By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Kozhikode: A comment about Muslim women covering their faces with purdah by MES state president Fazal Gafoor has drawn the ire of other Muslim groups in the state with most of them saying that the statement was made eying publicity and nothing more.
Gafoor, state president of the Muslim Educational Society (MES), had on Wednesday criticized the habit of Muslim women covering the entire face using purdah. “Covering the entire face doesn’t suit the norms of Islam and the society. The religion does not ask for it and it has nothing to do with morality,” Fazal Gafoor said while inaugurating a seminar by the MES on the ‘Contributions of Muslims to the Dressing Style in India’ as part of the golden jubilee celebrations of the society here.
Muslim Educational Society (MES) state president Fazal Gafoor inaugurating the seminar organised by the MES on the contributions of ‘Muslims to the Dressing Style of India’ as part of the golden jubilee celebrations of the society
“The purdah has emerged as a mere fashion, replacing the traditional dressing style of Muslims in Malabar. MES is neither in support of covering the entire face nor for wearing jeans. Our stance doesn’t promote Western culture and at the same time, it also discourages social and cultural rigidity,” he said, adding, “Lengthening of the dress doesn’t mean elevation of culture. It is not Islamic to wear long dresses and cover faces.”
Responding to his statement, Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama state secretary and prominent E K Sunni leader Kottumala Bappu Musliyar and Kerala Nadwathul Mujahideen (KNM) state president T P Abdulla Koya Madani said Gafoor was not an authority to judge and comment on religious matters.
“The Constitution of the country has given the right to dress up as per the norms of various religions. Islam asks women to keep their entire body covered when they appear in public places,” Madani said.
Madani and Girls Islamic Organisation (GIO) state president P Ruksana said scholars differed in opinions when it came to covering the entire face.
Terming the statement as an individual opinion, Madani said the Muslims in the country traditionally used to follow the opinions and jurisprudences directed by the scholars.”
“Each individual has the right to agree and disagree. But they should be careful about such statements as they will trigger unnecessary controversies,” he clarified.
P Ruksana said Islam did not compel women to wear purdah. “The religion asks women not to expose the parts, which have been directed to be hidden by the Quran. Women are obliged to obey this directive not wearing purdah,” she said.