New Rules in Australia and Chechnya

"New laws that will allow police to force the removal of burqas, helmets, hats and other clothing concealing a person's identity have been passed by the ACT Legislative Assembly.". . .

". . . But women who wear a head covering, such as a burqa, for religious or cultural reasons will be allowed to request that it only be removed in the presence of a female police officer or in a private place in accordance with their beliefs." 

From the article: "ACT Assembly passes laws to force removal of burqa", by Lisa Cox, March 21, 2012

Read more: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/act-assembly-passes-laws-to-force-removal-of-burqas-20120320-1vi7j.html#ixzz1po9XHZeg

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Meanwhile, in other places the authorities are forcing a wearing of head covering:

From the article: "Chechnya's Islamic revival is becoming less voluntary", by Diana Markosian, Special for USA TODAY

 "Despite the separation of church and state under Russian law, Chechen schools must now promote Islam. There are prayer rooms in just about every school and a strict dress code, forcing all schoolgirls to cover their heads in school. Many are unhappy over the decree." ...

" . . . The process of Islamization was voluntary in the beginning. Women who wore a headscarf were rewarded with a prize. Now all women and girls, regardless of their religion, must observe Islamic dress code by wearing a head covering, long sleeves, and skirts below the knee in public schools and government buildings. Those who refuse become targets."

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-03-21/chechnya-islamic-revival/53693048/1

Submission and Glory

I was doing a little study on women in the New Testament, and came across this study in Bible.org.  One line stood out to me as something that many readers of this blog may appreciate or understand, and I present just a short part of the discussion here.  See if you can find the line about the veil and its purpose, and why it makes so much sense in the larger picture of submission to the Creator God.

"In the case of our Lord we should see that His submission and humiliation was God’s way of blessing and bringing glory to Himself (Phil. 2:8-11). We should also understand that the submission of the Son to the Father did not in any way imply inferiority on the part of the Son to the Father. Both the Son and the Father are equally God. The Son is no less God because He submitted Himself to the will of the Father and sought to glorify Him. The submission of the Son to the Father was a functional submission, necessary for the unified activity of the Godhead."

"Such is the case with the woman’s submission to the husband. It does not imply in any way inferiority on the part of the woman to the man. The wife’s submission to her husband is her indication of her submission to God (Eph. 5:22). As the Son veiled His glory in the incarnation, so the wife is to veil her glory (1 Cor. 11:2-16) in order to bring glory to her husband. The woman is not to take positions of leadership in the church because God has chosen men to reflect leadership over the church, and since the church is the bride of Christ of which Christ is the Head, so the man is to exercise headship over his bride, his wife."

from: "The New Testament Church—The Role of Women Study" By: Bob Deffinbaugh

FiFA To Test Hijabs For Female Muslim Players

I meant to post this on my blog as soon as it happened Saturday: FIFA has consented and women who want to wear a piece of cloth on their head while they play football.... can!

FiFA To Test Hijabs For Female Muslim Players

If you choose to read comments on this article, or any article about this, be prepared for the equation that allowing the hijab on a football (soccer) field = male oppression.  In a round about way, if women are only wearing hijab because they are being forced to (in which case they are probably being forced to stay at home as well), then indeed we are talking male oppression.

Other comments, and even the posting of this particular article in the religion section of the paper rather than the sports section, make the wearing of hijab to be a purely religious statement, forcing the rest (or West) of the world to bow to Muslim antiquated traditions, and their so-called "takeover".  Interestingly, many Muslim men and women don't even agree on how much coverage hijab means, and most of the women just want to play a sport with other while dressing modestly, according to their understanding of what modesty means.

One comment that I read pointed out that if it were Christian women wanting to play in a headcovering, the responses would be quite different.  And to a certain extent they would.  For one thing, shock that "Christian" women would actually choose to wear a headcovering, when the law of Christ says that Christians can pretty much do whatever they want (no, I don't believe this, but that is the prevailing sentiment, don't you think?). Christian women, and Jewish women, who do choose to cover, don't in general make a big deal out of getting involved in sports or appearing in court or other places, I suppose, and so don't make the news about their own personal choice to cover their hair or head in public.

Here's the thing: these women want to play football, and they want to wear modest clothes while they do it. What is the big deal? Fear of the unknown.

Many people still don't understand the choice to cover up out of modesty and in deference to a creator God.  They don't understand that Islam is as divided and multifaceted as the other of the "big three" Abrahamic faiths (that is, those who admit to believing in One God, the God of Abraham), and so any claims as to what these girls, or their husbands or fathers believe, is pure guesswork on the part of the ignorant.

The same goes for many of us girls who choose to cover: people who don't understand merely accuse, and falsely.  Why is such a little thing - dressing modestly, putting something on our heads as we pray - such a big deal? Because of what it seems to represent? Oppression, slavery, hate, religious intolerance? Or because of what it really does represent? - Respect for "a Higher Power" who created us and knows what's best for us; and a respect for other people by downplaying ourselves?

Headcoverings: Pride and/or Modesty

"Kippah-Wearing Student Told to Prove Religion"

The principal at Northwood High School told Patch that “students are asked for verification when their religious headwear is not traditional headwear that we are accustomed to seeing.” 

By Esther French, Feb. 1, 2012, in the WheatonPatch (Maryland, US)

Though not a deep or philosophical article on head coverings, it touches us all, because the situation could happen to anyone.  Others cannot see our hearts, and can only guess from our outward appearance or behaviour as to whether we really are who we appear to be, or claim to be by wearing our head coverings.

I found this quote by the student's rabbit something to step back and re-read:  “The kippah demonstrates a sense of pride in who we are and a modesty in humbling one’s self before God.” 

Do our head coverings demonstrate a sense of pride as well as a sense of modesty?  I suppose in a way they all really do.  Even though for the most part, those who cover out of a sense of modesty would rather not bring attention to ourselves (which is the opposite of modesty or humbleness), we must be strong enough to do something which others will see, whether they understand fully why we wear a head covering or not.  We have to take "pride" or at least confidence in that which we have faith to do.  Confidence is faith - it is our belief in action.  It is a hard paradox to understand and to live, but nonetheless, when we do something which shows modesty, or demonstrates humbleness - we are not living a double life or acting hypocritically.  We're actually just doing what everyone else espects, really:  we're being on the outside the same as what we claim to be.

For more thoughts on living our inner selves outwardly, see: "Media have field day with Tebow’s public displays of piety," written by the Rev. Mark S. Bollwinkel, Wednesday, 01 February 201, in the Los Altos (California) Town Crier.

'Hang on to Your Hats' opens tonight at museum

'Hang on to Your Hats' opens tonight at museum - Fort Morgan Times

New in-house exhibit created from museum's collection of headgear

By JENNI GRUBBS Times Staff Writer
Posted: 01/25/2012

. . .

"It wasn't that long ago that everybody wore a hat," she said. "Whether you were the president of the United States or a day laborer, everybody wore a hat."
But today, wearing hats in everyday life has become "more of an anomaly," Cooper said.
"In just a couple of decades, my, how things have changed," she said. "Hats were such a part of our culture for centuries."
Now, Cooper and the Fort Morgan Library & Museum are hoping that area folks will come revisit that culture and history on display in "Hang on to Your Hats."

Display in Colorado only, but an interesting idea!

"Translating ancient traditions into modern language"

Translating ancient traditions into modern language - The Pueblo Chieftain: Local Lifestyle:

"I love working with youths. They tend to pose difficult questions." ...

"First out of the bag: "Why should women wear skirts and head coverings at church?" "


GOOD thoughts.  Laws have applications.  Rules have reasons.  God is not random.  People are people.

Includes this nugget:

The last thing you want your attention drawn to when
you come to pray is a nice pair of calves or a sexy hairdo (yes,
men do notice them).

Short article; please read.  :)

New Year

Dear Readers,

How quickly the time has gone by, and here we are at another year end already!

(not everyone is represented here)

At this time of new year resolutions, I pray for every one of you who will read these words: that you will continue to learn and grow stronger in faith, that you will find comfort and encouragement from others to do what you know is right, that as you learn you will not forget that others have not seen and heard the things which you have, and so they deserve your patience and gentleness in word and deed. 

May we live quiet lives of peace, humbly covered by unconditional love, shining like candles in the dark.  May our little pieces of cloth be a sign of devotion, humbleness, and gentleness to all, and may we remember why we wear those headcoverings - every time we struggle to keep them in place.

And now, as the apostle, Paul, I praise you: for remembering me and all those who write to you of good things; and for holding firmly to the ordinances and traditions which you were given.

LisaM


(photo taken from Women’s Head Coverings in Different Religions; November 29, 2011 by humarashid, in the blog, The Reasonably Prudent Law Student.)

History and Headscarves in Politics - Turkey

Often when we are looking up news stories concerning head coverings, the country of Turkey appears.  Its history, especially the recent past, can be confusing to many.  In Turkey, the secular West struggles with the conservative Muslim population, in all areas, and especially as things concern women.  Conservative women cannot attend university or get many jobs if they choose to wear a head covering, and secular women feel that the growing popularity of Islamic political groups threatens to keep them from jobs or other opportunities.  It is a time for open eyes and minds, and for real investigation of all the different ways of life.  If Turkey has you stumped, you have to keep up with it.  The article linked below gives a brief though quite helpful overview of the situation for women in Turkey, which may help us to all better understand others in the world, and the confusion surrounding the head covering in other places too.

"Muslim Lite: Women, Islam and the Turkish Way" by Roger Friedland, Visiting Professor, New York University-Abu Dhabi, in the Huffington Post (image above linked from this article)

The Sojourner: The Head Covering Command

Thorough study in this blog on the 1 Corinthians 11 passage. Please see:

The Sojourner: The Head Covering Command: 1 Corinthians 11:2-16: v. 2 Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you.