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Now here’s a tragic image.
From my last trip to Turkey, a modern reproduction of a traditional Turkish manuscript illustration. The manuscript illuminated by this would almost certainly have been the Qur’an.
The picture shows Mohammed on the Night Journey, in which he ascended the seven heavens and alit on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The Dome of the Rock (Al-Aqsa Mosque) is there today to commemorate the event.
Nevertheless, even at the height of his triumph, the poor prophet is oppressed by being obliged to wear a veil.
Moral: the right of Muslim women to wear the veil is not a matter of oppression. It is a mark of singular privilege and respect. Few men are permitted to wear the veil—only God himself and the prophets.
If this is oppression of women, then emperors are oppressed too, by being allowed to wear the crown.
Al-Jazeera features a story on the growing popularity of the abaya.
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2 comments:
I understood that any depiction of the Prophet was forbidden. Please explain.
Islam is no more monolithic than is Christianity. The Turkish version has always been more relaxed than the Arabian Wahhabi style we hear most about these days. It is heavily influenced by mystical Sufism, which, in turn, I believe, is influenced quite a bit by Christianity.
We need to hear more from Turkey these days. The world needs more Turkey.
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