DOCSLIB.ORG

Burqa and the Begum: Strategic Adoption of Islam in Rokeya's Later

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Burqa and the Begum: Strategic Adoption of Islam in Rokeya's Later Indian Journal of Comparative Literature and Translation Studies ISSN: 2321-8274 Burqa and the Begum: Strategic Adoption of Islam in Rokeya’s Later Writings Durdana Matin Associate Professor, Department of English, University of Chittagong, Bangladesh Page | 35 Abstract: Evidence can be found in the life and works of Begum Rokeya, a major cultural figure in the Indian subcontinent, to support the popular notion that she pioneered and strongly advocated the importance of the advancement of female education in Bengal. She encountered certain issues in her time that would be recognized by feminists today as their rallying points too. They would also perceive in her response to those issues a clear feminist edge. However, one is likely to notice a marked change in her position from intransigence in her early life to pacifism later. Both conservatives and liberals lay claim to her as their champion though the idealistic and pacifist image of her carved by the conservatives has been established as her true representation and more successfully instilled in the popular psyche ever since her death. On the other hand, those who depict her as belligerent and unapologetic have not been able to make a strong case for this image as Rokeya did not stick to this polemical position for too long. Consequently, the popular version of Rokeya as a pious, modest and God-fearing person concerned with the deplorable condition of women in her community in colonial Bengal has stuck. However, even this interpretation of Rokeya has its limitations. This paper attempts to explore the true identity of Rokeya in the light of her life and works contrary to the one constructed by the prevailing popular discourse. Volume 5, Number 1 June,2019 https://ijclts.wordpress.com/ Indian Journal of Comparative Literature and Translation Studies ISSN: 2321-8274 Begum Rokeya‟s life and works are mostly dedicated to the issues of gender inequality and the marginalisation of women. Her writings express a deep concern with finding a way out for this marginalised multitude of human beings whose miseries, she would think, resulted from the opportunities they were deprived of under the patriarchal family and Page | 36 social systems. She understood that these institutions were entrenched in a mindset nurtured for ages and thereby fortified and strengthened further by the male interpretation of religion in which women figured as spiritually vulnerable and potential sinners. Begum Rokeya‟s object was to disabuse the society of the false notion about women and expose their human potential. She knew that even women themselves were not ready for their freedom if it were given to them. Hence her intentions were basically twofold: to wean women away from superstition and enlighten their mind with reason and to persuade the forbidding patriarchs of the good that would come of female freedom. Unlike her renowned counterparts in the West, Begum Rokeya combined her intellectual and literary works with her practical experiences of working for gender equality on the ground. The fact that she was more of an activist than a writer made her literary aspiration take a back seat and give way to her social activism. In spite of that she has left behind a good number of literary works, which include two anthologies, short stories, novel, essays, letters as well as many other works not collected and published during her lifetime. After her maiden work “Pipasha (Thirst),” published in 1902, Begum Rokeya‟s campaign for women‟s rights began in 1903 with the publication of her essay “Alangkar na Badge of Slavery (Ornaments or Badge of Slavery?”—a severe attack mainly on patriarchy and religion. Later in 1904 that essay was published again with a changed title “Amader Abanati (Our Degradation)”. Rokeya argues that women‟s oppression should be understood as a direct consequence of unfair, male-centric “social injunctions” embodied in all religions, and not merely as a by-product of the misplaced conservatism of a few orthodox mullahs (Sarkar Volume 5, Number 1 June,2019 https://ijclts.wordpress.com/ Indian Journal of Comparative Literature and Translation Studies ISSN: 2321-8274 13). The ill-treatment of women in the society was prompted by the misogyny inherent in all religions which actually reflected the mindset of males during that time. Born and raised in an orthodox Muslim family of landed aristocracy, Rokeya had experienced all types of oppression from gender discrimination since her childhood and could very well discern from Page | 37 the beginning the true nature of patriarchy and its mechanism. In an essay published in 1904, when she was only twenty four, she wrote, “In order to keep us in the dark ... men have preached the scriptures as God‟s commandments. As a matter of fact, these scriptures are nothing but the rules and regulations made by men” (qtd. in Sabak). Simone De Beauvoir after almost four decades also took a view very similar to Begum Rokeya‟s; like her she also thought that men control religion and God to legitimize their domination of women. De Beauvoir said that in the three major religions of the world, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, man is the master by divine right; so rebellion against this domination was akin to that against God (621). The lines quoted above apparently reflect Rokeya‟s strong desire to do away with religion which, in her opinion, serves only patriarchy; as a matter of fact they were not so much against religion as against patriarchy, showing patriarchy‟s clever manipulation of God and organized religion against women. Rokeya identified religion as a major tool of patriarchy against women‟s progress when she wrote in “Amader Abanati (Our Degradation),” “Where the bond of religion is slack ... women are in a state as advanced as men.... I have to say that ultimately „religion‟ has strengthened the bonds of our enslavement…” (Quadir 11-12). She implied that the influence of religion was much stronger in the Indian subcontinent due to the lack of education among its populace. However, at the time of writing those lines, Rokeya did not know that they would create so much repercussion in the society. Not only did she implicate all religions in the oppression of women, but she also stripped the Holy Scriptures off their divine origin by saying that they were written by men. She also argued that had they been written by female sages, the world would have seen Volume 5, Number 1 June,2019 https://ijclts.wordpress.com/ Indian Journal of Comparative Literature and Translation Studies ISSN: 2321-8274 different versions of those scriptures (qtd. in Hasan 14). The fact that people of the Indian subcontinent were more theocentric than that of Europe and America made Rokeya‟s frontal attack on religion look more precarious. Now we know in hindsight that the adverse reaction of the Hindu and Muslim readers at the anti-religious lines was quite inevitable. As Rokeya Page | 38 did not expect such strong disapproval and unfavorable criticism, she became somewhat defensive. The essay “Alangkar na Badge of Slavery? (Ornament or Badge of Slavery?)” was reprinted in Motichur, the first anthology of her works the following year with its title changed from “Amader Abanati (Our Degradation)” to “Streejatir Abanati (The Degradation of Women)” and with the provocative paragraphs removed. However, in spite of the revision, there remained residues here and there, which showed that Rokeya‟s view on religion did not really change. For example, in the revised version there are still lines like, “What we learn from our own experiences and those of others is the real religious teaching. Sometimes, lessons from the simple experiences of life are superior to bookish knowledge” (11). In the texts following her famous or infamous essay indicting religion, she would continue to focus on the issues of gender discrimination and women‟s rights with a conscious effort to overlook the complicity of religion in them. Having apprehended the danger of meddling with religion in a theocentric country like India, she chose a middle ground discarding the old one. So we can divide Begum Rokeya‟s life into two phases: in the first one, she was naively bold and forthright, whereas in the second one, she became calculative and mature, could hide under an artificially constructed façade. In her writings of the latter phase she neither lost any of her incendiaries nor the sight of her destination, only the path to it had gone askew. She felt the need to create a new identity for herself in order to fight the old values from within the system. It is because of the difference between the two phases, Rokeya appears self- contradictory and somewhat ambivalent to her readers. In the latter phase her language Volume 5, Number 1 June,2019 https://ijclts.wordpress.com/ Indian Journal of Comparative Literature and Translation Studies ISSN: 2321-8274 became more layered and codified; however only in her fictions did she take the freedom to breathe somewhat more freely. In “Streejatir Abanati (Degradation of Women),” the modified version of her iconoclastic essay, “Amader Abanati (Our Degradation),” she criticized women‟s agency in Page | 39 strengthening the reign of patriarchy and worsening their own condition. Rokeya understood that women‟s dependence on men was a threat to their individuality. They do not engage in any meaningful activity and spend their time doing trifles. So she showed that along with men, women, too, were responsible for their own subordination to a great extent. Rokeya said, “Slowly, even our minds have become enslaved. Being serfs for centuries, we have now become used to our serfdom” (7). Having been subjugated by men for long, women became habituated to this and gradually accepted it as a natural situation.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • In the Name of Krishna: the Cultural Landscape of a North Indian Pilgrimage Town
    In the Name of Krishna: The Cultural Landscape of a North Indian Pilgrimage Town A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY Sugata Ray IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Frederick M. Asher, Advisor April 2012 © Sugata Ray 2012 Acknowledgements They say writing a dissertation is a lonely and arduous task. But, I am fortunate to have found friends, colleagues, and mentors who have inspired me to make this laborious task far from arduous. It was Frederick M. Asher, my advisor, who inspired me to turn to places where art historians do not usually venture. The temple city of Khajuraho is not just the exquisite 11th-century temples at the site. Rather, the 11th-century temples are part of a larger visuality that extends to contemporary civic monuments in the city center, Rick suggested in the first class that I took with him. I learnt to move across time and space. To understand modern Vrindavan, one would have to look at its Mughal past; to understand temple architecture, one would have to look for rebellions in the colonial archive. Catherine B. Asher gave me the gift of the Mughal world – a world that I only barely knew before I met her. Today, I speak of the Islamicate world of colonial Vrindavan. Cathy walked me through Mughal mosques, tombs, and gardens on many cold wintry days in Minneapolis and on a hot summer day in Sasaram, Bihar. The Islamicate Krishna in my dissertation thus came into being.
    [Show full text]
  • Human Rights of Women Wearing the Veil in Western Europe
    Human Rights of Women Wearing the Veil in Western Europe Research Paper I. Introduction The present paper analyses legislation, policies, and case-law surrounding religious attire in a number of countries in Western Europe and how they affect the human rights of women and girls who wear the veil in Western Europe. It also more broadly analyses discrimination and violence experienced by women wearing the veil in Europe learning from their own voice. Throughout the paper, the terminology ‘veil’ is used to refer to a variety of religious attire worn mostly, but not exclusively, by Muslim women. There are different types of clothing that cover the body. This research is focused on manifestations of veils that are the subject of regulation in several Western European Countries. They include the hijab (a piece of clothing that covers the head and neck, but not the face), niqab (a piece of clothing that covers the face, where only the eyes are visible), burqa (a piece of clothing that covers both the face and eyes), jilbab (a loose piece of clothing that covers the body from head to toe), or abaya, kaftan, kebaya (a loose, often black, full body cover overcoat). The head and body covers are often combined. In several countries, some of these clothing are based on traditional costumes rather than religion and are often worn by rural communities in the countries of origins. The paper also uses the terminology ‘full-face veil’ or ‘face-covering veil’ to refer to both niqab and burqa. Furthermore, it refers to burkini, a swimsuit that covers the body from head to ankles, completed by a dress.
    [Show full text]
  • The Woman for Women in Bengal
    The Criterion www.the-criterion.com An International Journal in English ISSN 0976-8165 Vol. III. Issue. IV 1 December 2012 The Criterion www.the-criterion.com An International Journal in English ISSN 0976-8165 Rokeya’s Reverse Thoughts: Sketch of Male Characters in Sultana’s Dream Md. Mohoshin Reza Assistant Professor, Department of English Bangladesh University of Business and Technology (BUBT) Rupnagar, Mirpur 2, Dhaka, Bangladesh Abstract: Characters of the male folk in Rokeya’s Sultana’s Dream impart images of men with no human characteristics and tendencies. They only physically resemble as humans but are indeed idle, unpunctual, arrogant, selfish, dominating and fanatic to customs and convention and most of all, anti woman in attitude. They are, egocentric, dominating, and scornful to women. But things turn reverse and the entire male folk come to be terribly avenged in the story of Sultana’s Dream. Finally, they come to wear the shackles of Purdah and remain confined to Murdana (Seclusion) as the same way as they did to women. 1 Introduction Rokeya (1887-1947 A.D) is considered to be the visionary emancipator of women in Bengal (presently Bangladesh). The core inspiration of her literary works rests in her realization of the needs of taking measures against the suppression, oppression and domination of men over the women race for centuries in Bengal (Alam, 1992: 55). Her mission of sowing the seeds of self strength in the mind of Bengal’s women has always been underlying in her literary works. Sultana’s Dream is one of her distinguished literary pieces in English.
    [Show full text]
  • Human Development, Disparity and Vulnerability: Women in South Asia
    2016 UNDP Human Development Report BACKGROUND PAPER Human development, disparity and vulnerability: women in South Asia By Ayesha Banu HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, DISPARITY AND VULNERABILITY: WOMEN IN SOUTH ASIA Ayesha Banu is Associate Professor, Department of Women and Gender Studies at the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh. She received her PhD from Dhaka University in 2015 and completed her first master’s degree in sociology at Dhaka University in 1989. She was awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship and pursued her second master’s in Gender and Development at the Institute of Development Studies from 1993 to 1994. Her areas of interest are women’s movements, feminist theory, poverty, and issues related to gender and development. The author acknowledges the support of Iffat Rumman and Sadiatun Rasna, master’s students of the Department of Women and Gender Studies, in preparing this paper. ABSTRACT This paper provides a literature review of intrahousehold gender disparities in South Asia. The paper draws on quantitative and qualitative research focusing on three countries—Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka—as well as Pakistan to a lesser extent. The paper captures the disparities within households between men and women as well as boys and girls. It also examines the short- and long-term impacts of these disparities on intragenerational and intergenerational inequalities, and differences of capabilities and opportunities among genders. The main areas of exploration are inequalities in health, education and work. The paper concludes with a selection of policy recommendations, actions and lessons learned from the region that can help close gender gaps based on household inequalities. 2016 Human Development Report 2 BACKGROUND PAPER HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, DISPARITY AND VULNERABILITY: WOMEN IN SOUTH ASIA Introduction: incredible progress yet persisting inequalities Today’s world has experienced incredible strides forward in combating hunger, ensuring good health, providing access to drinking water and sanitation, offering education, and establishing human rights and dignity.
    [Show full text]
  • Outline of Annemarie Schimmel's Deciphering the Signs of God: A
    Outline of Annemarie Schimmel’s Deciphering the Signs of God: A Phenomenological Approach to Islam 1 I Sacred Aspects of Nature and Culture 2 Inanimate Nature 2 Stones and rocks 3 Gems 4 Mountains 5 Earth and dust 6 Water 6 Springs and fountains 7 Water of life 7 Ocean, waves and foam 8 Rain 9 Deluge (flood) 9 Rivers 10 Fire 10 Burning Bush on Mount Sinai 11 Candles 11 Lightning and thunder 11 Wind 12 Light 13 Sun 14 Moon 15 Stars 16 Planets 16 Sky 16 Colours 17 Plants and Animals 17 Trees 20 Gardens 20 Plants and flowers 20 Wild rue, roses (gul), violets, tulips 21 Animals 21 Animal skin 22 Pigs and pork 22 Gnats 22 Bees 22 Ants 23 Spiders 23 Moths 23 Cows 23 Lions 24 Cats 24 Dogs 24 Camels 24 Donkeys 25 Horses 25 Buraq (from the Mi’raj) 25 Serpents, snakes and dragons 26 Birds 26 Soul birds 26 Nightingales (bulbul) 26 Falcons 26 Doves 26 Storks 27 Roosters 27 Peacocks 27 Parrots 27 Swans and ganders 27 Hoopoe (hudhud) 28 Crows and ravens 28 Mythical birds (Huma, ‘Anqa, Simurgh) 28 Kindness to animals 28 Eschatological peace (the lion and the lamb) 29 Man-made Objects 29 Swords, weapons and armour 30 Rods and wands 30 Flags and banners 31 Mirrors 33 Idols 33 Coins 33 Paintings and pictures 35 Woven fabrics (tomb-covers) 36 Garments, clothes 37 Ihram (pilgrimage dress) 37 Hijab, Burqa (veil) 38 Headgear (taj, turbans) 39 Garments, robes and hems as a metaphor 41 Notes 47 II Sacred Space and Time 48 Sacred Space 48 Caves 49 Houses 50 Thresholds 50 Doors and gates (bab) 51 High and low seats (throne vs.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Introduction
    210 Notes Notes 1Introduction 1 See Taj I. Hashmi, ‘Islam in Bangladesh Politics’, in H. Mutalib and T.I. Hashmi (eds), Islam, Muslims and the Modern State, pp. 100–34. 2The Government of Bangladesh, The Constitution of the People’s Repub- lic of Bangladesh, Section 28 (1 & 2), Government Printing Press, Dhaka, 1990, p. 19. 3See Coordinating Council for Human Rights in Bangladesh, (CCHRB) Bangladesh: State of Human Rights, 1992, CCHRB, Dhaka; Rabia Bhuiyan, Aspects of Violence Against Women, Institute of Democratic Rights, Dhaka, 1991; US Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Prac- tices for 1992, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 1993; Rushdie Begum et al., Nari Nirjatan: Sangya O Bishleshon (Bengali), Narigrantha Prabartana, Dhaka, 1992, passim. 4 CCHRB Report, 1993, p. 69. 5 Immigration and Refugee Board (Canada), Report, ‘Women in Bangla- desh’, Human Rights Briefs, Ottawa, 1993, pp. 8–9. 6Ibid, pp. 9–10. 7 The Daily Star, 18 January 1998. 8Rabia Bhuiyan, Aspects of Violence, pp. 14–15. 9 Immigration and Refugee Board Report, ‘Women in Bangladesh’, p. 20. 10 Taj Hashmi, ‘Islam in Bangladesh Politics’, p. 117. 11 Immigration and Refugee Board Report, ‘Women in Bangladesh’, p. 6. 12 Tazeen Mahnaz Murshid, ‘Women, Islam, and the State: Subordination and Resistance’, paper presented at the Bengal Studies Conference (28–30 April 1995), Chicago, pp. 1–2. 13 Ibid, pp. 4–5. 14 U.A.B. Razia Akter Banu, ‘Jamaat-i-Islami in Bangladesh: Challenges and Prospects’, in Hussin Mutalib and Taj Hashmi (eds), Islam, Muslim and the Modern State, pp. 86–93. 15 Lynne Brydon and Sylvia Chant, Women in the Third World: Gender Issues in Rural and Urban Areas, p.
    [Show full text]
  • Toward a Definitive Grammar of Bengali - a Practical Study and Critique of Research on Selected Grammatical Structures
    TOWARD A DEFINITIVE GRAMMAR OF BENGALI - A PRACTICAL STUDY AND CRITIQUE OF RESEARCH ON SELECTED GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURES HANNE-RUTH THOMPSON Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD SOUTH ASIA DEPARTMENT SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL AND AFRICAN STUDIES LONDON O c t o b e r ZOO Laf ProQuest Number: 10672939 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10672939 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 ABSTRACT This thesis is a contribution to a deeper understanding of selected Bengali grammatical structures as far as their syntactic and semantic properties are concerned. It questions traditional interpretations and takes a practical approach in the detailed investigation of actual language use. My methodology is based on the belief that clarity and inquisitiveness should take precedence over alliance to particular grammar theories and that there is still much to discover about the way the Bengali language works. Chapter 1 This chapter on non-finite verb forms discusses the occurrences and functions of Bengali non-finite verb forms and concentrates particularly on the overlap of infinitives and verbal nouns, the distinguishing features between infinitives and present participles, the semantic properties of verbal adjectives and the syntactic restrictions of perfective participles.
    [Show full text]
  • 48 Ruitenberg.Pm7
    292 How to Do Things with Headscarves How to Do Things with Headscarves: A Discursive and Meta-Discursive Analysis1 Claudia W. Ruitenberg University of British Columbia I thank Sharon Todd for the opportunity to discuss the important topic of sartorial censorship and, more specifically, the censorship of the wearing of khimars, jilbabs, niqabs, chadors, and burqas by Muslim girls and women in educational contexts. I generally agree with Todd’s arguments that gender is not merely an additional feature, but integral to the debate over religious symbols in the public sphere, and that this debate ought to be approached from an understanding of culture as gendered, ambiguous, unstable, and multiple. The focus of my response, therefore, will be the metadiscourse in which Todd’s paper participates: the discourse about the sartorial discourse of Muslim girls and women in educational contexts. Todd considers gender a cultural construct and positions herself in discursive theories of gender put forward by theorists such as Judith Butler. I will stay within that discursive theoretical perspective, and consider the wearing of head, face, and body covers such as the khimar, niqab, and burqa as discursive acts. Where the wearing of clothing and symbols on the body is perhaps not a language in the narrow sense, it certainly is discourse, where discourse is understood as speech, writing, and other semiotic practices that do not merely represent the world, but also produce effects in the world. A law that makes wearing a khimar, burqa, or other form of head, face, or body cover illegal in the context of public schools is thus a law that makes certain discursive acts illegal in the context of public schools: it is a form of censorship in educational contexts.
    [Show full text]
  • Behind the Veil:An Analytical Study of Political Domination of Mughal Women Dr
    11 Behind The Veil:An Analytical study of political Domination of Mughal women Dr. Rukhsana Iftikhar * Abstract In fifteen and sixteen centuries Indian women were usually banished from public or political activity due to the patriarchal structure of Indian society. But it was evident through non government arenas that women managed the state affairs like male sovereigns. This paper explores the construction of bourgeois ideology as an alternate voice with in patriarchy, the inscription of subaltern female body as a metonymic text of conspiracy and treachery. The narratives suggested the complicity between public and private subaltern conduct and inclination – the only difference in the case of harem or Zannaha, being a great degree of oppression and feminine self –censure. The gradual discarding of the veil (in the case of Razia Sultana and Nur Jahan in Middle Ages it was equivalents to a great achievement in harem of Eastern society). Although a little part, a pinch of salt in flour but this political interest of Mughal women indicates the start of destroying the patriarchy imposed distinction of public and private upon which western proto feminism constructed itself. Mughal rule in India had blessed with many brilliant and important aspects that still are shining in the history. They left great personalities that strengthen the history of Hindustan as compare to the histories of other nations. In these great personalities there is a class who indirectly or sometime directly influenced the Mughal politics. This class is related to the Mughal Harem. The ladies of Royalty enjoyed an exalted position in the Mughal court and politics.
    [Show full text]
  • The Healthcare Provider's Guide to Islamic Religious Practices
    The Healthcare Provider’s Guide to Islamic Religious Practices About CAIR The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is the largest American Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims. CAIR-California is the organization’s largest and oldest chapter, with offices in the Greater Los Angeles Area, the Sacramento Valley, San Diego, and the San Francisco Bay Area. According to demographers, Islam is the world’s second largest faith, with more than 1.6 billion adherents worldwide. It is the fastest-growing religion in the U.S., with one of the most diverse and dynamic communities, representing a variety of ethnic backgrounds, languages, and nationalities. Muslims are adding a new factor in the increasingly diverse character of patients in the health care system. The information in this booklet is designed to assist health care providers in developing policies and procedures aimed at the delivery of culturally competent patient care and to serve as a guide for the accommodation of the sincerely-held religious beliefs of some Muslim patients. It is intended as a general outline of religious practices and beliefs; individual applications of these observances may vary. Disclaimer: The materials contained herein are not intended to, and do not constitute legal advice. Readers should not act on the information provided without seeking professional legal counsel. Neither transmission nor receipt of these materials creates an attorney- client relationship between the author and the receiver. The information contained in this booklet is designed to educate healthcare providers about the sincerely-held and/or religiously mandated practices/beliefs of Muslim patients, which will assist providers in delivering culturally competent and effective patient care.
    [Show full text]
  • The Healthcare Provider's Guide to Islamic Religious Practices
    The Healthcare Provider’s Guide to Islamic Religious Practices According to demographers, Islam is the world’s second largest faith, with more than 1.6 billion adherents worldwide. It is the fastest-growing religion in the U.S., with one of the most diverse and dynamic communities, representing a variety of ethnic backgrounds, languages, and nationalities. Muslims are adding a new factor in the increasingly diverse character of patients in the health care system. The information in this booklet is designed to assist health care providers in developing policies and procedures aimed at the delivery of culturally competent patient care and to serve as guide for the accommodation of religiously mandated practices of Muslim patients. It is intended as a general outline of religious practices and beliefs; individual applications of these observances may vary. 1 Glossary of Muslim Terms Adhan (ad-HAN): Call to prayer Allah (al-AH): Arabic word for God Eid (EED): A major religious holiday Halal (Hah-LAAL): Permissible by Islamic law Hijab (Hee-JAAB): Clothing Muslim women wear in public; generally loose fitting and includes a head covering Imam (ee-MAAM): Religious leader of a Muslim community Janazah (jeh-NAA-sah): Funeral Jum’ah (JOO-mah): Weekly congregational prayer on Fridays Kufi (KOO-fee): cap worn by some Muslim men Qur’an (Qur-AAN): Islam’s revealed scripture, sometimes spelled Koran Ramadan (RAHM-a-daan): The month of fasting; period marked by abstaining from consumption of food and drink from sunup to sunset and and by increased prayer and charity Tayammum (tey-UHM-mum): ritual cleansing before prayer that does not require water Wudu (WOO-doo): ritual ablution or washing before daily prayer Muslim View of Illness and Treatment Muslims consider illness, like other life events, as a test from God, and often respond with patience and prayers.
    [Show full text]
  • The Burqa Ban in France and Its Potential Implications on Islamic Terrorism
    Walden University ScholarWorks Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection 2015 The urB qa Ban in France and Its Potential Implications on Islamic Terrorism Ifeanyi Valentine Madu Walden University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations Part of the Public Administration Commons, and the Public Policy Commons This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection at ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Walden University College of Social and Behavioral Sciences This is to certify that the doctoral dissertation by Ifeanyi Madu has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made. Review Committee Dr. Lori Demeter, Committee Chairperson, Public Policy and Administration Faculty Dr. Jason Lum, Committee Member, Public Policy and Administration Faculty Dr. Anthony Fleming, University Reviewer, Public Policy and Administration Faculty Chief Academic Officer Eric Riedel, Ph.D. Walden University 2015 Abstract The Burqa Ban in France and Its Potential Implications on Islamic Terrorism by Ifeanyi V. Madu MA, Morgan State University, 2008 BA, Abia State University, 1996 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Public Policy and Administration Walden University June 2015 Abstract Islamic terrorism has become a global problem which has resulted in human, social, political, and economic costs. Many Islamic terrorist organizations have focused their attacks on the West and its interests.
    [Show full text]