Questions from a Christian Son to His Muslim Father: Question #2

Written below is the response that my son, Bashiruddin Mahmud, gave concerning my answer to his question #1.

Bashiruddin replied, “Thank you. That was an excellent, well thought out, well articulated, and enlightening response to my question. I specifically appreciated the clarification on Jihad (and the different types) in relation on the misconception on what it means in western society which is "Holy War". I can definitely sympathize with the view of many Middle Eastern Muslims on the United States. I do not believe that I see eye to eye on the issue of Israel however. I appreciate the historical context you provided for each interpretation. I have to say I don't remember much about Islam from my childhood but I do remember that peace seemed to resonate in every Islamic community I was exposed to. I don't remember any hostility or intolerance for any individual persons, religion, etc”.

Within your answer to [my] question #1 you quoted this verse: "Say, `We believe in ALLAH and that which has been revealed to us, and that which was revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Tribes, and in that which was given to Moses and Jesus and other Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them and to HIM we submit.’" (Qur’an 3:85)

Question: This verse seems to say that the God of the Bible and Allah are one and the same. Would you agree with that statement?

Answer: I could and do agree that the god of Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Jesus and all other Prophets (peace be on them) are the same. The God Who has manifested Himself to all the Prophets, and appeared to Moses on Mount Sinai and appeared to Jesus on Mount Seir and appeared to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be on all of them), on Mount Paran, is the same Mighty and Holy God.

“Allah” is the proper name for the one God and has been around in pre-Islamic times. One cannot say that the god for Muslims is different from the God for the Jews or the Christians. Muslims do not hold the belief that the God, who sent down messengers before the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw), was any different than the God who sent the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) and the Qur’an. The Holy Qur’an states, “And say, ‘We believe in that which has been revealed to us and that which has been revealed to you; and our God and your God is one; and to Him we submit.’” (29:47)

The above verse clearly states that we all worship the same God. Even in Arab countries today, ‘Allah’ is used by the Christians and Jews to refer to God. Even in the Bible, God is translated as "Allah".

I hope this answer will satisfy your 2nd question.

Are the Women of Islam Our Enemy?

America's conservative Christian Right movement would say, "Yes! They are the enemy. Their mode of dress is a political statement of non-conformity, non-integration into Western culture and a sure sign of Islamic fundamentalism." To complete this picture, the Muslim woman's mode of dress is considered as a gateway to extremism and viewed by many as an affront to gender equality.

There is an African proverb that says, "Until the lions tell their side of the story, the story of the hunt will always glorify the hunter." That said, Muslim women have a lot to say about their condition and position. Naheed Mustafa, in her compelling article entitled My Body is My Own Business says,

"WOMEN are taught from early childhood that their worth is proportional to their attractiveness. We feel compelled to pursue abstract notions of beauty, half realizing that such a pursuit is futile. When women reject this form of oppression, they face ridicule and contempt. Whether it's women who refuse to wear makeup, or shave their legs, or to expose their bodies, society, men and women, have trouble dealing with them. In the Western world, the hijab has come to symbolize either forced silence or radical, unconscionable militancy. Actually, it's neither. It is simply a woman's assertion that judgment of her physical person is to play no role whatsoever in social interaction. Women are not going to achieve equality with the right to bear their breasts in public, as some people would like to have you believe. That would only make us party to our own objectification. True equality will be had only when women don't need to display themselves to get attention and won't need to defend their decision to keep their bodies to themselves."

Oppression, which Muslim women face for taking control of their own bodies, comes in many forms. In the case of the two Muslim women pictured above, they were rejected from employment at McDonalds because they wear the hijab. These are not immigrants who society wants to integrate into American culture, but two Dearborn, Michigan African American Muslim women seeking employment. The McDonald's manager could not see beyond their hijab and discriminated against them on the bases of their religion.

Modesty is the "signature distinction " of a Muslim woman. The Holy Qur'an is very clear where Allah, the Al-Mighty says, "And say to the believing women that they restrain their looks (also in the presence of men who are not near of kin and so lawful for marriage) and guard their private parts, and that they disclose not their natural and artificial beauty except that which is apparent thereof, and that they draw their head-coverings over their bosoms, ..." (Al-Nur:32)

Islamic dress and Islamic norms of modesty can be easily absorbed within Western culture without the perception that Muslims are not conforming or integrating into society. The reaction toward the Islamic norms of modesty by the Western Occidental power-brokers may be illustrated by the judicial ruling of the Michigan justice system, which will allow judges to bar Muslim women wearing veils from testifying in court. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Religious and domestic violence groups joined to fight against the Michigan Supreme Court.

The West's response and subsequent reaction to Islamic dress and Islamic norms of modesty is puzzling to say the least. The very people who judge us as non-conformist, fundamentalist, extremest, who pose an affront to gender equality have a holy book which says, "But every woman that prays or prophesies with her head uncovered shames her head for it is one and the same as if she were a (woman) with a shaved head. For if a woman does not cover herself let her also be shorn; but if it is disgraceful for women to be shorn or shaved, let her be covered." (1 Corinthians: 11:5-6)

As explained from the aforementioned verses, the Bible treats the wearing of a veil as an inherently righteous undertaking.