The hijab controversy

To wear or not to wear a Hijab seems to be the burning question of the day. A few years back the matter would be described as trivial or as a tempest in a teacup.

However, times have changed and with religious extremism on the rise with radical elements like Taliban and the ISIS emerging as powerful forces, Islamophobia too is rearing its ugly head, especially in the West and India where Muslims are a minority.

After the fall of communism and the breakup of the Soviet Union, it was reported by Western intelligence agencies that rising Islamic fundamentalism was the greatest threat to the free world.

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 spawned a new generation of jihadist fighters who flocked to Kabul to oust the infidels. This led to the creation of the Taliban, a ragtag bunch of hardened jihadi fighters with their own Islamic doctrine who took over the country in the 90s, imposing their own brand of edicts, banning women from working, girls from attending schools and colleges, closing of cinemas and clubs and the stifling of sports, arts and cultural activities which led many to believe that Afghanistan had gone back to the medieval ages.

From this fiasco emerged a man called Osama Bin Laden, a Saudi born aristocrat who led a princely life, but later transformed his ideals and went to Afghanistan to partake in the Soviet Jihad.

Bin Laden later formed Al Qaeda, a hardline Islamic group instrumental in the attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York City on September 11, 2001 better known as 9/11. The incident was to have worldwide repercussions and unleashed the wrath of the United States. The US and its allies invaded Afghanistan seeking out Bin Laden who escaped their dragnet. Bin Laden was eventually killed in 2011 in a covert US Navy S.E.A.L.S operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan. It is because of Bin Laden that the perception of Islam changed completely.

Although the Americans have now left Afghanistan and the Taliban have been restored to power, Islam and its cause has been almost irreparably damaged all over the world.

The situation has reached such a state that everything Islamic is being looked upon with suspicion and disdain such as sporting a long beard or praying or dressing in traditional clothes and most particularly the Hijab.

France, which enshrines the values of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity has negated its own revolutionary edicts and imposed ban on Hijab in public places such as schools, colleges and government offices.

India, which is presently led by a Hindu fascist Narenda Modi and his BJP party, ably supported by its militant wing the RSS, is openly fueling the flames of anti-Muslim sentiment arousing Hindus towards hatred with calls for Muslim genocide.

Muslims are being persecuted and in some cases killed on the pettiest of grounds such as for selling beef or slaughtering cows which is considered to be sacred and deified by Hindus.

The most recent controversy to hit the headlines all over the world is the news of the state of Karnataka where Muslim women are being banned from entering educational institutions for wearing the Hijab.

This has sowed the seeds of communal discord and the conflict has inflamed passions on both sides which, if not controlled, may tear India apart.

A case in point is the news of a young woman Muskan, who was going to college to submit her assignment and was heckled and harassed by a group of young men chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and told to remove her Hijab.

The young lady instead of cowering in fear or displaying obeisance to their demands defiantly chanted ‘Allah o Akbar‘ before being rescued by her principal and teachers who supported her. The matter has now reached the Karnataka courts where the case will now be heard.

This speaks volumes of where India, a professed secular state, is heading, where M K Gandhi is now being demonised and Nathuram Godse, his killer, idolised.

However, the truth is that the world at large has a myopic view of the matter believing that Islam is the cause of all the ills of the world, but very few realize that it is not religion itself, but politicians and leaders like Modi and his fanatical goons who politicize religion to further their political agenda.

Uttar Pradesh’s Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is a saffron clad monk who openly promotes Hindutva in India’s largest state where 20 percent of the population is Muslim.

The situation has reached such an impasse that India’s Supreme Court refuses to hear Muskan case, fearing backlash by militant Hindus.

Religion is one of the strongest political forces in India and Pakistan where it is exploited to its fullest for political gains for politicians instill fear. Even liberals seek the support of religious elements to stay in power.

It is true that Pakistan too has religious problems such as blasphemy cases leading to the Sialkot lynching, the abduction and forced conversion of Hindu and Christian girls and sectarian conflicts, but what is happening in India pales in comparison.

Religion is one’s contract with God or Allah or Bhagwan, as the case may be, and the sooner we stop its exploitation by politicians the more peaceful and harmonious the world will become or else may the good lord have mercy on us.

The writer is a freelance contributor