Quote:
Originally Posted by Salika
No, but the reason I personally would have a problem with someone showing up in a mini-skirt (intentionally) is NOT merely because of the outward appearance. That thinking is going to lead to the same only-focusing-on-outward-appearance mentality trap.
It's not the clothing, per se, but rather the intention. That's why it DOES make a difference whether the person was ignorant or not. If the person is well aware that x clothing (or behavior, it's really not just about clothing) is disprespectful, then it's not a matter of clothing, but respect and lack thereof. This is why racist t-shirts can be comparable, because, again, it's not merely the clothing, but the intent of the person.
I mean I hope it's obvious that if a person is unaware that a mini-skirt or beer bottle or weed or whatever is disrespectful witnin the MSA circles, they should not be penalized. These things are common on college campus and a person is not expected to magically know. This is why every MSA member, when seeing such a person for the first time, should assume the person is unaware (even if they are from a Muslim background). However, if that person continuously disrespects MSA's policies, then that person should (politely) be told that the MSA is not their type of organization.
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salika, i understand your point of view, but i guess i have some issues with it (let it be known now that i've been thinking about this a lot lately and haven't formulated a final thought on the situation in my head yet)
- where do we draw the line? if we're talking about dressing modestly, who's defining that? if we're talking about respecting the values of msa, what are those values? what if there's a guy who doesn't want to pray when everyone prays in jamaat? the principle's that we're setting down to be followed, if only in an msa settings, are ultimately always going to be the most outward ones, so where do we draw the line on people's outward behavior?
- who's judging? the biggest problem i have with setting down limitations of which kind of muslims/people are allowed in an organization is that you have this group of (often uneducated) muslims getting together, tossing around their ideals of islam and putting value judgments on other people. everyone wholeheartedly believes what they're doing is right, is the best for the Ummah and the best for the organization... even if their thoughts collide 100% with someone else's.
- i feel that the people (especially the muslims) who are uneducated/ignorant/turned away from islam, YET ARE STILL COMING TO THE MUSLIM STUDENT ASSOCIATION, are the ones who seek to gain the most from being surrounded by muslims. often, it seems like they take their first few steps and are told "well, you have to completely change your behavior to be let into this organization," and are discouraged from attending further sessions. simply making muslim friends and surrounding yourself with other muslims (or, most importantly, in my opinion, even just seeing good come from other muslims who are opening, welcome and treat you with the utmost adab) attracts people to this deen like no other.
why do the mini-skirt wearing girl and pot-smoking guy come to msa? when i started college myself, i was honestly pretty ignorant of soooo many aspects of islam. alhumdulillah, i was surrounded by muslims who understood my weaknesses and dealt with me with the utmost kindness. and honestly, looking back at my life in general and my msa experiences in particular, i'm absolutely amazed and utterly grateful beyond belief with the people Allah swt surrounded me with... because i can't even imagine the kind of person i'd be without them.