Posted on 11/20/2006 7:38:07 AM PST by Valin
CAIRO -- A political and religious storm sparked by Egypt's culture minister criticizing the ever-growing popularity of the Islamic veil snowballed Sunday into a fully fledged national affair. Three days after Farouk Hosni described as "regressive" the increasing practice of wearing the veil, calls for his ouster mounted and debates on Muslim conservatism in the Arab world's most populous country intensified. Sources in parliament said that 80 lawmakers - both from Hosni's ruling National Democratic Party and opposition movements - demanded an urgent debate over the minister's comments.
"There was an age when our mothers went to university and worked without the veil. It is in that spirit that we grew up. So why this regression," the minister asked in an interview published November 16 in the independent Al Masri Al Yom daily. "Each woman with her beautiful hair is like a flower, and should not be concealed from the view of others," Hosni said, arguing that "religion today focuses on appearances too much."
His remarks sparked the ire of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is Egypt's main opposition movement and controls one-fifth of the seats in parliament. Muslim Brotherhood official Hamdi Hassan said Friday: "We have presented an urgent appeal to parliament demanding that culture minister Farouk Hosni be relieved of his duties after statements in which he said that wearing the veil is 'regressive'."
In an interview with Al Jazeera television, Hosni refused to apologize but stressed that the view that he had expressed was only personal and did not necessarily represent the government's stance. He also said that his comments to Al Masri Al Yom were off the record.
Qatar-based Egyptian cleric Youssef Al Qaradawi was quoted in the Gulf press as saying that Hosni wanted women "to blindly imitate the Western civilization, which has indulged in bestial pleasures, sanctioned gay marriage, and condoned nudity." Qaradawi, one of the most influential preachers in the Muslim world, added that women have an obligation to wear the hijab, or Islamic veil. Other senior clerics in the region, including Saudi Arabia's mufti, also excoriated Hosni over his comments.
Growing conservatism has seen a vast number of women take up the veil in Egypt, formerly one of the most liberal societies in the Middle East. Observers attribute the phenomenon to a variety of reasons ranging from growing Islamism to social pressure and fashion. According to Egyptian sociologist Mona Abaza, 80 percent of the country's female population is veiled. "It is the most ... successful aspect of Islamization," she said.
Hosni's comments also caused surprise in Egypt's cultural and intellectual circles, but for reasons far removed from those of the Islamists. Ezzat Al Qamhawi, novelist and editor of the weekly cultural magazine Akhbar Al Adab, said that Hosni's stance on religion had so far been characterized by systematic compliance with the views of Al Azhar, the leading Sunni Muslim institution in the region. He also argued that the Muslim Brotherhood's criticism of one of the longest-standing ministers in Egypt was essentially a political move against the regime. "I would have thought that they would have asked for his resignation earlier because of the state of Egyptian culture today," he said.
This is a very important article. It shows how the ME is going the other direction away from modernity in favor of the old way. I agree with this guy's conclusion. The ME was more western 30 years ago than it is today.
BTTT
Even as the Great Jihad overruns the West, the 7th century Arabian ethos is spreading throught the Islamic Worl. Even as they try to drag the West back to the Middle Ages they are forcing their own populations, especially the women, back to something even earlier and darker. If they do conquer, and they will if we continue to be blessed with CINCs who have hearts and wish only to bring people to the blessings of Democracy, i.e. Bushes and Carters, then their 7th Century regime will regress in a hurry as famine becomes the normal human condition. How many people can that kind of economy support?
The ME certainly was more modern 30 years ago. Iran was hyper-westernized by the Pahlavi Shahs, Turkey was still Kemalist-secular, no Saddam, no Khomeini, no Hezbullah, no Hamas, no Taliban, no Al-Qaeda. There was the PLO and Muslim Brotherhood, yet it is crystal clear that the Middle East was on it's peak pre-1979.
I wonder how of the support the Islamists get has to with wanting to return to a strict version of Islam, and how much is a protest against the corruption in government and lack of freedom, and opportunity for a better life?
The reason I ask is, I know a nuber of Muslims and to a man they have nothing good to say about Wahhabism.
That's because Pan-Arabism/socialism was the flavor of the day. Today we see Pan-Islamism/socialism as the flavor of the day.
It's all part of a civil war that's going on inside Islam.
Pan-Arabism/socialism might have been the flavour of the Arab states for sure, and it was troublesome in it's own respect.
But the non-Arab states like Turkey and Iran were very progressive at this time. Especially Iran under the Pahlavi Shahs, wich was on the brink of becoming a regional great power friendly to the USA, to Israel and the West. A bullwark against Communism, Socialism and Islamism. Iran had back then certainly few political freedom, but nearly unlimited social freedom. 1979 with the rise of Khomeini, Saddam Hussein and the War in Afghanistan everything pretty much fell into the abyss.
Poor SOB could be killed over his statement.
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