Hijab Glorification : Thoughts on the Shepard Fairey Poster

Artwork by Shepard Fairey

As a woman who grew up under Sharia in Saudi Arabia, I cannot help but resist the glorification of the tools of my oppression.

As much as I loathe Trump, and the chaos he's creating, as much as I stand in solidarity with Muslims at this time....as much as I am personally affected by discrimination against Muslims myself...I cannot sit back and watch conservative Islam be championed in this complex and toxic political climate. 

I ask my fellow critics of religion to be particularly cautious at this time not to feed into far right narratives of hate.... similarly, I ask my fellow left leaning liberals not to fall into romanticizing conservative Islam. It's like walking a tightrope, I understand - but the more we avoid falling into traps on either side...the better equipped we will be to combat this. 

Here is a brief message on the subject: 

Here is the article mentioned in the podcast.

And below are my pieces in Response to the Shepard Fairey one. Let me know your thoughts!

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Early Sketches

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Eid Ul-Christmas Mubarak! (A Step by Step Guide to Culturally Appropriating Christmas)

Between the religious Muslim fundies that say Christmas is haraam (forbidden), and the lunatic conspiratorial anti-muslim bigots who think Islam is coming to destroy them all and take over the world, like NOW.... there is only a tiny slice of rationality...

So brave...standing up in the face of such persecution.

Below is a work of satire, not an actual event or suggestion...but in my mind, it is kind of funny...a place where the anti-christmas muslim bigots cross paths with the anti-muslim, fox-news-lovin', christmas-is-all-about-JESUS type bigots. A place where the islamophobia-shriekers and cultural appropriation accusers meet those who similarly, are terrified of Western civilization being destroyed (appropriated) by creeping Shariah and evil Mozlem immigrants. ZOMG... outraged that Christmas is being removed from their coffee cups :O , persecuted by others who dare to say "Happy Holidays"...

Two sides of the same coin...how best can I piss them both off?

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FOX News Reporter: A disturbing plan unfolds as a secret document is found inside a mosque. A Mozlem plan to take over Christmas.

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Announcement in the name of Allah: We are sick and tired of Westerners with loose morals influencing our children, and imposing their drunken orgy holidays upon us. We are sick and tired of 'Christmas cheer', and we've simply had enough of them culturally appropriating things that belong to *US*. They eat our food, and wear our clothes, our jewellery - and they have the audacity to enjoy it!

Hands off our Shawarmas! (pic from www.chabadofbinghamton.com)

They have claimed the beautiful tradition of Henna. Well, we've had enough, and it's time to fight back.

A call to Muslims to take over Christmas.

Let's culturally appropriate that shit. Lets take it and celebrate the crap out of it. Let's make it *our* holiday.

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Fox News Reporter: As you can see they are planning a sinister takeover, destroying traditional American values, taking Christ out of Christ-mas. We always knew this day would come, Fox news has declared a red alert. We'll be watching this situation around the clock. It's important to remain calm in the face of this attack on traditional Christian Values. The key now is to strategize how to take Christmas back from the Mozlems. Follow us as we take you behind the veil of Islam's war on Christmas. [Cue Arabic music, prayer call] 

Our on-the-scene reporter is joining us to read this document in full:


"Here are some simple steps you brothers and sisters can take to insure victory is ours, Inshallah.

pic from: comingoffaith.com

1) Re-name Christmas: From this day forth we will be referring to it as Eid Ul-Christmas. It will now be the third Eid. We will take every opportunity to mention this in the face of prostitute-loving westerners, that WE celebrate it now....and we call it Eid. That should terrify them....how's that for muslim immigrant assimilation?

from pinterest.com

2) Make sure you get a huge Eid-Ul-Christmas tree, to get into the spirit...if you can acquire a date palm instead of an immoral Western tree...more points for you. But if your location doesn't allow for date palms, Western trees are acceptable. And do remember to put a crescent and star on top.

If you have a fake tree - no need to worry about this, but if a real tree is being cut down, be sure to make it a halal tree by reciting the proper 'secret Muslim chants' beforehand.

from www.wnd.com

3) Decorate your tree with only islamic ornaments.

Soon we will flood the market with halal ornaments, we just have to show there is demand for them. Fun craft idea...you can make little hijabis and niqabis out of ordinary round ornaments...just drape a piece of cloth around it and paint on a face...or cut two eye holes and drape the entire thing in black cloth. Set a good example for your daughters...by at least crafting a few 'modest' ornaments with them. It will be a great way of showing them we cover our most prized possessions...that way they'll ask less questions when eventually u tell give them the choice of covering their heads/faces.

from zazzle.com

from zazzle.com

4) Make sure you get one of our first edition "Hadeeth Wreaths" (forgive the shoddy design, i did these in a hurry) for your front door. Where upon entering and departing your home, you will always be reminded of the exemplary life/words of our beloved you-know-who.

click to enlarge

click to enlarge

6) Snowglobes? Heck no, we've got mosque globes, some even with gold glitter instead of snow... because WE get sandstorms on our blessed parts of Allah's earth.

from: theislamicestablishment.com (what a name)

from pinterest.com

from: burkalapak.com

7) Holly? Mistletoe? Fuck that.....we use dates and we gots plenty of cameltoe. We are appropriating the fuck out of this holiday.

from Zeinafoods.com

8) Nativity scenes: we may have to concede this one to the Christians, because fuck, we aren't allowed to depict our prophet...or any living thing really.

"It was narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Those who make images will be punished on the Day of Resurrection, and it will be said to them: ‘Bring to life that which you have created.’”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari (5607) and Muslim (2108). "

9) Make sure Eid-ul-Christmas gifts are acceptable by Islamic standards. No dolls with faces, because  remember, only allah is allowed to depict the living. Try "Aisha Dolls" for faceless dolls named after the prophet's child bride. Or the the aptly named, hijab-wearing Muslim Deeni Dolls!

As Pakistani paper Dawn News reports:

The ‘Deeni Doll’ is adorned with a traditional hijab headdress and does not have eyes, a nose, mouth or other facial features, complying with Islamic law regarding representation of the human form.

The doll, created by Ridhwana B, a Lancashire school teacher, is manufactured in China and is being sold for £25.

Ridhwana told the Lancashire Telegraph: ‘I came up with the idea from scratch after speaking to some parents who were a little concerned about dolls with facial features.’

She continued: ‘Some parents won’t leave the doll with their children at night because you are not allowed to have any eyes in the room.’

Relax, your kid's eyes are created by Allah, and therefore acceptable..

Naturally, any good Muslim parents would be concerned about dolls who have 'faces'...it's borderline idolatry. I mean, what if your children start worshipping their dolls?! It is a very real concern.

Also remember - No immodest clothing for girls/women. In fact giving headscarves and bags burqas is recommended. If you're a good muslim mother, you will naturally know your way around sewing (cooking, cleaning), etc - this provides you with the opportunity to add a personal touch to your daughter's Eid-ul-Christmas hijab, you can embroider empowering captions such as "My hijab/niqab is a feminist statement" or "My hijab, My choice".

Restrictions on men's clothing gifts are much fewer of course.

10) Apostate crackers are going to be a huge hit this holiday season. Depictions of apostates who have turned their back on allah...the crackers split at their necks and the apostates lose their heads, as is commanded, of course. No harm in putting a little fun twist on shariah punishments.

Now we're really getting into the holiday spirit!

11) Acceptable ways of greeting each other include "Eid-ul-Christmas Mubarak"/ "Halal Holidays" not this "Merry Christmas" shit. I feel like a dirty infidel, just thinking about that phrase.

Card image from Zazzle.com, type mine

12) Tell your kids that the reindeer thing is utter bull. There are camels guiding Santa Bin Claus' magic carpet/camel train. We're going to take this myth and Islamize it for our children. #CreepingShariah #FuckYeah

"Rashid the red-nosed Camel, had a very shiny nose!"

From buzzfeed.com

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We're taking your holiday Robert Spencer! Eid-Ul-Christmas Mubarak. May you have Halal Holidays!"

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FOX News Reporter: Well there it is, in black and white....a detailed attack on the very heart of Western civilization. Don't say we didn't warn you. Stay with us ...as an expert on 'Muslim holiday traditions' joins us next to give us some insight on the situation....

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Menstruation Makes you Unholy

So this weekend we were helping my aunt move. And gosh I love her to pieces...she is one of my few relatives that defends my right to disbelief as an equal right to having belief. Why can't we have more awesome Muslims like this in the world?

Anyhoo, we were just about done with moving the big stuff, like furniture, and her daughter tried to hand her a pile of books - which she suddenly backed away from. Saying no no, "haat pak nahi hain" (literally translated that means: My hands are impure)... Ah religious books, I thought to myself...women are not allowed to touch the Quran while menstruating.

This has always bothered me a lot. Because the messy stuff is occurring in the crotchal region, how then does it make your hands unclean? Apparently it makes your whole existence 'impure'. God will not listen to your prayers during this time either... because you are not allowed to pray, according to some scholars.

(Yes I know some hipster Muslims will jump on this and say that's not true... you're not interpreting the Quran/Hadith right...women are regarded as equals, and all that jazz...but no)

My aunt is a very modern, progressive woman...but still abides by that, as do most muslim women I know. I remember when I was kid, my mom was never really religious, but at one time during my preteen years she got cornered into Quran lessons over the phone, by an older woman. When she got her period she probably thought,

"Score, I get a few days off from these phone-in Quran lessons"

Oh, but she was mistaken. The older lady said...

"Why should you miss any days at all? Get yourself some thin gloves you can wear during the lesson, so it creates a barrier between your hands and the holy pages."

I remember being irritated even then. I don't remember if this was before I got my period or after... but in any case, I was aware of what menstruation was... and found it awful that a woman should not be allowed to hold a book while bleeding in a completely different part of her body. I'd get it if our hands bled during menstruation... I mean that would be messy as hell... and the book would be ruined... but this idea of impurity associated with womanhood that we as Muslim women are forced to internalize is abhorrent.

And also, it can't be easy turning pages while wearing gloves.

Here we have a traditional Pakistani bride, photographed during her
menstrual cycle. And well, you can see what happens, women
turn into flesh eating zombies, and need to be kept away from the
holy books, understandably so. 

I'm not blaming my aunt, she grew up thinking this, as did my mom. It's more of a reflex now, than something that is actively thought about.

And even logically though, lets say there was some 'magical impurity' emanating from a woman's being during her cycle that could cause damage to the holy book.... how on earth does a pair of flimsy gloves protect it?

But back to the story about moving...I was taken aback and my aunt gestured to my cousin to hand the pile of books to me, I didn't want to offend anyone else in the room because my association with Satan is a well known fact (I kid, but some muslim people don't like non-believers touching their scriptures), so out of respect for everyone else in the room I hesitated to grab the books (in case I was blamed for being disrespectful later)...and said.. well if her hands are impure now, mine are probably in a constant state of impurity. My dad winced at the reminder, lol. Oh dad.

But everyone indicated it was ok for me to grab the pile of holy books. So I did...and I did not burst into flame. Yay!

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But it got me thinking about what this is all based on...

Because surely now in the 21st century, people can conclude that if your hands are washed with soap, they are clean...right? So what's this impurity crap about? How petty of god to disallow prayer and worship during a menstrual cycle. (And yes, I know, Islam isn't the only religion with issues surrounding menstruation).

So here is what I found (see full website here):

“The menstruating woman and the one who is in a state of impurity (janaabah) (Janaabah = post-sex state of impurity) should not recite anything of the Qur’aan.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 131; Ibn Maajah, 595; al-Daaraqutni (1/117); al-Bayhaqi, 1/89.

On the flipside there was this:

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said: “There is no clear, saheeh text to indicate that a menstruating woman is forbidden to recite Qur’aan… It is known that women used to menstruate at the time of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and he did not forbid them to recite Qur’aan, or to remember Allaah (dhikr) and offer du’aa’.”

Preventing a menstruating woman from reciting Qur’aan deprives her of the chance to earn reward, and it may make her forget something of the Qur’aan, or she may need to recite it for the purposes of teaching or learning.

"God" forbid you deprive her the chance of that heavenly reward, and omfg what if she forgets something, that is .. you know, already written down...and readily available.

For this her impurity can be excused.

So basically it seems, there is no general consensus, and nobody is sure if god is really THAT petty or not... but:

"If a woman wants to err on the side of caution, she can limit her recitation to the passages which she is afraid of forgetting."

Gee thanks!

Oh wait....

"It is very important to note that what we have been discussing here is restricted to what a menstruating woman recites from memory. When it comes to reading from the Mus-haf (the Arabic text itself), a different rule applies. The correct view of the scholars is that it is forbidden to touch the mus-haf when one is in any kind of state of impurity, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):“… which none can touch except the purified.” [al-Waaqi’ah 56:79]. "

"In a letter to ‘Amr ibn Hazm, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told the people of Yemen: “No one should touch the Qur’aan except one who is taahir (pure).”"

It summed up here by islamichelpline.net:

"This is an issue on which the scholars of Islam have a difference of opinion.  The best and most accepted opinion is that a woman who is in her menstrual period should abstain from touching the Quran, until she has purified herself.

Most of the scholars are of the opinion that there is no harm for a woman, who is in her menstrual period, to recite the Quran from memory." 

So thanks, we have the privilege of uttering the words in our state of feminine impurity, but we cannot touch.

Gosh darn it's good to feel loved. :)

Thanks Islam!

(If you think this is bad, you should see what the Orthodox Jews have going on during and after menstruation).

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Sex, Religion and omg... menstruation?

So..... much more interesting conversation has been generated from the last post. I'm glad that more of you are participating and letting your thoughts be heard :) Its truly the best way to learn more about topics unknown and un-discussed.... for example one of my commenters wrote on the last post;


"Also, it [Islam] doesn't really oppress female sexual desires. If anything, it protects females by prohibiting men from sex during periods, which doctors today say would be harmful for females."


and then followed up with:


"As for proof, there are doctors you can talk to about sex during menstruation. I have asked doctors, that too female ones about it and the majority hold the view that its not safe, irrespective of how horny they might be feeling. Now to give you some "proof", "A woman's risk of sexually transmitted disease and infection is higher than normal during this time because the cervix opens to allow blood to pass through. Unfortunately, this creates the perfect pathway for bacteria to travel deep inside the pelvic cavity. A woman is also more likely to pass on blood-borne diseases like HIV and hepatitis to a partner during her period, and she's more likely to develop yeast or bacterial infections because the vagina's pH during menstruation is less acidic" as taken from http://www.everydayhealth.com/sexual-health/101/specialist/berman/sex-during-period.aspx ."


But of course, like I said to him us humans can manipulate facts to suit our needs... we can just pick and choose what to point out, if it strengthens our point... because the same website, does indeed say its perfectly normal to have sex during your period. Certain precautions should be taken, but then again... isn't that the case with all sex? 

http://www.everydayhealth.com/sexual-health/sex-during-your-period.aspx (link courtesy of @themaholupper)

(its time to re-use this illustration, i think :P)

Anyhoo, I took to twitter, to ask what more people's opinions were on the matter. Because I was a bit surprised actually, to read the view that prohibiting sex during menstruation, was actually 'protecting' females. Now of course, everyone has their own opinion and preference... so I'd like to say that I appreciate everyone's input. In fact, without the above comment, I wouldn't have had half as much to say - so thank you!


But I'd also like to point out that there is nothing medically unsafe (religion is another thing entirely) with having sex during your period (see link above for more information). If you aren't in a monogamous long-term relationship... you should be using condoms anyway! 


Here is some of what was said;

 

And then I had a volunteer email me her own account of having intercourse during menstruation:


Clearly this is a subject many people have lots to say about. And I'm glad it came out, because this wasn't even on my list of topics to write about... it just kinda happened on its own.


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Well my boyfriend and I have been dating for over two years now. Our relationship was physical before any emotional attachments. But I think it's safe to say we are quite in love now. We are both each other's first sex partners although he had fooled around with oral sex in his earlier relationships.

When we are together it's quite impossible for us to keep our hands off each other. It's more of my fault actually since I use sex as validation for love. So the first time I was with him during my period we didn't hesitate to agree on having sex.

The issues I would like to point out are 1. Hygiene 2. Comfort 3. Birth control.

For hygiene we just needed some towels under my nether regions. We layered two towels with a plastic bag between them so as to prevent any stains on his bed sheet. We also had to keep tissues and a sanitary napkin nearby in case of any emergencies.

The comfort is totally dependent on the individual. Mentally if someone thinks it's gross, there's no point in doing it since what's the fun in doing something you won't enjoy? But fresh period blood does not smell bad at all. Smells kind of citrusy. I have to hand it to my boy though. He made me feel like there was nothing wrong with me. After some initial anxiety I was pretty happy.

Physical comfort for the girl can be an issue. During menstruation the cervix distends so the penis hits it harder and there is a lot more sensation. The guy here needs to he careful and adjust the speed and force of intercourse accordingly.

Recommended position would be missionary. I tried to ride him once while on my period and despite being extremely erotic and fun, it ended up in a mess of cum and blood on his pelvis.

Now because the girl is much more sensitive, condoms as a form of birth control might not be comfortable. My guy usually pulls out right before ejaculation but that might be risky as it requires practice and control. The female is said to be infertile during menstruation but there is a slight chance of pregnancy since sperm can live in the vaginal tract for upto 5 days. If someone's cycle is short and if ovulation occurs right after menstruation, there is a slight chance of fertilization. I would suggest if not done on the first day, keep some misoprostol handy.

The side effects include increase in blood flow after sex since the hormones released during an orgasm speed up the contractions of the womb causing faster expulsion of the uterine lining. My period lasts 5-6 days but if I have sex I'm done in 3-4 days.

Religiously, as far as I know, Islam condemns intercourse during menstruation.

Personally, I would recommend people to try it if they're curious and not grossed out. It can be a lot of fun since sensitivity is enhanced and if done on the first day you don't need to worry about birth control.

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Sounds like she really knows her stuff :) 'Cept one thing that I pointed out to her, and would like you to take note of  as well,  is that the withdrawal method is never reliable, because pre-ejaculate can get a person pregnant too.  


Just sayin' - You should always know what you're getting in to.....

Anyhoo, here's what the men had to say about sex & religion. Remember, dear readers - that tolerance is key - if there are views expressed here that offend you to your core, the best way to deal with that is expressing yourself in a well thought out, relevant comment.

Fahad, Male, 24 
I'm not sure that sex plays much of a role in religion aside from procreation - but I do know there are some specifics mentioned in the Quran.


Sultan, Male, 19
If you look at the view of a mainstream, conventional religious person – sex is very taboo. In religion it’s a very mechanical type thing.


Khizer, Male, 26
I think sex is a part of religion, I don’t know about other religions but in Islam it’s allowed and it’s a part of it. I don’t think it goes so deeply into kinkyness and fetishes etc but its something that is discussed, and Islam does tell you what you should and shouldn’t do, and why you should or shouldn’t … I’ve heard it tells you exactly how to do it because of why you should do it that way because it gives you a higher chance of pregnancy – missionary sex with her left leg on top of your right shoulder…or the other way… so it gets the deepest penetration.


Imad, Male, 25 
I think sex plays no role, absolutely no role in religion. Religion I think is all about restriction – more often than not – and giving yourself more things to do … more of a purpose, and restricting one of your most general desires is one of the biggest self-made purposes… so it has no role, technically.


Qasim, Male, 26

religiously, its purely seen as a way of procreating and thats it... ur supposed to have sex just so u can raise a family... have kids... religiously its not something for pleasure of excitement... its purely for the act of having a kid... ur not supposed to have sex for pleasure. 

Ali, Male, 29
In religion sex is something for which u should not be looking at grls, or using booze or anything... u just take her pants off......do it and leave her... its wrong completely......  its for mens pleasure ... it is a very concealed  act.. u should not see womens body.. it should be dark when u have sex... and i disagree with that...


NJ, 42, Male
Difficult question. Well I think except Hinduism all religions think sex is for reproduction only. In islam maybe its both repro & enjoyment. But sometimes I think why minaret is like erect penis and domes look like big boobs ! 


Bilal, 24, Male
Im not the religious type, specially with my sexuality, im not  always thinking about sex and religion at the same time. That would seriously play havoc with my head.


S.K.A., 28, Male
In a society like ours, religion plays a part in everything. Too bad that the most distorted kind of Islam is all we get. Nowhere in Islam is it forbidden to have sex as recreation (albeit between married couples). We choose to ignore that. The curse of Selective Islamism! Muslims when it comes to sex, not when it comes to basic humanitarian principles of honesty, tolerance etc.


Hamid, 24, male
Sex for most religions is something that needs to be strongly and harshly contained and regulated. Rampant sexuality in a society has many ill consequences, and especially if we imagine the situation in the pre-scientific era when there was no such thing as ‘safe sex’ and there was practically no prevention against pregnancy and STDs, and the society was extremely misogynistic. There was some grain of wisdom in that religions tried to suppress and thwart the sexual impulse to avoid those evils, but I think these attempts were not successful and created many negative consequences of their own.


Arsalan, 20, Male
Well, Islam lays down strict injunctions about the subject, so yeah, sex does play a role in religion. I have studied about Islam a lot, and the fact that mystifies me is that while our religion lays down punsihments as extreme as  stoning for adultery, it doesn’t lay down any law about rape. Also, we have accounts of the prophet Muhammad taking sex-slaves as wives. A princess whose father, husband and entire tribe has been murdered, wouldn’t consent to sex with the man who perpetrated these acts willingly, would she?
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