Investigations carried out by Muslim News Research Team have revealed that the continuous attack of the Hijab by a militant section of Nigerian Christians doesn’t have legal, moral or scriptural backings.
Findings revealed that it’s all borne out of enmity, hatred and age long unhealthy animosity against Muslims and Islam, the world’s fastest growing religion.
Nigerian Christians see the presence of Muslim students in Hijab as a threat to their expansionist ambitions with special reference to an overwhelming majority Muslim Kwara state, where despite Muslims being the majority of the students in the 10 affected schools, the Christian minorities declared a crusade orchestrated to deny the Muslim pupils their fundamental rights.
While in other States, such as Lagos, Oyo and Ogun States, where the rights of the Muslim girls have been violated, the overzealous Christian administrators hypocritically regard the use of Hijab as a plot by the Muslims to continue a phantom Islamization agenda, screaming “we don’t want Hijab in our schools.”
They, however, ignore the provision of section 38 of the 1999 constitution (amended), as well as the Appeal Court verdicts in favour of the right to use the Hijab, going after innocent children, who have committed no offence other than trying to obey their Creator, Allah, who has ordered them to wear the Hijab”, the report of Muslim News indicated.
‘Hijab is not the problem’
Apart from the fact that the former colonialist, Britain, who brought Christianity to Nigeria, have embraced the Hijab, there is no single verse in all the different versions of the Bible, the Christian Holy Book, where it’s forbidden to adorn the Hijab, long or short.
Rather, copious verses in the old testament, such as Genesis 24:65, and new testament, 1st Corinthians 11:5-6 supported women to use not only the Hijab (headcover), but endorse the use of Niqob, meaning ‘veil’.
For instance, 1st Corinthians 11:6, New International version, says; “For if a woman does not cover her head, she might as well have her hair cut off; but if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should cover her head.”
Further findings indicated that, while many Christians, especially the new generation churches have abandoned the scriptural backings for modernity, misinterpreting the Bible whimsically, some Christians still adorn the Hijab.
The use of Hijab, for instance, is a common practice among Catholics, the largest Christian denomination in the world, with approximately 1.3 billion members. Many Catholic women, young and old, including their nuns still adorn in different kinds of Hijab (headcovers), emulating Holy Mary, the mother of Jesus, who also appeared in Hijab throughout her life.
The Islamic views…
Our research team also raised concerns over the growing trend in the Arabian and Middle East countries where some Muslim women are also going secular, abandoning their Hijab, a decision that has also been used as evidence by the anti-Hijab tribe in several countries including Nigeria.
A Twitter user @Medhat wrote, with respect to the UK Hijab in court, “What a crazy world, while women in Saudi Arabia and some other middle eastern countries are leaving hijab behind, in the UK, it’s becoming trendy! Hijab is used for political stance not for religion.”
However, Muslim News findings revealed that Hijab, which is now seen as a choice for any willing user, has been made compulsory for “the wives of the Prophet (SAW), his daughters and ALL THE BELIEVING WOMEN” as established in Quran 24:30 and 33:59.
In his book, Hijab and the Nigerian Press, Muslim News Publisher, Rasheed Abubakar, noted that the Hijab is compulsory for Muslim ladies who have attained maturity or better still, who have started experiencing their menstrual cycles which may start at age 10 and beyond.
According to him, “Evidently, going by this Shari’ah h ruling, many primary and secondary school students who are being harassed by the overzealous Christian teachers are within this age category.
“Besides, it is pertinent for young Muslims ladies in this age of complete moral degeneration and almost total collapse of morality, to wear the Hijab without discrimination. Islam has charged parents to teach their children the fundamentals of their Deen (religion) in their formative years.
“Whenever a girl is given birth to in this world, let her be dressed with the Hijab. When she is to follow her parents out, let it be her culture. These are some of the reasons Muslim students should be allowed to wear the Hijab in schools, both public and private, in accordance with their faith and the Nigerian constitutional provisions.”