AbuAbdullah: Yeah, okay. So somebody wearing a shalwar kameez shouldn't be allowed at the masjid?
Shalwar kameezes are pretty modest actually.
Tariq:
I didn't say not to start a debate. I said this isn't the particular debate I wanted to start. I didn't want to open this can of worms. You know, about whether hijab is required or not. If you've been on Islamica for a while, then you know we've had more than enough of those.
Purdah isn't about staying in your home. She's a politician; obviously, she can't sit at home. But she is covering herself in the way that Muslim women of that culture do. And her dupatta's not sheer or see-through.
And about those local imams: I wouldn't scoff at them. Everybody has a different person they learn their Islam from and in Pakistan, you're gonna learn it from your parents/family and from the local imams. They are highly influential.
I'm not assuming what a hijab is. I'm telling you what hijab is for many, many Muslim women in south-Asia.
My mom dresses that way and I wouldn't say she's not practicing hijab or purdah.
