Who are the Ghurabaa' - The Strangers?

Who are the Ghurabaa' - The Strangers?

Besides the Hadeeth mentioned in the previous part of the article about the strangers, the Messenger of Allah SallAllahu 'Alai wa Sallam made mention of these people in various other narrations that help us complete the picture of 'The Strangers'.

al-Firqatun-Naajiyah:

The Prophet SallAllahu 'Alai wa Sallam described them as “al-Firqatun-Naajiyah”, meaning – The Saved Sect, when he said:

“Indeed before you from the people of the book, they were divided into 72 sects, and that this Ummah will divide into 73 sects. 72 in the Hellfire and one in the Paradise, and that is al-Jamaa’ah (the Group)”
(hadeeth is authentic, see al-Amru bil-Ittibaa’ with the Tahqeeq of Mashhoor Hasan p.47)

In another narration he - SallAllahu 'Alai wa Sallam - said:

“They are those who are upon what I am upon today and my companions”
(The Hadeeth is Hasan due to many witness, see A’laam as-Sunnah al-Manshoorah by Ta’leeq of ash-Shalabi p.195)

So the Prophet SAW taught us that the group, which will be the 'saved sect' is upon what he SallAllahu 'Alai wa Sallam is upon and his companions, in belief, speech and actions. Therefore, this must be the first criterion for those who aspire to be from the saved sect, that they should be upon what the first generation was upon in belief and actions, in morals and manners, outwardly and inwardly, in public and private.

Some people claim that since the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alai wa Sallam used the word “Jamaa’ah” (i.e. the Group, the main body, the community), the saved sect then must be the majority of the Muslims. This belief is incorrect due to various reasons and from them are:

1. It contradicts the Ahadeeth of Ghurbah – the strangeness. Because the reason why the saved sect will be strange is due to lack of its adherents in the first place. As the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alai wa Sallam said:

“A small group of pious people in a large group of evil people. Those who disobey them are more than those who obey them.”
(Ahmad and Ibn Hibbaan and others. Hasan, see "The Friday Prayer" by Jamalud-Deen Zarabozo)

2. The majority of the people can be on the straight path at a time, as well as become deviated from the straight path at another point in time. As is the case with the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alai wa Sallam at the end of his life, followed by the four righteous Khulafa`. The adherents to Ahlus-Sunnah back then were in the majority. However, by the time of Imaam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, the majority under the influence of the government became astray by being the adherents of the Mu’tazili philosophy, and those who held on to the Sunnah became few.

Similarly, we know that Sufyaan ath-Thawree said to Yoosuf al-Asbaat:

“O Yoosuf! If you hear of a person from the east that he is a person of Sunnah, then send him Salaam. And if you hear of another from the west who is a person of Sunnah, then send him Salaam, for Ahlus-Sunnah have become few!”
(Talbees Iblees by Ibnul-Jawzi p.17 Daarul-Kitaab al-‘Arabi)

3. Another criterion of being form the saved group is, as the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alai wa Sallam said:

“They are those who are upon what I am upon today and my companions”
(The Hadeeth is Hasan due to many witness, see A’laam as-Sunnah al-Manshoorah by Ta’leeq of ash-Shalabi p.195)

Therefore the “Jamaa’ah” is, what is in accordance with the Qur`aan and the Sunnah, and not necessarily the trend of some community at some point in time. This is why Ibn Mas’ood said:

“al-Jamaa’ah (the group) is what is in accordance with the truth, even if you were alone!”
(See A’lam as-Sunnah al-Manshoorah p.195)

at-Taa`ifatul-Mansoorah:

In many other narrations, he SallAllahu 'Alai wa Sallam described them as “at-Taa`ifatul-Mansoorah”, meaning – The Victorious Group, as in the Hadeeth of the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alai wa Sallam:

“There will never cease to exist a group from my Ummah being apparent on the truth, those who forsake them will not be able to harm them.”
(Muslim).

“There will never cease to exist a group from my Ummah being apparent (and over-powering), until the decree of Allah comes to them while they are apparent”
(Bukhaari & Muslim).

In another narration the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alai wa Sallam describes them as those who establish the order of Allah when he said:

“There will never cease to exist a group from my Ummah, establishing the order of Allah. Those who forsake them or oppose them will not be able to harm them, until the decree of Allah comes and they are apparent (and over powering) upon the people”
(Bukhaari and Muslim).

In a different narration he SallAllahu 'Alai wa Sallam describes them as those who fight for the truth (i.e. the Mujaahideen):

“This Deen will never depart from being established, so long as there is a band from the Muslims fighting for it, until the hour is established.”
(Muslim).

“There will never cease to exist a group from my Ummah fighting upon the truth, over-powering until the day of resurrection.”
(Muslim).

“There will never cease to exist a band from my Ummah, fighting for the decree of Allah, over-powering their enemy, they will not be harmed by those who oppose them, until the hour approaches them and they are upon it (i.e. fighting for the truth)”
(Muslim).

“There will never cease to exist a group from my Ummah fighting upon the truth, over-powering those hostile to them, until the last of them fights al-Maseeh ad-Dajjaal (the false christ)”
(al-Haakim called it Saheeh (4/450), and adh-Dhahabi agreed).

In one narration the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alai wa Sallam indicated where this group would be found when he SallAllahu 'Alai wa Sallam said:

“There will never cease to exist a group from my Ummah upon the Deen, apparent over their enemy and over-powering. They will not be harmed by those who oppose them, except what afflicts them from hardship, until the order of Allah approaches them and they are like that (i.e. steadfast on the truth). They said: O Messenger of Allah! Where are they? He replied: They are at Bait al-Maqdis and on the outskirts of Bait al-Maqdis.”
(Ahmad).

The points to note in all these narrations are the following:

• There will not be a time when this Ummah will live a day without this group. As the Prophet SAW said in all the narrations mentioned above:

“There will never cease to exist a group from my Ummah...”

Therefore this necessitates that no matter what state the Muslims might be in, whether they are strong or weak, elevated above all other nations, or in a state of humiliation, at-Taa`ifa al-Mansoorah will not cease to exist and its non-existence only signifies the Day of Judgement.

• This Taa`ifah (party) will be:

1. Apparent upon the truth.
2. Apparent upon the people with evidences and proofs.
3. Establishing the order of Allah.
4. Over-powering their enemies and those hostile to them.
5. Fighting for the truth.

• There will be many people condemning them (and not necessarily them condemning everyone else), speaking ill of them, backbiting and slandering them, and manufacturing propogandas and lies against them. But none of this will be able to harm them, hinder them from the path, nor shake their determination in the least. They will continue to be apparent on the truth, apparent over the people with un-refutable evidences and proofs, as well as the sword, establishing the order of Allah and making Jihad in His path regardless of whatever blames are thrown at them.
  
• Lastly, the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alai wa Sallam confirms the continuity of this group “until the hour is established”. Meaning when these people disappear, Tawheed will disappear. When Tawheed of Allah disappears from this earth, indeed that is the moment when every soul will be brought to its account.

Therefore, the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alai wa Sallam described this faction from amongst the Ummah with different qualities and names, such as ‘Ghurabaa`’, or ‘al-Firqatun-Naajiyah’ or ‘at-Taa`ifatul-Mansoorah’. However, all these names refer to one and the same group. Indeed, this is the one group, that will be saved on the Day of Judgement, out of 73 sects of the Muslim Ummah, as foretold in authentic narrations.

What further consolidates this is what Sheikhul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyah says in al-Aqeedatul-Waasitiyah by saying: ‘As for what follows: This is the belief of al-Firqatin-Naajiyatil-Mansoorah (The saved and the victorious sect)...’, without differentiating between the 'Saved Sect' and the 'Victorious Group'. Likewise we find al-‘Allaama Haafidh bin Ahmad al-Hakamee authoring a book under the title: ‘A’laam as-Sunnatil-Manshoorah li I’tiqaadit-Taafi`fatin-Naajiyatil-Mansoorah’.

There is another opinion, supported by some of the scholars that the Victorious Group is a sub-group within the Saved Sect. Hence, according to this opinion, every member of the Victorious Group is a member of the Saved Sect, but not vice versa.

However, the former opinion seems to be closer to the truth and well supported by majority of the scholars from the past and present, although, the latter opinion is also a result of a valid Ijtihad.

So who are the Ghurabaa`?

This question is raised when one looks at the various factions of the Ummah, each one of them claiming to be the saved and the victorious group. Nowadays, particularly when the Muslims have been divided even more by groupism and partisanship, we find people pointing at particular groups or parties and claiming them to be the saved and the victorious group.

One should understand that claiming a particular individual or a party to be the saved and the victorious group means testifying for them Paradise and nullifying from them the Hellfire. This goes against one of the principles of Ahlus-Sunnah, which states that we do not testify Paradise or Hellfire for anyone. Therefore it is incorrect to say that a particular individual is from Saved and the Victorious Group or a particular group of people with certain name for that matter. However, it could be said that such and such people, or a group is more deserving to be from the Saved and the Victorious Group, just as it is possible to attribute a very general group of people to the Saved Sect or the Victorious Group.

Such as the statement of Imam al-Bukhari in his “Saheeh” concerning the saved sect that, “They are the people of knowledge”.

Or the statement of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, when he said, “If they are not Ahlul-Hadeeth, then I do not know who they are”. This statement was further clarified by al-Qaadhi ‘Ayaadh when he said “Ahmad meant Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaa’ah and those who believe in the madhhab of Ahlul-Hadeeth”.

Similarly it has been reported from Ahmad Ibn Hanbal that when he was asked about this group he replied: “They are the people of west (Syria). For verily they are the ones who are fighting against the Romans. Anyone who fights against the Mushrikeen is upon the truth.”

Likewise Sheikhul-Islam Ibn Taymiyah opined that the Mujaahideen are the most deserving of people to be including in the victorious group when he said: "As for the group in Syria and Egypt and their likes, then they are in this time fighting for the Deen of Islam. So they are the most deserving of the people to enter the victorious group, which was mentioned by the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alai wa Sallam with his statement in the beneficial authentic Ahadeeth: ‘There will never cease to exist a group in my Ummah, apparent upon the truth. They will not be harmed by those who oppose them, nor those who forsake them, until the hour is established’, and in the narration of Muslim, ‘The people of the west (Syria) will never cease...’"
(Majmoo’ al-Fataawa v.28 p.531)

Therefore, it should be concluded that those belonging to the path of Ahlus-Sunnah in statements and actions, inwardly and outwardly, as well as those who are engaged in Jihad in our time, are indeed from the saved and the victorious group, be they from different groups and parties, from different geographical places at different times. From this we know that this group is not necessarily an organised group of people operating in a certain part of the world, rather they are individuals spread out across the globe. Amongst them are the ‘Ulamaa`, the Mujaahideen, the Du’aat (callers to Islaam), those who command the good and forbid the evil, wherever they may be.

This is why Imam an-Nawawi said in his Explanation of Saheeh Muslim v.13 p.67: "It is possible that this group is composed of different categories of the believers. So from amongst them are the brave men that are fighting. From amongst them are the Fuqahaa` (Islamic Jurists). From amongst them are the Muhaddithoon (specialists in Hadeeth). From amongst them are the Zuhhad (those who abstain from extravagance in life), and those who command the good and forbid the evil, and from them are people belonging to other categories from good. And it is not necessary that they should be all together, rather they can be separated over different regions of the earth".

Is ‘Aqeedah alone the criterion for one to be from the saved sect?

Some, unfortunately, over-emphasise the importance of ‘Aqeedah and forget actions, morals and manners assuming that belief is the only criterion for one to be from the Saved Sect. Hence, according to their argument, anyone with the correct beliefs is automatically from the Saved Sect regardless of his deeds, and likewise anyone with the incorrect creed is doomed to the Hellfire and there is no chance of that person being from the Saved Sect even if his good actions were numerous. This is just a false assumption and is nothing but merely a reflection of a disease in their own beliefs called al-Irja`, whether they realise it or not. In general, al-Irja' is to believe, that actions have no impact on a person's belief, nor do actions play any part in Saving a person from the Fire of Hell.

Rather, the truth is that some Muslims are more deserving of being from the Saved Sect than others are, due to their beliefs or/and actions. So if one wrongs his soul by committing many sins, yet has the correct creed, the latter might over weight the former, and therefore, he may be from the Saved Sect. Similarly, if a person wrongs himself by deviating in his beliefs, yet he has numerous good deeds to out weight his corrupt creed, then this person may also be from the Saved Sect.

This is because the criterion for one to be from the Saved Sect is not belief alone. Rather it is Iman, which according to the Qur`aan, the Sunnah and the Ijmaa’ of the Salaf is, statements and actions, inwardly and outwardly.

Therefore, Sheikh Ibn Baaz – Raheemahullah – says in ‘Words of Advice Regarding Da’wah’ p.50, concerning the Saved Sect: “All of these Ahaadeeth teach us that the Saved Sect from this Ummah are those who adhere to the ‘aqeedah, speech and actions (i.e. Iman) of the Messenger of Allah SallAllahu 'Alai wa Sallam and his Companions, radiyallaahu ‘anhum”

Since the Muslims differ from each other in their level of Imaan, so the one with the highest Iman (which is belief, speech and action) is more deserving of being from the saved sect.

Similarly the Du’aat, and those who command the good and forbid the evil may be more deserving to be from the saved sect than the average Muslim. The scholars and the Mujaahideen might be more deserving than the previous category and similarly the scholars who are Mujaahideen might be more deserving than the former.

And Allah knows best.

Al-Ghurabaa` - The Strangers

Al-Ghurabaa` - The Strangers

Who are the Ghurabaa' - The Strangers?

All praise be to Allah, and the Salaah of Allah and His Salaam be upon His noble Messenger, Muhammad. The concept of Ghurbah - Strangeness: The Arabic word “Ghurabaa`”, is the plural of the word “Ghareeb” which is a derivative of the word “Gharaba” – which means, “to go away, depart, absent o.s., withdraw (from), leave (s.o., s.th.)”. The word “Ghareeb” means, “strange, foreign, alien, extraneous” (see Hans Wehr Dictionary). It has been reported from the Messenger of Allah SallAllahu 'Alai wa Sallam, which has been authenticated by al-‘Allaamah al-Muhaddith al-Albaani in his Sahih al-Jami’ as-Sagheer – that he SallAllahu 'Alai wa Sallam said: “Indeed Islaam began as something strange. And it will return as something strange the way it began. So give glad tidings to the strangers”. Indeed this is the promise of the Messenger of Allah SallAllahu 'Alai wa Sallam who... “... does not speak from his desire. It is only a Revelation revealed...” (Q. 53:3-4). This Hadeeth from the blessed tongue of Muhammad SallAllahu 'Alai wa Sallam shows us the true nature of the Islamic revival. The Islamic revival that took place over 1400 years from now in the Arabian Peninsula, had this nature of “strangeness”, and indeed, the revival we are witnessing in our time also has the very same nature. This is so because the history is the proof that the people who rejected faith in Allah and disobeyed Him usually outnumbered those who were loyal to Allah and His Messenger SallAllahu 'Alai wa Sallam. Those who confirmed to the oneness of Allah were always in the minority and thus became the “Strangers” in the community for going against the current of the society they inhabited. Sheikh Jamaalud-Deen Zarabozo outlines this in “The Friday Prayer Part III” p.62: “Allah says in the Quran, ‘And most of the mankind would not believe even if you desire it eagerly’ (Yusuf 103). Allah also says, ‘But most of Mankind refuses [the truth and accepts nothing] but disbelief’ (al-Isra 89) In yet another verse, Allah states, ‘Indeed we have brought the truth to you but most of them have a hatred for the truth’ (al-Zukhruf 78). In these verses and, in fact, in numerous other places in the Quran, Allah has told us that the majority of mankind refuses to follow the truth. Indeed, a hadith in Sahih Muslim describes that all of mankind, nine hundred and ninety nine out of every one thousand will be in the Hellfire. This means that the true believers will always be in minority. As they look around themselves they will see the majority of mankind turning their backs on the teachings and guidance of Allah. They prefer disbelief and disobedience to faith and obedience to Allah. The believer will look like a stranger in their midst. His beliefs, actions and way of life will be completely different from theirs. The disbelievers may even do their best to make him feel like a stranger, someone who does not belong, someone with strange ideas and practices. They may be ridiculed. Psychological pressures may be put upon them. The media may attack them and so forth.” "Indeed Islaam began as something Strange..." This strangeness is not something new with this Ummah in particular, rather it existed amongst all the others Prophets and Messengers before Muhammad SallAllahu 'Alai wa Sallam. From amongst them was the great messenger, Nooh, who gave Da’wah to his people for 950 years and they rejected and mocked him. Lut gave da’wah to his people but the Kuffaar in response mocked him and tried to exile him and attacked his honour. Ibrahim called his people to Allah by which he went against the norm of his community, and consequently, stepped on people’s toes, for which he was persecuted, and thrown into the fire. Moosa also called the Fir’awn and his people to worship Allah alone, where the former rejected his call from the first day and was destroyed, and the latter ones, in the absence of Moosa began to worship a calf besides Allah. ‘Isa ibnu Maryam called the people to worship Allah alone and he had to pay the price just like his predecessors, by being persecuted and mocked by his own people, so Allah raised him up and he is alive until this day of ours, and will return before the Day of Judgment. Then how may one forget the most noble of the sons of Adam – Muhammad ibn ‘Abdillah – may Allah’s Salaah and Salaam be upon him. His entire biography from the beginning till the end shows us how he stood up with the call of Tawheed on the methodology of the Prophets before him. How his own people turned against him and mocked him and how this “truthful” and “trustworthy” person was overnight labeled as a magician, a poet, a mad man, ‘the one after authority’ and so on. So the Muslims in the early stages were in a state of “Ghurbah” – Strangeness, as the Messenger of Allah SAW said, "Indeed Islaam began as something strange...". "... and it will return as something strange the way it began..." This indicates that the return of Islaam is a fact and that it must take the same route and methodology, and must go through the same phases of difficulties and hardship that the early Muslims went through. This is why Imam Malik – May Allah have mercy upon him – said that the latter part of this Ummah will not be corrected except by what corrected its earliest part. Therefore it is inevitable that this path of Islamic revival must consist of firm faith in all that Allah has sent down. Likewise it is inevitable that the Muslims will have to go through hardship, endless struggle, persecution, exile and all that the first part of this Ummah went through due to their correct faith. Hence, we noticed the decline of Islam by passing of time until the Muslims were left without Khilafah. Kufr and Shirk began to creep into the Muslim ranks in its various forms, from grave worshipping to secularism, and the Islamic Law in nearly all Muslim countries was replaced by man-made laws left by the colonialists. The people of innovations, desires and even apostacy, were at last set free to spread their poisonous ideas throughout Muslim lands. Not to mention the aggressive Kuffaar, who invaded Muslim lands and enforced their ideology on Muslim populous, which resulted in various Muslim nations being cultivated for around 40 years on ideas of atheism. All of this caused Islam to nearly fade away from the lives of the Muslims globally. In the midst of these calamities, Allah raised amongst this Ummah various personalities amongst the scholars, the du’aat (those who call to Islaam), intellectuals, thinkers, authors and the Mujaahideen in order to help and aid His religion. This is not something new to this century, rather this has been the way of Allah through out the history of Mankind. It is the promise of Allah, by the tongue of His Messenger SAW, that there will always be a party amongst this Ummah, which will hold the flag of Tawheed high up, as the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alai wa Sallam said: “There will never seize to exist a group from my Ummah being apparent on the truth, those who forsake them will not be able to harm them.” (Muslim). They will cure this Ummah of the diseases and corruption, and they will act as a shield against all foreign beliefs, ideologies and innovations that steal away the beauty of Islam and corrput its foundations. These people are indeed, very few in number, and therefore, consequently they will become the victims of strangeness. As the Prophet SAW said about them that they are... “Those who are righteous when the people have become corrupt.” (Ahmad and Ibn Hibbaan and others. Sahih by supporting evidences, see "The Friday Prayer" by Jamalud-Deen Zarabozo) Or, as reported in another narration: “A small group of pious people in a large group of evil people. Those who disobey them are more than those who obey them.” (Ahmad and Ibn Hibbaan and others. Hasan, see "The Friday Prayer" by Jamalud-Deen Zarabozo) Today by the grace of Allah we can see the return of Islaam in front of our very eyes, by the youth returning to Islam and Jihad. Many of us who started practicing this religion most probably went through the early stages of strangeness. When a person merely begins to take interest in Islam, the materialistic society around him or her begins to view this person as a stranger. When this interest leads a person to increase his knowledge of Islam, this person becomes more strange in the eyes of the society. They wonder why a good looking healthy youth, would spend time reading so-called ‘religious’ books, where he could be spending his time reading some fiction-novel, watching movies or listening to music. Then this individual puts the knowledge to practice by making Wudoo and establishing Salaah five times a day, giving Zakaah, fasting in Ramadhaan and making Hajj. If this person is a brother then he grows a beard and if this is a sister, then she wears the Islamic Hijab. This surely makes this person even more of a stranger in his/her own household, where (in many cases) parents begin to worry about their practising children, the way they should have worried about them, when they were on drugs?! Then this person takes on the duty of spreading the Message of the Messengers on his/her shoulders, by either speaking to the lost sheep of this Ummah on one-to-one basis, writing articles or giving lectures. By now, this person has become a stranger, even amongst those practicing Muslims who practice the basics of Islam but do not take the responsibility of spreading it to others. This ever increasing strangeness, however, does not hinder him from his path, so he goes a step further and devotes his life, either seeking knowledge of Islam to benefit the community with, or living his entire life on a mountain in some trench writing the history of Islam with his blood. If you think this is the limit of strangeness, then think of this person when he excels in seeking knowledge, and brightens up his career with Jihad. This person will feel strange amongst the scholars, because they look at him as a Mujahid, as he will feel strange amongst the Mujahideen, because they look at him as a scholar. However, the sweetness lies in the fact, that the more he becomes an stranger to the people, the more he becomes known and recognised by Allah. These are the strangers (of various levels of strangeness) who are the torchbearers of Tawheed, those who restore the honour of this Ummah and bring back to her the peace and security she once enjoyed. These are the strangers who were given the glad tidings of the Paradise, as in the last part of the Hadeeth the Prophet SAW said: “So Toobah for the Ghurabaa`”. “...So Tooba for the Ghurabaa`” The word “Tooba” is the name of a tree in Paradise that is promised to the strangers in this world. Regarding the word “Tooba”, Sheikh Jamaalud-Deen Zarabozo said the following in his work, “The Friday Prayer Part III” p. 66. “The Prophet SallAllahu 'Alai wa Sallam has given the glad tidings of a tree in Paradise for those who have to live as strangers because the people are deviating from the teachings of the Quran and sunnah. What is the characteristic of this tree in Paradise? The Prophet SAW explained that also when he said, “Tuba is a tree in Paradise. The time it takes to transverse it is one hundred years. The clothing of the inhabitants of Paradise are taken from its sheaths.” [Sh. Al-Albaani called it Hasan in Silsila al-Ahadeeth as-Sahihah, v. 4 p. 639] This glad tiding of the tree of Tuba for the strangers should make us all wish, strive and aspire to be from among the strangers in this time in which Islam has truly become strange again.” May Allah make us from the strangers in this world and the inheritors of Tooba in the Hereafter – Ameen.

How I Came to Love the Veil

Description: Captured by the Taliban and jailed in Afghanistan, a British reporter tells her views of the veil and treatment of women in Islam.

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I used to look at veiled women as quiet, oppressed creatures -- until I was captured by the Taliban. In September 2001, just 15 days after the terrorist attacks on the United States, I snuck into Afghanistan, clad in a head-to-toe blue burqa, intending to write a newspaper account of life under the repressive regime. Instead, I was discovered, arrested and detained for 10 days. I spat and swore at my captors; they called me a “bad” woman but let me go after I promised to read the Quran and study Islam. (Frankly, I’m not sure who was happier when I was freed -- they or I.) Back home in London, I kept my word about studying Islam -- and was amazed by what I discovered. I’d been expecting Quran chapters on how to beat your wife and oppress your daughters; instead, I found passages promoting the liberation of women. Two-and-a-half years after my capture, I converted to Islam, provoking a mixture of astonishment, disappointment and encouragement among friends and relatives.

Now, it is with disgust and dismay that I watch here in Britain as former foreign secretary Jack Straw[1] describes the Muslim nikab -- a face veil that reveals only the eyes -- as an unwelcome barrier to integration, with Prime Minister Tony Blair, writer Salman Rushdie and even Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi leaping to his defense. Having been on both sides of the veil, I can tell you that most Western male politicians and journalists who lament the oppression of women in the Islamic world have no idea what they are talking about. They go on about veils, child brides, female circumcision, honor killings and forced marriages, and they wrongly blame Islam for all this -- their arrogance surpassed only by their ignorance. These cultural issues and customs have nothing to do with Islam. A careful reading of the Quran shows that just about everything that Western feminists fought for in the 1970s were available to Muslim women 1,400 years ago. Women in Islam are considered equal to men in spirituality, education and worth, and a woman’s gift for childbirth and child-rearing is regarded as a positive attribute. When Islam offers women so much, why are Western men so obsessed with Muslim women’s attire? Even British government ministers Gordon Brown and John Reid have made disparaging remarks about the nikab -- and they hail from across the Scottish border, where men wear skirts.

When I converted to Islam and began wearing a headscarf, the repercussions were enormous. All I did was cover my head and hair -- but I instantly became a second-class citizen. I knew I’d hear from the odd Islamophobe, but I didn’t expect so much open hostility from strangers. Cabs passed me by at night, their “for hire” lights glowing. One cabbie, after dropping off a white passenger right in front of me, glared at me when I rapped on his window, then drove off. Another said, “Don’t leave a bomb in the back seat” and asked, “Where’s bin Laden hiding?” Yes, it is a religious obligation for Muslim women to dress modestly, but the majority of Muslim women I know like wearing the hijab, which leaves the face uncovered, though a few prefer the nikab. It is a personal statement: My dress tells you that I am a Muslim and that I expect to be treated respectfully, much as a Wall Street banker would say that a business suit defines him as an executive to be taken seriously. And, especially among converts to the faith like me, the attention of men who confront women with inappropriate, leering behavior is not tolerable.

I was a Western feminist for many years, but I’ve discovered that Muslim feminists are more radical than their secular counterparts. We hate those ghastly beauty pageants, and tried to stop laughing in 2003 when judges of the Miss Earth competition hailed the emergence of a bikini-clad Miss Afghanistan, Vida Samadzai, as a giant leap for women’s liberation. They even gave Samadzai a special award for “representing the victory of women’s rights.” Some young Muslim feminists consider the hijab and the nikab political symbols, too, a way of rejecting Western excesses such as binge drinking, casual sex and drug use. What is more liberating: being judged on the length of your skirt and the size of your surgically enhanced breasts, or being judged on your character and intelligence? In Islam, superiority is achieved through piety -- not beauty, wealth, power, position or sex.

I didn’t know whether to scream or laugh when Italy’s Prodi joined the debate last week by declaring that it is “common sense” not to wear the nikab because it makes social relations “more difficult.” Nonsense. If this is the case, then why are cell phones, landlines, e-mail, text messaging and fax machines in daily use? And no one switches off the radio because they can’t see the presenter’s face. Under Islam, I am respected. It tells me that I have a right to an education and that it is my duty to seek out knowledge, regardless of whether I am single or married. Nowhere in the framework of Islam are we told that women must wash, clean or cook for men. As for how Muslim men are allowed to beat their wives -- it’s simply not true. Critics of Islam will quote random Quranic verses or Hadith, but usually out of context. If a man does raise a finger against his wife, he is not allowed to leave a mark on her body, which is the Quran’s way of saying, “Don’t beat your wife, stupid.” It is not just Muslim men who must reevaluate the place and treatment of women. According to a recent National Domestic Violence Hotline survey, 4 million American women experience a serious assault by a partner during an average 12-month period. More than three women are killed by their husbands and boyfriends every day -- that is nearly 5,500 since 9/11.

Violent men don’t come from any particular religious or cultural category; one in three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime, according to the hotline survey. This is a global problem that transcends religion, wealth, class, race and culture. But it is also true that in the West, men still believe that they are superior to women, despite protests to the contrary. They still receive better pay for equal work -- whether in the mailroom or the boardroom -- and women are still treated as sexualized commodities whose power and influence flow directly from their appearance. And for those who are still trying to claim that Islam oppresses women, recall this 1992 statement from the Rev. Pat Robertson, offering his views on empowered women: Feminism is a “socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.” Now you tell me who is civilized and who is not.

(Yvonne Ridley is political editor of Islam Channel TV in London and co-author of “In the Hands of the Taliban: Her Extraordinary Story.”)

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Footnotes:

[1] For his statements, please see : (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/5410472.stm and http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/5411954.stm).