A Muslim Woman Who Is Subjected To Abuse On A ‘Daily Basis’ And Almost Had Her Niqab Set On Fire In Most Islamophobic Place In London Said She Is Scared To Go Out
New
Age Islam News Bureau
03
October 2021
• A Muslim Woman Who Is Subjected To Abuse On A ‘Daily Basis’ And Almost Had Her Niqab Set On Fire In Most Islamophobic Place In London Said She Is Scared To Go Out
• Yes, Muslim Women Do Have A Sense Of Humour: Henry
Jackson Society
• Supermodel Farida Khelfa Dismantles Prejudices Of
Muslim Arab Women In Latest Documentary, From the Other Side of the Veil
• Glasgow’s Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Seek To Educate
On Women’s Rights In Islam
• Fighting The Ridiculous Misconceptions Around Having
A Stoma Bag As A Muslim Woman
• Five Things To Know About Philippine President
Duterte's Daughter
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/islamophobic-london-muslim-woman/d/125497
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A Muslim Woman Who Is Subjected To Abuse
On A ‘Daily Basis’ And Almost Had Her Niqab Set On Fire In Most Islamophobic
Place In London Said She Is Scared To Go Out
By Matthew Dresch
2 OCT 2021
Souad has been called an
'ISIS bride' in public (Image: Daily Mirror)
-----
A Muslim woman who is subjected to abuse on a
"daily basis" and almost had her Niqab set on fire by youths said she
is scared to go out.
Souad Mohammed, 47, lives in the London borough of
Westminster, which has the highest number of Islamophobic hate crimes in the
capital.
The mum-of-three who is a community worker has
previously been called an "ISIS bride" and "Osama Bin Laden's
wife" while out in public.
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“When I got on the bus I received a text message.
Someone called out from behind and said to the bus driver ‘stop the bus she’s
going to detonate’.
“He was saying ‘you are going to get blown up any time
now’ and told people I was Osama Bin Laden’s wife. I had to get off the bus,
the driver didn’t do anything.”
She has been a victim of racist and verbal abuse
numerous times but says she has nowstopped reporting incidents to the police as
they happen so often.
She was the first in her family to wear the religious
garment, which she says gives her spiritual fulfilment and makes her feel less
vulnerable to sexual harassment.
However, she detected a backlash against the veil, in
particular after the 7/7 bombings in Edgware Road, Westminster, and other parts
of London.
Source : My London
https://www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/muslim-mum-three-terrified-after-21745894
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Yes, Muslim Women Do Have A Sense Of Humour: Henry
Jackson Society
By 5Pillars (RMS)
03-10-2021
This week, Dr Rakib Ehsan, a research director at the
think-tank the Henry Jackson Society (which many believe is deeply
Islamophobic), initiated a Twitter pile-on against a visibly Muslim woman for a
sarcastic tweet of hers which he mistakenly thought was serious.
Now anyone mildly familiar with mainstream Muslim
discourse would understand that Ms Afzal was being sarcastic here, poking fun
at those who criticise other Muslims for doing anything celebratory that isn’t
strictly Islamic.
While many mainstream Muslims are religiously
observant, many also like to ridicule those Muslims who act holier-than-thou on
social media, commonly known as the “haraam police.”
To misunderstand something as basic as this, one would
have to be very out of touch with British Muslims as whole. However, Mr Ehsan
succeeded in doing precisely this. Quote tweeting Ms Afzal, he wrote:
Clearly Mr Ehsan failed to pick up on Ms Afzal’s
sarcasm and used this opportunity to trigger his own followers to instigate a
Twitter pile-on against her.
Indeed, following this, Ms Afzal had to respond to
several tweets from Mr Ehsan’s followers explaining that her tweet was actually
sarcasm. Ms Afzal also repeatedly requested that Mr Ehsan delete his tweet but
he failed to respond.
Following this incident, several Twitter users –
Muslim and non-Muslim alike – expressed their disapproval of Mr Ehsan’s
actions, including Miqdaad Versi of Muslim Council of Britain and the original
tweeter who expressed her excitement for Christmas, Fatima Said.
Mr Ehsan then appeared to try to draw attention away
from his outrageous tweet by engaging Mr Versi in a back and forth argument.
However, he still failed to apologise, retract or even rationalise his tweet.
But it is the wording and context of Mr Ehsan’s tweet
that remains worrying. It betrays his inability to consider that a British
Muslim woman might actually have a British sense of humour.
It seems to me that within everything he propagates
about British Muslims is the underlying notion that we are not really British.
Clearly, the idea that Ms Afzal might have been joking was not in Mr Ehsan’s
mind – too far-fetched an idea to even consider.
Most ironically, Mr Ehsan questioned Ms Afzal’s
ability to “cultivate stronger interfaith relations” in Britain based on her
joke tweet, while he himself, through his own tweet, sought to perpetuate
further division. Bizarrely, the HJS website states that “social cohesion” and
“race relations” are his areas of expertise. It is very worrying indeed that
this individual has consulted parliamentarians and policy makes on these
matters.
Further, I believe it reveals his low regard for
Muslims in general, that he would jump to the worst conclusion he could think
of instead of practicing husn al dhan, i.e. having positive regard for others
rather than being quick to accuse them of ill-intent. This is an Islamic value
of which it seems he has yet to become acquainted with.
It is also difficult to ignore the jubilant tone of Mr
Ehsan’s tweet which began with “ladies and gentlemen” as though gleeful at the
opportunity to expose a Muslim woman and someone who is also a supporter of the
Labour party in one single tweet. Clearly in his mind this was a
killing-two-birds-with-one-stone moment.
The Henry Jackson Society is a neoconservative
pressure group which was paid over £80,000 by the Home Office to produce a
report about Islamist terrorism. The right-wing William Shawcross was
previously a director of HJS, only resigning after becoming chairman of the
Charity Commission – an organisation which has been accused by many Muslim
groups of singling out Muslim organisations to be investigated.
Earlier this year Shawcross was appointed by the
government as the “Independent Reviewer of Prevent” – a counter terrorism
strategy which many believe unfairly targets the Muslim community. Mr Ehsan –
being a research fellow for HJS – gives us just a hint of the insidious nature
of the Islamophobia industry and how it can affect public policy.
This was not simply a Twitter dispute – this was
another example of the continued attacks on visible Muslim women in politics
which seek to erase Muslim women from public life through intimidation and
over-scrutinising their every word.
Ultimately, Ms Afzal and Ms Said are two outspoken
Muslim female friends who were simply having some personal banter on Twitter.
Mr Ehsan, unfortunately and rather creepily, decided to wade in to this space
and display it to his many Islamophobic followers.
Such opportunism and glee in trying to catch out
Muslim women is unsettling and also rather discouraging to Muslim women who may
aspire to get involved in politics. Regardless of whether an apology or
retraction is made, this has been a very revealing incident indeed.
Source : 5Pillarsuk.
https://5pillarsuk.com/2021/10/02/yeah-muslim-women-do-have-a-sense-of-humour/
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Supermodel Farida Khelfa Dismantles Prejudices Of
Muslim Arab Women In Latest Documentary, From the Other Side of the Veil
Francesca Fearon
Oct 3, 2021
Tall and chic in that quintessentially Parisian way,
Farida Khelfa is a model, muse, actress and documentary filmmaker.
She was a darling of the Parisian nightlife scene in
the 1980s, forging lifelong friendships on the dance floor with designers
Jean-Paul Gaultier, Christian Louboutin, Azzedine Alaia and photographer
Jean-Paul Goude. Khelfa was eventually lured on to the catwalk, and was one of
the first prominent Arab supermodels – decades before diversity became part of
the fashion agenda.
She still occasionally models for her designer
friends, most recently for Fendi’s spring couture collection, but at 61, her
interests now lie behind the camera rather than in front of it.
Farida Khelfa for an A&L story, Oct. 2013, on the
Italian fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, who had her heyday in the 1930s and
1940s. For a Colin Randall storhy in
A&L, Oct. 2013.
Over the past 10 years she has made documentaries
about her famous friends, starting with Gaultier and later Louboutin. In 2012,
she filmed Nicolas Sarkozy on his French presidential campaign trail with
Francois Hollande, and released a documentary filmed in the aftermath of the
Arab uprisings in Tunisia in 2011, shortly after the fall of president Zine El
Abidine Ben Ali.
Her latest project is a thought-provoking film called
De L’Autre Côté du Voile (From the Other Side of the Veil), which was released
in July on Khelfa’s YouTube channel.
Born in Lyon to Algerian parents, Khelfa ran away from
her strict upbringing as a teenager, attracted by the bright lights of Paris.
This background gives her some insight and understanding of Arab culture, and
in her latest documentary, she uses this to offer a refreshing perspective on
women living and working in the Middle East. Her aim is to dismantle the
prejudices and misconceptions surrounding Muslim Arab women in the region.
“It’s a very personal project,” tells The National. “I
wanted to let these women talk and to listen to them, because a lot of people
speak for them, and you rarely hear them talk. For me it was fascinating to see
their work and see what’s changing.”
The film features a series of interviews shot in
Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and London, with women from across various creative
sectors, including fashion designers and stylists, writers, artists, a chef, a
film producer and the director of an NGO who runs infrastructure projects in
low-income countries.
“I originally thought I would be making a fashion
film,” Khelfa says. She was inspired by a trip organised by Vogue Italia and
luxury retailer Rubaiyat in 2016 to a Saudi Arabia talents competition in
Jeddah, where she co-judged with Silvia Venturini Fendi and Alberta Ferretti.
“I discovered all these young women and was surprised by the quality of their
work and how well they knew fashion.”
While in Jeddah, Khelfa was invited to Dubai's Fashion
Forward, which sparked the idea of making a film on fashion in the region.
However, in Dubai, she met not only designers but their friends, who were
artists, chefs and writers, and realised there was scope to expand the brief
and give all these women a platform. Her mission was to redress the dated and
inaccurate way western media portrays women from the region.
Fashion was the starting point. The documentary
explores the rich history of traditional garments, such as the abaya, through
interviews with designers such as Dubai’s Faiza Bouguessa, Wadha Al Hajri in
Qatar and Reem Al Kanhal in Saudi Arabia.
Mariam bin Mahfouz, designer at Sotra and Haal Inc,
who won a special award at the Saudi talents competition, suggests that abayas
do not necessarily hide the wearer. “It is another play-off from fashion,” she
says. “It caters to modesty but isn’t necessarily something that’s not fun or
stylish. It became a genre for fashion for us [designers]. It is very
empowering … it is like wearing a superhero cape.”
Khelfa went on to visit galleries and museums, and met
creatives such as Saudi artist Manal Al Dowayan, who lives in London, and Ghada
Al Rabea, who was the only one of her subjects who chose to appear in a niqab
and abaya. Khelfa offered everyone the choice of how they dress during filming
and recognised Al Rabea was making a statement by wearing hers.
20 x 10 x 23 cm eachat Home Ground exhibition at the
Aga Khan Museum in Toronto (Photo by Miguel Veterano, Capital D Studio ©
Barjeel Art Foundation) NOTE: For Anna Seaman's feature in Arts & Life,
July 2015
Wearing a niqab as an artist is a challenge, Al Rabea
admits, because she is constantly asked how she can be an artist and veiled at
the same time. “I knew I had to disassociate my appearance from my painting, so
the audience is not influenced by my beautiful or disturbing appearance, and
see only my painting,” she says.
She remembers being asked by a Dutchman at one of her
exhibitions about wearing the veil and she responded by asking him how he
thought people perceived him? “I don’t allow myself to judge you, so why do you
judge me?” she said. Her message is to not judge on appearance, but for people
to see beyond her abaya and consider what she thinks, desires and dreams of.
Khelfa describes Al Rabea as a charismatic hard-worker
who creates paintings that are full of joy and light. “It was not the idea I
had before of the Saudi woman, and so it was interesting for me to deconstruct
the misconceptions in the West about Muslim women.”
Fatma Al Remaihi, chief executive of the Doha
Institute, appears in a powerful interview in Farida Khelfa's latest film.
Getty Images
Khelfa removes herself from the conversation and gives
her subjects the space to speak their truth. In another powerful interview,
Fatma Al Remaihi, chief executive of the Doha Institute – a company that
supports budding Arab filmmakers – highlights how 20 per cent of independent
films in the Middle East are made by women, compared to only 9 per cent in the
US. These women are not necessarily feminists or typical of their culture, but
are strong and confident and striving for independence.
As Al Dowayan points out, Saudi women are depicted in
one of two ways: the activist who ends up in jail or the veiled and oppressed
victim. The women in the middle, working towards change within the system, are
ignored.
It is rare to see a documentary with footage like
this. Khelfa let the filming develop organically, with subjects introducing her
to others. “It is always the best way,” she says. “I had the same experience
when I was filming in Tunisia after the revolution. If you plan too much in
advance for a documentary it isn’t good. You have to live in the moment.”
She believes the openness of her subjects was
encouraged by her personal experience as a filmmaker of Algerian heritage. “I
don’t come from the same background, but I come from a Muslim culture and that
is probably why they felt comfortable with me.”
De L’Autre Côté du Voile is being released at a time
of tension in Khelfa’s home country, following the French government’s attempt
to ban girls under the age of 18 from wearing the hijab in public. The bill,
debated by parliament in April, drew condemnation from around the world and led
to the viral #HandsOffMyHijab protests and fears of Islamophobia deepening in
France.
Khelfa wants her documentary to be constructive. “I
was very touched by these women; moved by the way they wanted to achieve
things. It’s worth listening to them and seeing past the veil and all the
stereotypical opinions that obstruct our view of these women. I hope the
documentary will open more eyes.”
Source : The National News
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Glasgow’s Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Seek To Educate
On Women’s Rights In Islam
By Local Democracy
02-10-2021
Following the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, there
have been increasing reports over the change in status for women in accessing
education or having a job.
While the barbaric and outdated restrictions are being
enforced by the hard-line Taliban government however, they have led to
conflicting views and some beliefs that women hold an inferior status, or that
are not truly free, when practising Islam.
Now Glasgow’s Ahmadiyya Muslim Community are looking
to educate people and are hosting a unique online event on Sunday to discuss
the misconceptions of women’s rights in the Islamic religion.
The virtual event will be streamed live across
Facebook and YouTube on October 3 at 6pm where viewers will be able to listen
to talks and have their questions answered.
Spokesperson Ahmed Owusu-Konadu said: “One of the
areas which is very much misunderstood in the public eye is the rights of women
in Islam.
“The media don’t tend to show this side of Islam, they
report on the Taliban and other organisations who abuse women. People think
that is what Islam teaches.
“The rule of the Taliban has become an issue because
the women in the country are trying to move out, they have been stopped from
achieving an education or working.
“We thought now is the right time to educate the
public and let them know what the teachings of Islam are and show that the
atrocities which are happening around the world by these so-called Islamic
nations, are not associated with our religion.”
Owusu-Konadu added: “When it comes to the spiritual
aspect both men and women are equal in the eyes of God. Whatever station a man
can reach a woman can reach as well and vice versa.
“However when it comes to the physical aspect the way
the almighty God has made us is a bit different and we include that in our responsibilities
with our families, in the community and within the religious sector.
“For instance men and women don’t play together in
football because the physical build up is different. When it comes to
athletics, women wouldn’t run with Usain Bolt because that is unfair.
“It comes down to the physical aspect of it. God has
made man physically stronger and bigger which would mean we use that form of
protection for the women.
“If you see a man abusing a woman, that is contrary to
what his build is supposed to be used for. He is supposed to protect his wife
and family.”
Owusu-Konadu added: “People should come to this
platform of education. Education is key. Education is power. We need to look at
people in the right way rather than stereotyping them and understanding what
they stand for.
“Because groups like the Taliban and Isis align
themselves with Islam for their own selfish interests people mistake that for
the Islam religion.
Source: News.Stv.Tv
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Fighting the ridiculous misconceptions around having a
stoma bag as a Muslim woman
Omma Ahmed
02 OCT 2021
“She won’t ever get married.”
“Which daughter is the sick one?”
“Do you know how stressful this has been for your
mother?”
“Don’t tell anyone about your bag or illness. They’ll
call you disabled.”
I was unprepared for all of this when nine years ago,
I went into hospital for a routine examination under anaesthetic to look for
signs of inflammation in my stomach and five days later, woke up from emergency
surgery with a stoma bag. A stoma (ostomy) is an opening on the wall of the
abdomen that diverts the contents of the bowel out of the body. A bag fits
around the stoma to collect the contents.
I had been suffering from symptoms such as blood in my
stool, extreme weight loss, diarrhoea and excruciating cramps for almost a year
as medication had no impact and my symptoms got progressively worse before I
was diagnosed with Crohn’s. Crohn’s Disease is one of the two main forms of
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). It causes inflammation of the digestive
system and there is no cure. This means that it is ongoing and life-long,
although you may have periods of good health (remission) as well as times when
symptoms are more active (relapses or flare-ups).
Initially I felt relieved after my diagnosis. There
was finally a name for what I had been going through and it wasn’t cancer (yes
I was guilty of Googling my symptoms!). After the diagnosis and as I learned
more about my illness, anxiety and dread began to set in, knowing I would have
to deal with this in some form for the rest of my life. Even 10 years on, this
reality is hard to accept at times.
Although Crohn’s can sometimes be managed with
medication, in severe cases you may need surgery to remove part of your bowel
and have a stoma created. Before being diagnosed with Crohn’s, I had never even
heard of a stoma. When a nurse first mentioned a stoma bag and where I would
want it placed, I felt confused and blindsided. How long would I have a stoma?
What would it look like? Would it smell? Would everyone be able to tell I had
one? Would my clothes still fit me? As I was internally freaking out, my mum,
who was standing next to me in the hospital, started crying. She imagined a
huge bag hanging from my stomach, similar to a catheter bag and was worried
about what that would mean for me.
Growing up in a Pakistani community means
marriageability was always the hot topic of conversation at gatherings, whether
here in London or back home.
So when I got my stoma bag at age 23, all talk of
marriage seemed to skip past me. I would either have to endure pitying looks
and faux concern about my health, or ignorance about ever having been sick.
People outside of my family would assume that because I outwardly looked okay,
I was now fine. They didn’t seem to understand that a chronic illness meant I
would never be cured.
I didn’t mind not being considered for marriage
because it was never an ambition or achievement for me, but it angered me that
the reason was due to an illness I had no control over. Why was I seen as
‘unmarriageable’ because I didn’t go to the toilet to take a shit? Why did
having an illness mean that I was now unworthy of being valued as a partner for
someone? Did a bag on my stomach really mean I was unlovable? If anything, it
should have shown my resilience and an example of how capable I am of taking
care of myself and still remaining positive about life.
I’ve had my stoma for nine years now, and because of
my experience I decided to create an Instagram page and start a blog to help organise
my thoughts and connect with people I can relate to. Not only has this made me
feel self-acceptance, I’ve also had many people, especially other South Asian
girls messaging me with dilemmas and questions about my stoma. I know I would
have wanted to have these conversations when I was coming to terms with my own
health condition.
I’m trying to use this digital space to dispel myths
around the stoma. I write about how it doesn’t affect the way I practice
religion as the misconceptions are rife. For example, I have been asked what
breaks your ablution when preparing for the five daily prayers or whether you
can still fast during the month of Ramadan.
Naturally I have been asked about marriage and how to
tell a future spouse about an illness or stoma. Since getting married during
lockdown in 2020, I now have some experience in this area.
I’ve also been asked about sex and intimacy related
issues such as how to purify yourself after sex and if you have to remove your
stoma bag each time before washing. Answering these types of DMs always feels
important as having a stoma can make you feel like an outcast, but it’s
important to normalise talking these questions through, especially about sex.
I want people to remember that just because they may
have a health condition or are missing (part of) an organ, it doesn’t make them
less than anyone else. It’s important to surround yourself with support even if
it is in the form of an online community. It’s so easy to feel like an outcast,
but there is comfort in knowing you’re not alone and you’ll find people who
will understand exactly what you are going through.
It’s now been three years since I had further surgery
to make my stoma permanent. Life with a chronic illness may be different to
what I initially might have imagined, but what is normal anyway? Normality is
subjective, so thrive in your new normal.
Source: Gal-Dem.Com
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Five things to know about Philippine President
Duterte's daughter
By Karen Lema
October 3, 2021
MANILA, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo
Duterte's surprise retirement from politics after his term ends next year has
cleared the way for his daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio's presidential run.
Just as her father did, Duterte-Carpio, 43, trained as
a lawyer before entering politics in 2007 when she was voted in as her father's
vice mayor.
In 2010, she succeeded Duterte to become the first
female mayor of Davao, a city of over 1.6 million people 1,000 km (600 miles)
from the capital Manila, replacing her father who served as mayor for over two
decades.
Her image is as down-to-Earth as that of her father in
a country where tough plays well: She once punched a court official who
challenged her; she rides big motorcycles; and her children are nicknamed
Sharkie, Stingray and Stonefish.
Duterte-Carpio last month said she was not yet a
candidate for higher office because she and her father had agreed only one of
them would run for a national role next year.
Reflecting that statement, she filed on Saturday to
run for Davao mayor for a third time. The same day, however, her father
announced his retirement from politics and said his daughter would run for
president, with his closest loyalist, Senator Christopher "Bong" Go
as vice president. read more
In July, Duterte-Caprio launched a Facebook page with
a video saying she wanted the public to get to know her, while "run, Sara,
run" banners, posters and t-shirts have popped up across the archipelago
of 110 million people.
Duterte-Carpio told Reuters earlier this year she had
decided not to extend the political dynasty to the presidency. "I made a
chart where I listed the whys and why-nots before I decided that I am not going
to run," she said, adding she had not told her father the reason.
Political analysts said last-minute changes to the
list of presidential candidates were possible, with the deadline for
withdrawals and substitutions still more than a month a way.
They suspected father and daughter could be using the
same tactic Duterte used in 2015 when he joined the presidential race at the
eleventh-hour after repeatedly denying interest. read more
Still, former political science professor Temario
Rivera said a Duterte-Carpio-Go tandem would be "weak" because Go
does not have a political base that could help bring in votes.
Though she has never held national office, Duterte-Carpio
is by far the most popular presidential prospect, showed successive opinion
polls this year. read more
But other potential candidates cut into her lead in a
poll of 2,400 people in September by Pulse Asia, with her support dropping to
20% from 28%.
Boxer Manny Pacquiao, who has made his presidential
run official after retiring from boxing, rose one notch to fourth, with 12%
support from 8% previously.
Another potential contender is the namesake son of
late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who was just behind Duterte-Carpio in the poll.
Analysts said Marcos may even run alongside Duterte-Carpio, either as president
or as her vice president.
Two others have declared their intention to run:
Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso, a former actor, and Senator
Panfilo Lacson, an ex-police chief - supporters of both expect them to file
certificates of candidacy in coming days.
Vice President Leni Robredo, who was elected
separately from Duterte in the last vote, is also expected to announce her
decision to run for the presidency this week, her supporters have said. Like
Pacquiao and Lacson, Robredo saw an increase in support in the latest Pulse
Asia survey.
Analysts said it is crucial Duterte's successor is a
loyalist, to insulate him from potential legal action at home or by the
International Criminal Court over thousands of killings since 2016 during his
war on drugs.
For Carlos Conde, Philippines researcher for New
York-based Human Rights Watch, no one can protect Duterte better than
Duterte-Carpio.
But Duterte-Carpio showed her independence three years
ago when she united political factions to oust a presidential ally as lower
house speaker.
She has not been so outspoken on the drugs war that
has been a centrepiece of Duterte's administration, but has said prevention and
rehabilitation should be part of drug policy, and that "law enforcement
should be quick to the draw".
She has also not been as close to China as her father
- whose close ties to Beijing rattled the traditional alliance with the United
States and a domestic security establishment with close U.S. ties.
"We should be a bystander in the China versus
U.S. issue," she told Reuters. "We should collect friends outside of
the two, so that if one turns their back on us, we still have nine. And if both
forget about us, we still have eight. And if eight leave us, we should stand
alone."
Source: Reuters
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/islamophobic-london-muslim-woman/d/125497