Have you heard of Baba Ali and Hijabman? They’re not a Muslim comic book duo.
If you’re an active Muslim youth, it wouldn’t surprise me if you had heard of them. For my non-Muslim readers, Baba Ali has become a YouTube phenomenon with his series The Reminder, a series of webcasts that deal with topics relevant to young Muslims. It has been translated into several languages, has spawned merchandise, and become a huge YouTube hit. Hijabman has a website “to entertain and educate the Believing and curious community” and a line of humorous t-shirts and other merchandise that speak to the Muslim experience in the west.
These men are interesting. They galvanize Muslim youth, both men and women, both those born into the faith and those who have converted. I’m not going to deconstruct their entire messages here, because they are productive and create new media messages regularly. Besides, this blog is about Muslim women.
And so that’s what I’m going to talk about. How these men talk about or to Muslim women. Looking through the archives from both parties, I see only one subject that deals specifically with Muslim women: hejab.
Here we go, the collective eye-rolling, the “Hey, there’s a dead horse! Let’s go beat it!” jokes. But Muslim women are half of the Muslim world, and so we need to take notice of what’s being said about (or to) us. Even if we’re all sick of the subject.
Baba Ali’s wildly popular webcast about hejab is interesting. He brings up excellent points
about how the west equates nuns and the Virgin Mary with piety, but hejabis with oppression. And he’s saying that a bihejabi is no better or worse than a hejabi, since Allah (swt) is the only one who knows why a woman wears it, and Allah is the only one to judge? Hey, sign me up! I like this guy’s message.
But, oh, hey, what? After he implies that only Allah’s judgment counts, he proceeds to put on his judgment gloves by saying that some “attempts at hijab are not hijab” and then goes through a list of “types” of “hejab” that “aren’t” hejab.
Uh…..excuse me? I know his intentions are good, but why is a man telling a woman how to wear hejab properly? Or telling her how to wear it at all? He says in his final post from season 1 that “There is no compulsion in Islam,” and this is stated in the Holy Qur’an. He also states in his webcast entitled “The Haram Police” that people who have no qualifications often give judgments on what is “haram” shouldn’t be doing so. But what are his qualifications? Why does he feel the need to tell women what to do with their clothes?
He states in an interview with AltMuslim.com that he is not a scholar and echoes this in the “The Haram Police.” So why is he preaching to (or “reminding”) others about what is right or wrong? Especially about a subject he cannot know about personally (i.e., hejab).
Now we turn to Hijabman. Full disclosure: I am a fan. But I’ll tell you why: because he doesn’t preach, or remind, or anything. He just writes about his experiences, his views on Islam, and does not make judgments about others or the way they practice (or d
on’t practice) Islam.
And the only mention of hejab on his website? It’s by a woman. That’s right: Hijabman lets his co-blogger, KufiGirl, do the talking when it comes to an issue that only a woman can really know about.
Final thought: why aren’t there any women doing this great and inspiring work? Baba Ali just got himself a webcam and hit “Record.” Hijabman just started himself up a blog. It’s easy to start a ‘zine, or a blog, or your own series of webcasts. Sisters, all you need is your faith, intent to do good for your community, and a medium; that’s all I have, and that’s why I’m here.
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Zeynab. May I repost this to my blog?I’m actually starting a videoblog. I also have some issues with baba Ali.. and his ‘proper’ hijab notion etc.I’ll also be discussing more women’s issues… though ive shyed away from it well.. because of that.. I am a man, and in many ways I don’t feel like I have much of a say. Though I want to make it clear that i am an ally.peace Zeynab.much loveHMhij
Well-written Zeynab! I’ve seen baba ali’s work and I must say I was a little taken aback when he went through that list of “deemed inappropriate hijab” – It is one thing for women to criticise other women about dress-code (if they’ve been through the experience) but a total separate issue when men go doing it!
Hi. I really like you’re blog, but I’m a bit unfamiliar with some of the terms used in this post. (I’m not Muslim, and teh internets failed me when I tried a wiki/google search.) So if you don’t mind, could you explain what “bihejabi” means? Also, is “hejab” the same as “hijab”? Thank you!
Bonasi:Sorry! I tend to get jargonish. Bihejabi is a term meaning one without hejab, so it’s a woman who doesn’t wear hejab, the way a hejabi is a woman who wears hejab. Also, hejab is just a different spelling of hijab. Hijab is more common, but hejab fits more with my pronounciation of the word. I hope that helps! Thanks for asking.
Hijabman rocks! I’ve seen his posts on different forums, but didn’t realize he had a blog. I’ll add him to my blog roll! http://proggiemuslima.wordpress.com
Asalamu’Alaikum,Great post, I really appreciate the encouragement towards women out there in your last paragraphs to take up the initiative. However, I believe Brother Ali is being judged unfairly. Why is it okay for a woman to correct another woman on the issue of hijab but not a brother? Allah and his Prophet, peace be upon him, did not tell us to only protect the opposite gender from what may harm them in the hereafter. I don’t think as women we should take Brother Ali’s opinions as attacks but he is merely acting on the Hadith which pertains to changing munkarAbu Sa”id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) had said: “Whoever amongst you sees anything objectionable, let him change it with his hand, if he is not able, then with his tounge, and if he is not even able to do so, then with his heart, and the latter is the weakest form of faith.” [Muslim]Yes he may not know the struggles each woman goes through and I am aware it is difficult because I have gone through it myself. However should we not always think best of our Muslim Brothers and Sisters? Insha Allah his intentions are by no means to attack us but to advise us and protect his sisters for the sake of Allah.Reading this post and the comments made me reflect on one of my last posts, please give it a read. Jazaki Allah
Thank you for your post, Homayra, and I actually did read that post you referred to just last night!Personally, I don’t think we are responsible for getting each other into heaven. I know a lot of women who choose not to wear hejab (or to wear it their own way) after careful deliberation and study; giving them “advice” on their hejab implies that their advisor believes that the woman’s choice was uninformed and made out of ignorance. It’s hard not to get offended if you’ve figured something out for yourself and believe that you are right with Allah after years of thought and study, and then someone comes along and judges your careful choice.I see what you’re saying, but I don’t think it’s for us to judge each others’ choices, that’s for Allah to decide. If a sister asks your opinion, yes, by all means, give her your opinion. But personally, I think we’re all responsible for our own choices. I might repost something similar to this on your blog, if you don’t mind.
Asalamu’Alikum sis,I don’t mind at all, I replied to it in my comments section. I haven’t posted it here as it is a bit on the longer side and I don’t want to be spamming your comment section. Appreciate your reply, Jazki Allah!
Salaam, Good post!(I found your blog from a comment from Religion Writer’s blog).Bushra
I do think that Muslim women should be the subject and object of their own discourse. And that is happening more and more alhamdulilah. But I think it’s problematic when a man gets chastised for talking about hijab. He was just reminding and he did talk about men’s dress at the end of the video. InshaAllah his intentions are pure and we all know he doesn’t see himself as a scholar. A reminder is a reminder, no matter who reminds.