Shabina Begum trial: Begum case defeat highlights a game of power<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Now that a Muslim high school student has lost her case to wear a jilbab instead of the Muslim uniform derived from consensus, many are asking what was really behind it.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2006\/03\/begum_case_defeat_highlights_a_game_of_power\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Shabina Begum trial: Begum case defeat highlights a game of power\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Now that a Muslim high school student has lost her case to wear a jilbab instead of the Muslim uniform derived from consensus, many are asking what was really behind it.\" \/>\n<meta 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Purple ping pong<\/div>\n

<\/p><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

For Shabina Begum, a now 17-year old from Luton, a court defeat<\/a> of her case this week was the end of a long, troubled journey. The Law Lords, Britain\u2019s equivalent of the US Supreme Court, rejected an earlier ruling<\/a> that allowed Begum to wear the full length jilbab<\/i> dress in contradiction of her secondary school, Denbigh High School in Luton, England, which formulated a salwar kameez<\/i> uniform for its Muslim students (80% of all students there) after meeting with Muslim community leaders. When Begum challenged the uniform at age 14, many suspected a hidden hand \u2013 the involvement of Hizb-ut-Tahrir<\/a>, the controversial Muslim group that Prime Minister Tony Blair sought to ban after last years bombings in London, though that group was not implicated in the act and denied coaching Begum. In its ruling, the Law Lords found the school fully justified in its policy. \u201cIt had taken immense pains to devise a uniform policy which respected Muslim beliefs but did so in an inclusive, unthreatening and uncompetitive way,\u201d said Lord Bingham. \u201cIt would be irresponsible for any court to overrule their judgement.\u201d News of the decision prompted some misleading headlines<\/a>, such as that of Australia\u2019s Age newspaper (\u201cUK girl loses right to wear Muslim garb,\u201d which is news, of course, to the hundreds of girls at Denbigh who have worn Muslim garb for years). Many others, even those sympathetic to Muslim concerns, derived that the case was about power<\/a> more than rights and represented a \u201c hijack<\/a>\u201d by more conservative elements of British Muslim society. The Law Lords noted that Begum\u2019s rights to freedom of religion were not infringed because she could have attended neighbouring schools that did allow the full jilbab. Begum\u2019s statement after the ruling reflected her weariness \u2013 and acceptance \u2013 of the court. \u201cObviously I am saddened and disappointed about this, but I am quite glad it is all over and I can move on now,\u201d said Begum. \u201cEven though I lost, I have made a stand. Many women will not speak up about what they want.\u201d Reaction from Muslim groups was notable for what could be read between the lines. \u201cThere are lots of schools across the country which allow the jilbab and this issue should have been resolved at a local level,\u201d said Tahir Alam, of the Muslim Council of Britain, reflecting a disappointment with the decision (though the MCB approved of the dress chosen by Denbigh before the Begum case). \u201cIt\u2019s unfortunate that it\u2019s gone through the courts.\u201d However, the failure of British Muslims to resolve the issue amongst themselves was lost upon the Islamic Human Rights Commission. \u201cMany Muslim scholars have ruled that the wearing of the jilbaab is compulsory,\u201d said<\/a> the UK-based group. \u201cAdditionally, the enforcement of dress that is specific to different cultures, in this case the shalwar kameez, also violates the rights of those who are not brought up within cultures that advocate that type of dress.\u201d The very fact that a Muslim response to the issue states that \u201cjilbaab is compulsory\u201d while stressing at the same time that enforcement of dress violates rights illustrates both the variations in Muslim opinion and the desire to promote differing versions of them \u2013 often without consensus. That a British school and court system might seek consensus within Muslim communities \u2013 successfully for the 99% of female Muslims at Denbigh \u2013 and enforce them through the courts should be a lesson for those of us who refuse to cooperate with each other.<\/p>\n

<\/i><\/p>\n

Zahed Amanullah is associate editor of altmuslim.com. He is based in London, England.\n<\/p>\n

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