Muslim 101: A cultural Q&A

Muslim Canadians are in the news a lot lately and that's got a lot of people asking questions.

It all started with Prime Minister Stephen Harper's remarks that the Muslim culture is "anti-women", and that the veiled covering, the niqab, should not be worn at citizenship ceremonies.

Since then, people have been weighing in with their thoughts and questions about being Muslim. As a result, CBC Information Radio host Marcy Markusa fielded those calls and comments and put them to some members of Winnipeg's Muslim community.

Jennifer Rahman is a physician who has written several articles over the years to promote understanding about what it means to be Muslim.

Nazir Khan is a physician and a consultant on religious affairs for the Manitoba Islamic Association. He also answers questions about Muslim life on his website, SpiritualPerception.org.

Here now is a sample of some of your questions — and their answers:

Is the wearing of the niqab a political statement against women?

Khan: Fundamentally, wearing a niqab or dressing however one wants to dress, it's a woman's choice. Nobody has the right to impose their opinions on how a woman should dress. This is just a matter of freedom of choice. A woman has the right to chose however she wants to dress and no one can tell her otherwise. And being Canadian is about accepting that. 

Is Islam oppressive to women?

Rahman: I think the sources of our information are of course, the Qur'an and the Prophetic traditions. In the Qur'an, we know that men and women were created from a single soul and in the prophetic traditions or what Prophet Muhammad told us, men and women are twin halves of each other. So this indicates that we are spiritually and intellectually equal in every respect. And really, from Islam, Islamically, women have always had the right to vote, the right to inherit, the right to divorce or the right to consent to a marriage that they want, the right to own property, to work. And men and women have not only the right, but the duty, to educate themselves. So anything outside of that, when women are being prevented from being educated, from voting, from entering the workplace, these are outside the Islamic principles. 

Why do you think people see the niqab and use words like 'radical' automatically?

Khan: Well, I think it goes back to people are afraid of things they don't know or don't understand. And the way that Islam is so often presented in the media, like 'these horrific, angry gods coming to eat you', you know? And Muslims are regular Canadians just like everyone else. There are one million Muslims in Canada. It's one-fifth of the world's population. People need to realize that Muslims are your neighbours, your co-workers, your colleagues, your doctors, dentists, lawyers, people who serve you ice cream, they're bus drivers, like, they're regular Canadian citizens.
So it's about breaking down these barriers of fears, building bridges of tolerance and mutual respect and reaching out to each other and trying to understand, you know, what is the community actually about. And all of the mosques here in Winnipeg are open at all times for people to come and visit.

Do men have to wear any types of modest covering?

Khan: The Qur'an speaks about this in chapter 24 when it talks about a dress code, it talks about modesty for both genders. A lot of people don't know that the Qur'an instructs men first to observe modesty in their dress and in lowering their gaze and so on and so forth, so modesty in dress is prescribed in the Qur'an for both genders. When you look around the world in fact, every single society has standards as to what constitutes modest dress and so Islam as a faith has, similar to other faith traditions, where women have covered their hair.

Rahman: What people also don't understand is there is a diversity and a spectrum of practise within our faith. And you'll see Muslim women wearing niqab and then there's a lot of women wearing hijab and then some that don't wear a hijab. It represents a diversity within our own community and a diversity of practise, a diversity of religious convictions and what we will is appropriate for our relationship with god. 

Is the niqab a symbol of oppression?

Rahman: I think it's quite understandable that people would ask this question. We hear this a lot. We're not so different. Our faith falls into the Judeo-Christians, with all the prophets and all the belief systems. Belief in god, the oneness of god, the afterlife. It's very much a way of life in the sense that it covers all aspects of our lives and guides us in our behaviour and our interaction with each other, our ambitions, our pursuits. The thing is though, with the niqab, there is a diversity of practise within our community. The niqab itself, most Muslims don't feel that it's a compulsory thing. In fact, when you have to pray or go to your pilgrammage, you're not allowed to cover your face.

But when people see a woman wearing niqab, automatically they think they're repressed. Are they?

Rahman: Oppression comes from whenever you are forced or compelled to do something. That is what oppression means. When the Taliban are forcing women to wear a bourka against their will, that is oppression. But many women who practise niqab or hijab, that's part of their religious conviction. They've chosen it for themselves. So whenever you are compelled, you are oppressed.
When the Prime Minister of Canada stands up in the House of Commons and tells (women wearing niqabs or hijabs), that is oppressive. 

Is Islam is a religion or a culture?

Khan: I think this question epitomizes just how ignorant how people are about Islam and how foreign it all seems...'those Muslims, what are they all about? We always see them on the news.' Um, Islam is a way of life. it's a value system, it's a way of engaging with others in a manner that's compassionate. A lot of people don't know what the basics of Islam are. The line that begins every chapter in the Qur'an is 'In the name of god, the most compassionate, the most merciful.' We're talking about a lot of women's issues. A lot of people don't know that the Prophet Muhammad himself said 'women are the equal and identical partners of men. A lot of people don't know that he said 'an honourable person is one who treats women with honour and respect and only a despicable person treats women in a manner that is dishonourable or disrespectful.'

How does the media coverage of terrorist and extremist incidents impact the public's perception of Islam?

Khan: This is something called the spotlight fallacy. People are focused on whatever the spotlight is shining on and they don't see the 1.6 billion Muslims doing their daily lives, helping people out. They don't notice their colleagues and neighbours and coworkers as much. They're busy focused on those crazies in the news. But it's important to emphasize that violence has no faith. Violent criminals represent no one other than themselves. And the faith is a faith that begins and ends with a message of compassion for everyone. 

What does the Sharia Law have to do with being a Muslim?

Khan:  The Sharia Law that Muslims believe in is not the one that you see on television. It's a complete misrepresentation of the faith. Sharia just literally means 'a path towards god' and in fact, seven centuries ago, a Muslim theologian said 'Sharia is all about compassion, justice and wisdom.' And any ruling that results in injustice, cruelty or nonsense can never be part of Sharia, even if somebody claims it to be. And that's because the fundamental view, the Islamic perception of god is that god is compassionate, he's merciful. So that's what Sharia means to the 1.6 billion Muslims in the world, one-fifth of the world's population.

Rahman: As far as being violent, there is nothing in Islam that promotes violence. Islam promotes peace, promotes goodness to others 'Fight evil with what is good' is sort of a mantra in the Qur'an. Inherent violence, nobody has violence in their DNA. Islam does not teach that. Terrorism is the antithesis of what Islam teaches.