Saudi Cleric Says Women Are not required to Wear Hijab, Can Put Makeup
Around 5,000 Yazidi women and girls have been kidnapped by IS militants, who sell them as sex slaves
‘Saudi Cleric Says Women Are not required to Wear Hijab, Can Put Makeup
Dec 13, 2014
Rabat – A new fatwa against wearing Hijab has been issued last week by a Saudi Cleric who said that “Islam doesn’t require women to wear veil,” adding that women can put makeup on, take pictures for themselves and post them on social media networks.
The fatwa was issued by Saudi Arabia’s former head of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Makkah, Ahmed bin Qassim al-Ghamidi.
Answering a question in which a Twitter user asked him whether women can post their pictures on social media, the Saudi cleric said that “there is nothing wrong if a woman showed her face or put make-up.”
He goes on to add that it is permissible for a woman to post her pictures on social media, reported Al Moheet.
In another tweet, Ahmed bin Qassim al-Ghamidi goes as far as to claim that only the wives of prophet (MPBUH) “were required to wear Hijab so that adult males outside of their immediate family couldn’t see them.”
To support his claims, he quoted a previous saying of the Palestinian Islamic scholar Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdqsi in which he said that “if the woman’s face and hands were intimate parts of her body, it would not be Haram for her to cover them while performing Al Haj.”
Ahmed bin Qassim al-Ghamidi goes on to add instead of blaming women, the blame should put on men who are required to lower their gaze. The Saudi cleric quoted Morocco’s scholar Qadi Ayyad, who once said: It’s not mandatory for woman to cover her face outside her house, but it is a Sunna Mustahaba_ (preferable not obligatory). Men, on the other hand, shall lower their gaze.”
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‘Faceless’ Doll For Muslim Girls Launched In Britain
Dec 13, 2014
A faceless doll wearing a Hijab has been created for Muslims girls in Britain, news service Asian Image has reported.
The featureless doll was designed that way to comply with Sharia law, which forbids graphic representation of God, the prophet Mohammed, his wife, family, friends and all living things – in roughly that order. The doll costs £25 ($40).
The “Deeni Doll” was manufactured in China and designed in the UK by Ridhwana B, a former teacher at a Lancashire Muslim school.
“I came up with the idea from scratch after speaking to some parents who were a little concerned about dolls with facial features,” she said.
“Some parents won’t leave the doll with their children at night because you are not allowed to have any eyes in the room.
“There is an Islamic ruling which forbids the depiction of facial features of any kind and that includes pictures, sculptures and, in this case, dolls.
“I spoke to a religious scholar in Leicester who guided me through what was and what was not permissible when producing the product.
“The Islamic range in kids toys is quite limited at the moment with few choices. Although this project took a while, I am looking at researching other ideas in the future,” she said.
Ridhwana added that some people might find the doll strange, but she has had a positive response from many parents.
“We have produced a limited amount at the moment but already I have had parents take up the order.”
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/britain-launches-faceless-doll-muslim-girls-1479250
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UK Muslim Wives Have ‘No Rights’ In Divorce
Dec 13, 2014
A number of Muslim women living in the UK are being left with no legal rights when they try to leave religious marriages, a new report has found.
Aurat, a West Midlands charity which supports women who are victims of so-called ‘honour’ related abuse, claims that some women who marry in Islamic ceremonies are often not married under English law. As a result, they can find themselves without legal protection if they choose to leave.
The report was based on an analysis of case reports from the charity, which interviewed 50 Muslim women between August and September 2014. Forty-six of the women self-identified as being married, but only five of those were recognised by English law.
To make matters worse, the report also found that over half of the women who were not legally married did not realise this meant they had fewer legal rights as a result.
The women interviewed also revealed the cultural pressure they were under to remain married. Almost half said they would not have support from their community or their family if they sought a divorce.
In a foreword to the report, cross-bench peer Baroness Cox claimed that while abuse can manifest in “any faith tradition”, the predicament of women in Islamic communities is “exacerbated by the application of established Sharia law principles which inherently discriminate against women and girls”.
She added that the problems identified in the report were merely “the tip of the iceberg” as there are “countless” more women in similar circumstances throughout the country.
http://www.marilynstowe.co.uk/2014/12/12/muslim-wives-have-no-rights-in-divorce/
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Terrorist Runa Khan: ‘All Muslim Women Should Be How I Am’
Dec 13, 2014
A mother-of-six has been jailed for five years and three months for promoting terrorism on Facebook.
Runa Khan, 35, of Maple Road West, Luton, had admitted inciting terrorism in Syria by posting a picture of a suicide vest and messaging details of a route into the country on Facebook.
Before her sentencing, reporter Rani Singh met Khan on several occasions and on Sunday interviewed her for BBC Newsnight.
Khan talked about what she had done and was challenged about her views.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-30442507
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Remove Muslim Veil When Giving Evidence in Court, Says Top British Woman Judge
Dec 13, 2014
Britain’s most senior woman judge has called for tougher rules on compelling women who wear the Muslim veil to show their faces when giving evidence in court.
Baroness Hale of Richmond, the deputy president of the Supreme Court, said “ways have got to be found” to ensure that the Islamic face coverings, such as the Niqab, are removed for key parts of a court hearing.
Judges must be able to see a witness’ face to gauge their truthfulness and it was also important to be able to identify the correct person on some occasions, the judge told the Evening Standard newspaper.
Lady Hale said the need for a “tougher” approach had been shown in one family law case in which she had detected that a mother – who had been asked to remove her face covering – was lying.
“We should devise ways of making it possible and insisting people show their full face when it is necessary,” she said.
“There must come a point where we can insist.
“We don’t object to allowing people to do things for sincerely held religious reasons if they don’t do any harm. If it does harm, we have to be a bit tougher.”
A judge ruled in September last year that a Muslim woman, Rebekah Dawson, would be allowed to stand trial on a charge of witness intimidation while wearing a full-face veil but that she must remove it while giving evidence.
Dawson, 22, initially refused to remove her Niqab and was told she would be forced to take off the garment if she gave evidence, which she later declined to do.
She was convicted and jailed for six months after pleading guilty.
David Cameron, the Prime Minister, has previously both spoken out against women being allowed to wear veils while giving evidence in court.
Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, said in November last year that there was a need for “clear guidance on what is without doubt a problem that many people found divisive”.
“I wouldn’t describe it as the elephant in the courtroom but it is an important issue that has to be addressed,” Lord Thomas said.
“I regard it as the responsibility of the senior judiciary to give guidance, and it will be guidance that is not merely ‘well it all depends’ but starting from a clear starting point giving fairly reasonable guidance as to what should happen.”
Last month Lord Thomas said the guidance had still not been completed.
Judges had been awaiting a decision from the European Court of Human Rights on the Burqa ban in France, which was delivered in July, and which backed the principle of prohibiting the garment in public.
Lord Thomas said he hoped the guidance for courts in England and Wales would be complete “as soon as is reasonably practicable”.
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Categories: Arab World, UK