Sacrosanct

I usually hate these specials on Muslim women and faith and fashion. Basically every article or special says, “Muslim women sometimes have trouble finding modest clothing, but many have been successful in mixing faith and fashion.”

Not that I hate the message, it just gets so repetitive. So some of us buy normal clothes. Get over it.

But this special I liked more than most because it seemed balanced. For one, I know one of the girls personally(Ayah :) )

and two, for a change they featured a non-hijabi as well. In the beginning they even featured some niqabis. :)

It seems they showed a more realistic picture of what Muslim women really are these days, a little bit of everyone.

I was also pleased to see that they showed the conservative opinion too. Ingrid Mattson came on and said that usually the objective of fashion is to be showy and have people look at you and the opinion that going too much into fashion is walking a fine line. It was finally refreshing to see the more conservative opinion as well.

I wish we could watch the whole thing, but on youtube, it’s in 5 parts of about 30 second each which makes it annoying to watch.

Here’s the first part.

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Egypt’s Sheikh Ali Gomaa has ruled against the death penalty for apostasy.

Finally!

Egypt’s official religious advisor has ruled that Muslims are free to change their faith as it is a matter between an individual and God, in a move which could have far-reaching implications for the country’s Christians.

“The essential question before us is can a person who is Muslim choose a religion other than Islam? The answer is yes, they can,” Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa said in a posting on a Washington Post-Newsweek forum picked up by the Egyptian press.

“The act of abandoning one’s religion is a sin punishable by God on the Day of Judgement. If the case in question is one of merely rejecting faith, then there is no worldly punishment,” he wrote.

In most Muslim countries, Muslims who convert to another religion are considered apostates and can be subject to capital punishment.

Mr Gomaa warned however that if the conversions undermine the “foundations of society” then it must be dealt with by the judicial system, without elaborating.

Attempts by Muslims in Egypt to convert to other religions have been hindered by the state’s refusal to recognise the change in official documents and in some cases have led to arrests and imprisonment.

abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/24/1987362.htm?section=justin

It’s so refreshing to see Muslim scholars letting go of culture and going back to the religion.

There was almost no proof for circumcising women.

Here’s the article on the fatwa:

A Egyptian conference of Muslim scholars from around the world declared female circumcision to be contrary to Islam and an attack on women, and called today for those who practice it to be punished.

The conference, organised by the German human rights group TARGET, recommended that governments pass laws to prohibit the tradition and that judicial bodies prosecute those who mutilate female genitals.

“The conference appeals to all Muslims to stop practicing this habit, according to Islam’s teachings which prohibit inflicting harm on any human being,” the participants said in their final statement.

Egypt’s two top Islamic clerics, Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, the Grand Sheik of Al-Azhar, the foremost theological institute in the Sunni Muslim world, and Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, attended the conference, which drew scholars from as far afield as Russia.

Tantawi’s and Gomaa’s edicts are considered binding.

Female circumcision, which involves cutting the clitoris, continues to be practiced in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa as well as Egypt, Yemen and Oman, despite numerous campaigns against it.

Those men who support the tradition believe it lowers a girl’s sexual desire and helps maintain her honour. They also believe it is required by Islam.

The scholars said circumcision inflicts physical and mental harm on women. Furthermore, they said, Islam considers it to be an aggression against women. Those who perform it should be punished.

“The conference reminds all teaching and media institutions of their role to explain to the people the harmful effects of this habit in order to eliminate it,” the scholars said in their recommendations.

“The conference calls on judicial institutions to issue laws that prohibit and criminalise this habit … which appeared in several societies and was adopted by some Muslims although it is not sanctioned by the Quran or the Sunna,” the scholars said, referring to Islam’s holy book and the sayings and deeds of Prophet Muhammad.

Although many countries have outlawed female circumcision, the law is poorly enforced and prosecutions are rare.

In the 1950s, the Egyptian government tried to stop midwives from performing the custom, while allowing doctors to do so - fearing that otherwise families who insisted on circumcising their daughters would have the operation carried out in unsafe conditions. But in 1996, the health minister imposed a total ban on the practice.

www.theage.com.au/news/world/muslim-scholars-rule-female-circumcision-unislamic/2006/11/24/1163871589618.html#