Jews have needed to prove ther loyalty to the Ashkenazi establishment. They feel angry and hurt that the monstrous injustice committed against them by Arab regimes - their uprooting, loss of heritage and stolen property - has never been acknowledged. But Mr al-Kishtainy’s view of justice is still disturbingly one-sided. His flippant line, ‘wailing and lamentation are part of the Iraqi personality’, suggests that Jewish suffering is exaggerated. If this is the best we can expect from ’sympathetic’ figures such as al-Kishtainy, who have made a valiant effort to retain their links with Jews and are a welcome sight at events such as last June’s Halalel, then what hope is there for reconciliation with Arabs and Muslims in general?

Blogger: Point of no return
Article: New Iraqi-Jewish body to claim communal property
Originaly Posted On: 2008-07-14 10:28:00

With just eight Jews still living in Iraq, a new organisation has been established to safeguard the heritage and interests of Babylonian Jewry.

According to Zvi Gabay, writing in the Spring 2008 issue of Nehardea, the journal of the Babylonian heritage centre in Or Yehuda, Israel - the declared aim of the World Organisation of Jews from Iraq (WOJI) is to represent Jews of Iraqi origin in any claim to the community property in Iraq.

The organisation would also aim to preserve the tombs of the Prophets Ezekiel, Ezra, Jonah, Daniel and Nahum and the tomb of Joshua the High Priest. It would also attempt to salvage the registries of marriage, deaths, and properties, currently in the community’s offices in Baghdad, as well as Torah scrolls dispersed in synagogues, government and community offices inside Iraq and in Washington DC in the National Archives and Record Administration. Another important aim would be to locate the bodies of Jews who were executed during the regimes of Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr and Saddam Hussein and grant them a proper Jewish burial.

During the preliminary discussions at the Or Yehuda centre, it was agreed to set up a General Assembly of 120 members made up of prominent public figures, heads of Iraqi communities outside Israel and non-profit organisations. Eighty would represent the Iraqi community in Israel and 40 the Jews of Iraqi origin living outside Israel.

A WOJI steering committee met in London on 23 June to fix the date for the General Assembly and determine its agenda.

According to Zvi Gabay, a former Deputy Director General of the Foreign Ministry, Jews of Iraq origin have responded very favourably to the idea of this organisation. “I strongly urge all Jews of Iraqi origin to take part in this important task of setting up the organisation”, he writes.” The recent end of the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein provides us with a unique opportunity, which should enable us to reclaim our rights to Jewish property and assets in Iraq, as well as repossess artifacts and records of considerable historical value. Preserving the most influential Jewish community in the world is historically important for our generation and coming generations.”

The roots of Babylonian Jewry go back to the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BC, the famous Yeshivot of Sura, Nehardea and Pumbedita and the codification of the Babylonian Talmud.

There are 240,000 Jews of Iraqi origin living in Israel and about 40,000 in other countries, from Sweden to Singapore. The Iraqi community is the third largest in Israel after the Russian and Moroccan.