Jamaat's Hijab Day

Many foreign banks in Pakistan have adopted ‘Islamic banking’. Host of banking products have been re-christened. A number of banking services have been Arabized

The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has brought the ‘Hijab Day’ to Pakistan. On September 4, the Jamaat marked the day by holding rallies besides organizing a series of events including Hijab conferences in the urban centers of the Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa. A Jamaat delegation, led by Qazi Hussain Ahmed’s daughter, Samia Raheel Qazi, met Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf’s wife, Nusrat Ashraf, to invite her to attend a Hijab conference as the chief guest.

The annual Hijab Day is observed on September 4 as a protest against the French ban on wearing conspicuous religious symbols in the educational institutions. This ban came into effect on September 2, 2004. Ever since sections of Muslim students at various campuses have observed September 4 as the Hijab Day. While the ban on veil in Belgium and France came years later, in 2010 [in the months of April and August],  the JI leadership thought it appropriate to observe September 4 as the “Annual Hijab Day”.
Hypocrisy as usual

Hijab is often referred to as the scarf covering hair and neck while woman’s face is visible. Many moderate Muslim scholars believe that hijab is a form of purdah (covering mandated by Sharia). They think that a Muslim woman is not required to cover her face, hands and feet. There is no insistence on veiling the face. This form of purdah is observed in most parts of the Muslim world by women with religious bent of mind. In the West, hijab has also become a symbol of Muslim identity for certain Muslim women.

However, puritans consider hijab an inadequate purdah. In line with the Jamaat teachings, hijab does not qualify as purdah. The Jamaat founder, Maulana Mawdudi, has authored a pamphlet, titled Purdah, in which he argues for covering of woman’s face. He advocates a dress code for Muslim women whereby women’s body should be covered in such a way that they do not invoke men’s attention. According to Maulana Mawdudi, woman’s pretty face is the most provocative part of her body. Hence, it should be covered.

Ironically, while Jamaat is encouraging women to even cover their hands with gloves, the poster-girl at the most Hijab events was Turkey’s first women with her head draped in a hijab.
Political gimmickry

In the early 1960’s, the Saudi regime ordered a Pakistani company to prepare Ghilaf-e-Kaaba [Black-coloured covering gilded over Kaaba]. The Jamaat was asked by Saudis to supervise the preparation. The Jamaat seized the opportunity. When Ghilaf-e-Kaaba was ready, the Jamaat arranged the train march across the country on the pretext of showing Ghilaf-e-Kaaba to faithful. Thousands thronged the railway stations to view and touch the Ghilaf-e-Kaaba. However, Jamaat’s campaign was bitterly criticized by other religious outfits. It was seen as a political move to gain popularity under the holy guise of Ghilaf-e-Kaaba. Jamaat’s history is replete with countless such gimmicks. The Hijab Day is the latest one.

While campaigning for the Hijab Day, Jamaat chief Mr. Munawar Hasan criticized the West for conspiring against Islamic traditions. He also flayed the Pakistani rulers for promoting ‘western culture’ in Pakistan. The speakers at Hijab rallies repeated the same mantra. They all lamented that the West championed human rights in the world but was denying rights to Muslim women living in the western countries.

It is not a coincidence that the anti-West protests organized by religious right are always centered on the exaggerated cultural domination of the West while ignoring the western political and economical hegemony. Jamaat is no exception. The so- called guardians of Islam and the ‘Pakistan ideology’, are out to protect the country from the evils of western civilization.
However, the global political economy is never questioned. The western financial institutions and multinational corporations have also learnt to live with these contradictions. Many foreign banks in Pakistan, for instance, have adopted ‘Islamic banking’. Host of banking products have been re-christened. A number of banking services have been Arabized. A multinational has launched a shampoo, packed in colour green, for women wearing hijab.