Preamble
Controversy is a Nigerian. It occupies a delicate but vintage position in the hearts of most citizens and revolves incessantly around trivial matters often to the detriment of serious and meaningful issues. In no other country of the world does controversy thrive as much as it does in Nigeria. Nigerians take pride in the vainglory offishing out controversy even where it serves no purpose. When public controversy in Nigeria is not about politics, it may be about tribe or religion or gender. If this country is most qualified for any adorable medal it is in the realm of controversy.
Through such controversies certain peculiar vocabulary such as tribalism, nepotism, marginalisation, 'islamisation'and annulment often surface.
The current controversy
Currently, another controversy is raging in the country.It is about an allegedly proposed ban on the Muslim women attire called Hijab.
Incidentally, this controversy is between the Nigerian Muslim community and the Federal Government on the one hand and within the Muslim community on the other. Some Muslims are alleging that the Federal Government is planning to ban the wearing of hijab by Muslim women and are therefore calling on President Muhammadu Buhari not to dare it as such action may entail serious implications.
Ironically, some other Muslims believe that the gross abuse to which hijab is subjected(especially by Boko Haram vandals) as well as the embarrassment which such abuse constitutes to Islam has long warranted the ban on hijab.
In the melee, a fierce controversy has ensued between both sides.Thus,some Muslim groups and individuals have taken to the internet to sensitise the Nigerian Muslim Ummah on the need to counter the alleged proposal with a view to preempting the Federal Government from turning such allegation into a reality.
Proposal to ban Hijab
What most Nigerians, especially Muslim agitators, do not seem to know is that the proposal to ban hijab did not emanate from the Federal Government of Nigeria. Rather,it came out of a security meeting held by the Presidents of West African countries otherwise called ECOWAS. And the reason for resorting to such a proposal is the well-known rampant and continuous mass killing of innocent people with bomb blasts by some devilish elements who callously use such dress to conceal the bombs.
The proposal came up subsequent to the experience in countries such as Niger Republic, Chad and Cameroon where the spate of mass murder by bomb blasts concealed in Islamic dress in those countries went down tremendously, following the ban on certain types of hijab.
This experience came to confirm that the abuse of those female Muslim garments by some devilish elements in the society who are bent on decimating Islam by all means. It is the main cause of mass killing adopted by Boko Haram devils.
However, despite the ban on those types of hijab, Muslim women in those countries still cover their heads as well as their bodies but not in the types of robe that can aid concealment of bombs. Besides, the three governors of the frontline states in the Boko Haram war (Adamawa, Bornu and Yobe) have also proposed the banning of the dress for the purpose of peace.
What is Hijab?
Linguistically, the Arabic word hijab means rein which is a kind of strap with which a domestic animal, such as horse, is cautioned against dangerous surge or unbridled aggression.
Derivatively, hijab is a kind of scarf adopted in Islam for Muslim women to cover their heads as well as to protect the sensitive parts of their bodies against immoral or sensual exposure. This is to prevent any possible harassment or abuse to which immoral dressing easily subjects women in the society.
By Islamic prescription, hijab is mostly meant for women who have attained the age of puberty. But younger women may wear it as a rehearsal in preparation for their attainment of puberty.
Types of Hijab
Although the general name by which this attire is known is hijab, there are other names according to the types designed draped and worn by various Muslim women in various countries and Muslim societies of the world. There are several types of this attire. For instance, in most Arab countries, it is either called Abayah (loose and flowing outer garment that covers the entire body from head to feet excluding the face) or Al-Amirah (which consists of a close fitting cap, usually made from cotton or polyester in form of an accompanying tube-like scarf) or Burqah (a complete cloak-like garment that covers the entire body including the head and the face) or Khimar (which is almost same as Burqah except for its exclusion of Niqab).
Niqab is the special substance meant to cover the nose of a Burqah wearing woman. In short, the name depends on the pattern of sewing and the community in which it is worn.
Meanwhile, the type of attire which the Boko Haram heretic group forces some women to conceal bomb in and which most Nigerians generally call hijab is either Burqah or Khimar or Abayah. These are the types banned in Niger, Chad and Cameroon which are also being proposed for banning in the entire West African region.
Why do Muslim Women wear Hijab?
Hijab is a dress of decency divinely prescribed for Muslim women to preserve their chastity and to ward off any indecent attraction that may cause public harassment for them or subject them to sexual abuse.See Quran 33 verse 59 which states thus in respect of hijab:
"O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the wives of Muslim believers to clad themselves in their outer garments;that is more dignifying for them to be identified with so that they will not be harassed; Allah is most forgiving, Merciful".
Genesis of Hijab
Long before the advent of Islam, hijab had been in use by women of various religions, including Jews, Hindus, Zoroastrians, Christians and Buddhists though it was called different names.
Head cover (hijab) was globally regarded as a spiritual dress of dignity as women who wore it were accorded high level of respect. Today, as in the days of yore, each community has a name for it in consonance with its religion and language. For instance, it is called Chardon in Iran just as it is called Dupatta in Pakistan and Mukena or Selendang in Indonesia. In Malaysia, it is called Tudung or Kerudung. But Islam came to statutorily adopt it in the early 7th century as a peculiar identity for Muslim women in some countries in Asia and the Middle East, including Arabia.
Hijab is not necessarily a combination of long garment plus scarf as designed in the mentioned countries. And Islam did not limit it to any particular design or colour. Other dignifying dresses like the type of "up and down" (Buba and Iro) type of attire worn decently by Nigerian Muslim women in the Northern and South Western parts of the country which do not expose their bodies in any way is equally qualified to be called hijab.
It is rather unfortunate that some satanic forces have now turned the protective dress generally called hijab into an instrument of death by violence. But this is not quite strange since virtually every beneficial substance anywhere in the world today is satanically abused.
History of Hijab
Hijab reached the Arabian Peninsula from India via Persia (now Iran) several centuries before the advent of Islam. It was originally meant for the upper class people, such as princesses and wives of monarchs. But it later became a dress for all willing women when it was adopted by Islam not as a dress of class but as a respectable dress of chastity. Islam is not a religion of class. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was divinely mandated to preach the religion of peace to all and sundry. Thus, hijab as an adopted dress for Muslim women could not have been discriminatory as it used to be before the advent of Islam.
Despite its adoption as an Islamic dress, the type of hijab designed and worn in some Muslim countries is not necessarily mandatory on all Muslim women. What is mandatory is decent dressing that keeps chastity and maintains fidelity. Every nation has its language and culture. Islam does not reject a particular language or culture except it contradicts any of its fundamental tenets. That is why Muslim women who wear either Burqah or Khimar are in the minority worldwide. A woman who does not wear Burqah or Khimar cannot be declared persona-non grata in Islam. As far as dressing in Islam is concerned, decency is the general norm.
Implications of Banning Hijab
Hijab, like any other decent dress is a matter of human right which no government can unilaterally ban. But if anything in Islam constitutes danger to human lives and constitutes threat to peace in a society, such a thing could be banned or suspended for the purpose of peace. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) showed a good example of this when he sacrificed a whole pillar of Islam (Hajj) for the purpose of peace in 628 CE. Six years after he was forced to migrate from Makkah to Madinah in 622 CE, he decided to go on pilgrimage in Makkah following inspiration to perform Hajj that year.
The Prophet's Example
Thus, accompanied by 1400 Muslim men and women who were fully dressed in Hajj regalia, the Prophet set out on pilgrimage in March 628 CE. The congregation had taken along with them all their needs including the rams they would slaughter. He had thought that the Meccans would respect the sacredness of the month and honour pilgrimage as customary in Makkah. But that assumption did not work.
On getting information about the Prophet's trip to Makkah for pilgrimage, the Meccans quickly assembled and sent a delegation to meet the him and his entourage on their way to Makkah to tell them that they would not be allowed to enter the city.
Most of the Prophet's companions were infuriated by that message from the Meccans and urged the Prophet to promptly declare a war. But the Prophet turned down such a request and rather asked the Meccans to come up for a treaty that would facilitate peace. Thus, each side set up a peace committee and they jointly resolved to put the treaty into writing.
In the process of writing the treaty, the Meccans objected to any reference to the name of Muhammad (SAW) as a'Prophetof Allah'. The Prophet's Companions countered the objection and insisted on preceding Muhammad's name with the word Prophet. But again, the Prophet calmed down his companions and agreed to the demand of the Meccans.
The Clauses of the Treaty
The contents of the treaty signed by the leaders were as follows:
- Both parties would cease hostilities for a period of ten years.
- The parties would not interfere with the free movement of one another.
- The Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah upon him) would return that year, but the Muslims would be permitted to enter Makkah the following year.
- Any Muslim man coming from the Quraysh to join the Muslims would be sent back, but any man going from the Muslims to Quraysh would not be sent back.
- Any tribes other than the Quraysh that wished to enter an alliance with Muhammad (Peace and blessings of Allah upon him) were free to do so, and any that wished to enter an alliance with the Quraysh were free to do so.
By the contents of that treaty, the Muslims were prevented from performing that year's Hajj which was to be the Prophet's first Hajj. That showed the value of peace in Islam.But eventually, the treaty turned out to be a victory for Islam as it became an unprecedented catalyst for the propagation the religion.
Conclusion
If Prophet Muhammad (SAW) could go so far to ventilate the atmosphere for peace why can't the Muslims of today follow suit?
I am a Muslim who believes strongly in the use of Hijab by Muslim women. But considering the thousands of lives so far lost in Nigeria through the abuse of Islamic dress by some devilish elements one would think that Nigerian Muslims should show understanding and co-operate with the authorities on any reasonable measure that will stem the spate of killings without disrupting their mode of worship. Banning hijab is not the same as banning the practice of Islam. Life is sacred. And to worship, one needs to be alive. God bless Nigeria.
