Do not Abuse Muslim Headscarves for Political Gains
Mohamad Abdun Nasir*
Jilbab has rarely been empty from political matters. It is often closely related to the shari’a-inspired regional ordinance. Recently, this issue suddenly attracts the national political discourse when the protagonists from the Muslim political party encourage SBY and Boedionos’ wives to adopt a jilbab. They believe it will strengthen this candidate potency to win the election, supposing that such a gesture of changing physical performance will cast many more votes from Muslim constituents. However, this suggestion seems to be less effective and tends to politicize religion for the sake of political interests, which is contrary to the principle of piety and compliance in observing Islam.
Jilbab has multiple meanings and purposes. It might convey messages about religiosity and piety of the wearer. It can also imply a glaring personal statement that the body is a very private domain that cannot be exposed to anyone and at any place. Moreover, it might symbolize a modern trend of fashion signaling a well-educated women studying at colleges or universities. Within this view, Islamic headscarf echoes urban lives and social class, rather than a village phenomenon of female headscarves worn by less educated people. For women of Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, for example, their jilbab always signify their rejection to westernization and their support to the restoration of caliphate and shari’a law, and thus theirs are highly political symbol. In contrast, other women are wearing it while their behaviors do not necessarily confirm to what others expect so when they are donning it.
In short, jilbab hallows wide ranges of symbolic meaning, from religious, modern, social class, up to the politics of anti westernization. Based on such expositions, it is perhaps not an exaggeration to argue that jilbab largely represents a cultural symbol, despite a religious element in it. What we can infer from such phenomena is that it is not a merely religious, though it is obviously part of the Islamic teaching. Consequently, assuming that adopting it is an effective medium to attract Muslim voters is a tenuous argument. Following such a suggestion might exert influence for some, but not necessarily for others, let alone for larger voters. There is no guarantee that women wearing jilbab will necessarily chose the candidates of president and vice-president whose spouses don it, simply because they have commonality in their physical appearance. It is too simplistic to connect this garb with a political preference in the election. It would be misleading to assume that jilbab constitutes an effective mean as a vote getter among Muslim constituents. The fact that most Muslim parties loses their significant support in the last parliamentary election suggests that making religion including its paraphernalia and symbols as a political ideology and framework does not seem to be a very successful strategy and less convincing for the majority Muslim constituent. In contrast, they are more interested to give their votes to any party, which cogently addresses their basic issues, such as education, economy and legal enforcement. Why do then Muslim parties still insist on employing religion for their politics? Religion should be a moral guide for politics rather than its ideology. Likewise, politicizing jilbab to gain political support is futile and betrays the purity of Islam itself.
What is difficult is not how to adopt a jilbab, but rather the consequence of adoption to this sort of garb. It is easy to buy the best motif and elegant of headscarves since they are almost available anywhere with affordable prices. Yet, it is uneasy to put on them consistently since it entails mental and long psychological preparations, especially for those who hardly wear it. For those who know the fundamental meaning of jilbab will not take it just for common sense, simply following the trend but less meaningful or even meaningless. If a woman only uses it for a certain occasion with a particular aim, like showing her political interest, and thus removes it from her entire life, then that is not an ideal way. Even, this can lead to hypocrisy, which everyone must attempt to avoid. Ideally, taking an Islamic headscarf as part of observing religious commandment in general must be based on one’s own consciousness and consent. It should not be grounded on a political pretension. Nor is it based on coercion, because that would completely dispel the substance of religion. By this, I am not saying that jilbab is not obligatory. Nor I am against this garb. I just argue that using this as a political agenda and propagation violates the essence of it.
It is true that the commandment of this covering is sanctioned by the Islamic scriptures, such as the Qur’an and the Prophet tradition. The Qur’an mentions three different phrases regarding Muslim female dress such as hijab (a curtain) in Sura al-Ahzab (33):53, khumur (sing. khimar, meaning shawl), in Sura al-Nur (24):31 and jilbab (a long outer outfit) in Sura al-Ahzab (33):59. It is tempting to see how different phrases and the contexts of revelation are involved in this regard. According to Said al-Asmawi, a former Egyptian Grand Judge, these various verses indicate the complexity of the issue of female covering in Islam. While believing that the veil aims to protect women’s chastity, he is not trapped in the formalities of religion, spurring adoption of jilbab but neglecting its true meaning. To him, the core of Islam should not be overlooked and superseded only by its formal symbolism. He contends that the essential or substantial meaning of jilbab is to establish a self-control over any religious deviations and a psychological barrier to avoid sacrilegious attitudes. Unfortunately, Many Muslims are more interested in its formality, as they are also more interested in the slogans of Islam, like ‘political Islam’ and ‘Islamic government’, without knowing the meanings or purposes of such slogans.
The wide practice of covering mentioned by the Qur’an indicates that this issue is not a simple matter. While the interpretation varies, it is clear that no commentators connect those texts with any political context. They do not encourage women to adopt it for the political purpose either. Furthermore, in reality, the practice of Islamic female head covering might be not as simple as those texts expounds. Muslim women are dynamic and active human beings, following the rhythm of the changing time and space in order to suit themselves into the best choice on the ground of their own decision without necessarily losing their religious conviction.
*The writer is lecturer at the State Institute of Islamic Studies (IAIN) Mataram, Lombok.
Nice post.
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