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13 January 2015
By Tariq A. Al Maeena
Perhaps the biggest argument raised
in support of Shaikh Al Ghamdi is that God did not
decree that women should cover their faces during the
holiest of religious rituals which is during Haj
" When my wife appeared on TV without a
face veil, that did not make her any less chaste "
With his wife alongside him, Shaikh Al
Ghamdi spoke on a number of issues and said that it
was permissible for women to reveal their faces in
public and he fully supported the lifting of the ban
which prevented women from driving in the country.
As he explained it, "People have also
accused me of having a hidden agenda behind my fatwas
(edicts) or that I said the right things at the wrong
time. All that happened was a woman on Twitter asked
me if it was allowed to post pictures of her face on
social media and I said yes it is allowed. I am not
saying anything different than what many scholars
before me have said. The methods of by which the
female face is exposed may have changed but the fatwa
still applies."
Shaikh Ghamdi is no stranger to
presenting the tolerant face of Islam. In 2008,
religious extremists soundly denounced his fatwa
stating that segregation between the sexes was not
decreed by Islam as was being currently practiced. So
powerful was the opposition that calls for his
expulsion and repentance grew from the
fundamentalists. This time around, he says that he has
been receiving a steady stream of death threats on his
social media sites, which he intends to turn over to
the appropriate authorities for action. He does not
plan to back down.
His appearance accompanied with his
wife has brought in another sound objection and this
time from none other than the country's supreme
religious authority, Shaikh Abdul Aziz Al Shaikh who
was critical of Shaikh Al Ghamdi's views and asked him
to repent. He said that there are Quranic verses that
say the head cover is obligatory for each and every
Muslim woman and that women should cover their faces,
as well.
Answering the assertion by some
scholars who claim that it is permissible in Sharia
for women to uncover their faces and that face
covering is a habit dictated by tradition and not a
religious obligation, the Grand Mufti said that "This
is wrong! Face covering is compulsory in the Sharia.
That's why a man who proposes to a woman can only see
her face during engagement. Some of our Muslim
brothers, may Allah guide them to the right path,
embarrass their wives in front of the public. This act
reflects stubbornness on their part. It's a dangerous
thing. I pray to Allah to make them repent and guide
everyone to the right path."
Al Shaikh concluded with his message to
Shaikh Al Ghamdi "to fear Allah and I ask him to
repent to Allah and retract his statements before he
meets Allah with such sins. I also ask whoever helps
him to repent to Allah. They shouldn't let their
daughters and wives go on TV screen with their faces
uncovered. I pray to Allah to lead Al Ghamdi to the
right path."
Perhaps the biggest argument raised in
support of Shaikh Al Ghamdi is that God did not decree
that women should cover their faces during the holiest
of religious rituals which is during Haj or Umrah.
Others were equally supportive. One summed it best
saying: "I totally agree with Shaikh Al Ghamdi since
most of the practices being done here in Saudi Arabia
are culture-based and not religion-based. The Holy
Quran teachings do not prohibit women from driving but
the culture and traditions do not allow it.
Exposing the face will never make a
woman disrespectful unless the woman makes a move to
be disrespected."
It does not matter to what extent one
goes to dress up or down. In the end it is the
intention that matters. That is the Islam I grew up
on. I wish my Christian readers a merry Christmas and
a happy New Year to all.
Tariq A. Al Maeena is a Saudi
socio-political commentator. He lives in Jeddah, Saudi
Arabia. |
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