Salam ‘alaikum,
So I got the following message in my inbox. I felt insulted by the whole thing so I decided to write a rebuttal (follows).

—Hijabii vs bikini—
By Dr. Henry Makow..

On my wall, I have a picture of a Muslim woman shrouded in a Hijab.

Beside it is a picture of an American beauty contestant, wearing nothing but a bikini.

One woman is totally hidden from the public; the other is totally exposed. These two extremes say a great deal about the clash of so-called “civilizations.”

The role of woman is at the heart of any culture. Apart from stealing Arab oil, the impending war in the Middle East is about stripping Arabs of their religion and culture, exchanging the hijab for a bikini.
For me, the hijab represents a woman’s consecration to her husband and family. Only they see her.

It affirms the privacy, exclusivity and importance of the domestic sphere.

The Muslim woman’s focus is her home, the “nest” where her children are born and reared. She is the “home” maker, the taproot that sustains the spiritual life of the family, nurturing and training her children, providing refuge and support to her husband.

In contrast, the bikinied American beauty queen struts practically naked in front of millions on TV. A feminist, she belongs to herself. In practice, paradoxically, she is public property. She belongs to no one and everyone. She shops her body to the highest bidder. She is auctioning herself all of the time.

In America, the cultural measure of a woman’s value is her sex appeal. (As this asset depreciates quickly, she is neurotically obsessed with appearance and plagued by weight problems.)

As an adolescent, her role model is Britney Spears, a singer whose act approximates a strip tease. From Britney, she learns that she will be loved only if she gives sex. Thus, she learns to “hook up” rather than to demand patient courtship and true love. As a result, dozens of males know her before her husband does. She loses her innocence, which is a part of her charm. She becomes hardened and calculating. Unable to love, she is unfit to receive her husband’s seed.

The feminine personality is founded on the emotional relationship between mother and baby. It is based on nurturing and self-sacrifice. Masculine nature is founded on the relationship between hunter and prey. It is based on aggression and reason.

Feminism teaches woman that feminine nature has resulted in “oppression” and that she should convert to male behavior instead. The result: a confused and aggressive woman with a large chip on her shoulder, unfit to become a wife or mother.

This, of course, is the goal of the social engineers at the NWO: undermine sexual identity and destroy the family, create social and personal dysfunction, and reduce population.
(See http://www.inoohr.org/worldpopulationcontrolpromote.htm) In the “brave new world,” women are not supposed to be nest makers, or progenitors of the race. They are meant to be neutered autonomous creatures that indulge in sex for physical pleasure, not for love or procreation.

At his press conference on Sunday, Donald Rumsfeld said that Iranian women and youth were restive under the rule of the Mullahs. He implied that the US would soon liberate them. To Britney Spears? To low-rise “see-my-thong” pants? To the mutual masturbation that passes for sexuality in America?

Parenthood is the pinnacle of human development. It is the stage when we finally graduate from self-indulgence and become God’s surrogates: creating and nurturing new life. The New World Order does not want us to reach this level of maturity. Pornography is the replacement for marriage. We are to remain stunted: single, sex-starved and self-obsessed.

We are not meant to have a permanent “private” life. We are to remain lonely and isolated, dependent on consumer products for our identity, in a state of perpetual courtship.

This is especially destructive for woman. Her sexual attraction is a function of her fertility. As fertility declines, so does her sex appeal. If a woman devotes her prime years to becoming “independent,” she is not likely to find a permanent mate.

Her long-term personal fulfillment and happiness lies in making marriage and family her first priority.
Feminism is another cruel New World Order hoax that has debauched American women and despoiled Western civilization. It has ruined millions of lives and represents a lethal threat to Islam.

Specifically a woman’s consecration to her future husband and family, and the modesty and dignity this entails.

To the world the hijab and the bikini represent two extremes.

I ask you this..If you were to marry, would you choose to marry a woman who has been a living commodity all her life and when her value drops so does her life, and thus becomes a used product. Or would you prefer to marry one who has covered up for her Lord and not for the rest of the world to see, but for your eyes only?

My rebuttal:

Some general comments:

1. Numerous changes to the original article have been made and not indicated. Most notably, “burka” has been changed to “hijab” which we Muslims know are two VERY different things. Also, references that would indicate that the author is not a Muslim have been removed (see point 2). (The original title is “Bikini vs. Burka: The Debauchery of Women” and it is available here: http://www.henrymakow.com/180902.html)

2. It is also not stated who this Dr. Henry Makow is – one learns he is NOT a Muslim after all, and is in fact a conspiracy theorist, and one who harbors (judging from his other articles) a deep-seated mistrust of and aversion to women.

These two points make the entire article questionable from a credibility standpoint.

3. Women are constantly being told what they should wear and how they should behave. It is highly insulting coming from men. It is even more insulting that an article cloaked as “advice” for Muslim women is coming from a man who is not even Muslim!

4. What a woman chooses to wear or not wear is no indication of her value, character, piety or chastity.

5. This article implies in several places that a woman has no inherent value on her own and that her value is dependent on her relationship to a man and his perception of her and her worth.

6. Who is the intended audience for this letter? It insults nearly everyone. American women are insulted, so are Muslim women and non-Muslim women and even men. What is the point? Where is the call to action? Is it some kind of warning? Insulting your audience is usually not a good tactic when trying to prove a point. (When one reads the original article, one learns that he is advocating something between the burka and the bikini and that he loves feminine beauty, but that has been removed.)

7. The overall tone is condescending and abrasive, extremist and polemic, and moreover inaccurate. The article contains some value and some truth, but these are lost in the rhetoric.

Specific points in the article (please note that “hijab” is used here because it was in the letter sent to the group, although the author’s original word is burka. That is why it appears in quotation marks):

The article begins by setting up a false dichotomy of an American beauty contestant versus a woman in a “hijab.” Women are not one or the other.

(The part where he says he “loves feminine beauty too much to advocate the burka here” is missing…So, we actually do not know how the author feels about hijab.)

He then explains the value of the “hijab” as a MAN sees it (a non-Muslim man, at that). This is extended to his view of a good woman’s place in society, which is at home, away from the world. She is to raise children and be there to support her husband who goes out and does the real, important work of the world. (Here he shows a complete lack of understanding about Muslim women – he paints us all with the same brush, as homemakers confined to the domestic sphere.)

Next, he takes an example of a beauty pageant contestant, and extends it to encompass all American women. This is not an accurate comparison, because most American women do not strut around in bikinis all day, nor do they “sell themselves to the highest bidder.” Most American women have husbands and families and raise children just like other women around the world. Also, the fact that women are interested in fashion and beauty usually has more to do with female psyche than with impressing men – women enjoy beautifying themselves for their own pleasure, because it makes them feel good.

The ideas that women learn that they “will be loved only if [they give] sex,” “dozens of males know her before her husband does” and that “she becomes hardened and calculating” and “unable to love” are presumptuous and insulting. Not all American women are sluts or machines. This is not a typical American experience and I think most American women would be highly insulted by these sorts of accusations. Most American women are interested in their homes and family lives. Also “she loses her innocence, which is a part of her charm” and “she is unfit to receive her husband’s seed” are things that are a man’s perception of her value, and I’m not even sure what the last part is referring to.

Next, he goes on to say what he believes a woman’s personality should be and why, and that of a man as well. Who is he to say that? Also, feminism is not about converting women to men or feminine behavior to male behavior. It’s about establishing equal rights for men and women, and allowing ALL people to have a voice. Yet, he says that someone who believes that women should have a voice too are “confused and aggressive” with “a large chip on her shoulder, unfit to become a wife or mother.” (He is saying that women who are not his idea of feminine are unfit to be wives or mothers! This is, of course, insulting to women who do not conform to traditional feminine personalities.) He also says that “feminism deceives women to believe femininity has resulted in “oppression” and they should adopt male behavior instead.” One form of oppression is trying to force certain behaviors on a group of people – which is what this man is doing!

He then implies that women who want to be independent are “neutered autonomous creatures that indulge in sex for physical pleasure, not for love or procreation.” Neutered creatures by definition do not (cannot) indulge in sex, first of all, and secondly, there is nothing wrong with experiencing pleasure in sex.

The next part is where it really gets insulting, to both men and women.

His argument is that people are only worth something if they are married and become parents. Single people have “replaced marriage with pornography” and they are “stunted, sex-starved and self-obsessed” as well as “lonely and isolated.” I’m not sure what he means, since in the preceding paragraph he has just said that single people indulge in sex for physical pleasure, so how can they be sex-starved? And it’s presumptuous (and again insulting) that single people engage in pornography and/or don’t want to become married. Most single people do in fact get married at some point, so singlehood is a temporary state for most people. And how is it that single people are stunted, self-obsessed, lonely and isolated? Even single people have families they belong to and a network of friends. And a person can engage in self-growth when single more so than when pressures of marriage and family take more of one’s time.

Now he contradicts himself completely. He says that “her sexual attraction is a function of her fertility. As fertility declines, so does her sex appeal.” In the beginning of the article, he had said “in America, the cultural measure of a woman’s value is her sex appeal. (As this asset depreciates quickly, she is neurotically obsessed with appearance and plagued by weight problems.)” First he criticizes the way Americans supposedly value women, and then he goes on later to agree with it. Moreover, he then tells women what her long-term personal fulfillment and happiness lies in: “making marriage and family her first priority” and warns that “if a woman devotes her prime years to becoming “independent,” she is not likely to find a permanent mate.” The problem here is telling women what should make them happy and fulfilled, and implying that only young beautiful women can experience love. He’s saying that once her fertility (and sex appeal) declines, she becomes worthless to men. And if her value lies in her ability to have children, her value (to men) declines if she for some reason is unable to have children.

Then he speaks of the “hijab” and that its purpose is to keep her all bottled up for her future husband and family. The problem with this is line of thinking is, among others, the widows and divorced women. Are they no longer of value because they are no longer “untouched”? Are they “used up”?

The part where he says “the answer lies somewhere in the middle” between “hijab” (burka) and the bikini is missing.

Finally, the last lines are not even in the article and have been appended by someone else. They are not addressed to women, but to men, asking them to value a woman wearing a hijab over someone who has “been a living commodity all her life and when her value drops so does her life, and thus becomes a used product.” This is like comparing apples and oranges. It is not a dichotomy. A woman is not one or the other. I don’t even understand the point of the last lines. They imply that her value lies in whether a man would want to marry her or not. And her reward for her value is that a man would want to marry her, as if he is somehow validating her and her existence. Also, many good women do not wear hijab for various reasons. And, if someone does not wear hijab, it does not mean that she has “been a living commodity all her life” or that she is “a used product.” What a woman chooses to wear or not wear is no indication of her value, character, piety or chastity.

In Islam, women are valued as individuals in their own right. Both men and women are commanded to be modest and to lower their gaze and guard their chastity. Women wear hijab to please Allah, and so that they will be recognized as women of faith and not bothered/annoyed, NOT for the benefit of any man. We do not have to be hidden away from society. The wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him) had businesses, dealt with men, and participated in society. We are free to use the talents and intelligence that Allah gave us in any capacity we wish. Our purpose on this planet is the same as men’s: to worship Allah. Although much emphasis is placed on hijab because of the visible nature of it, it is actually a very small part of Islam. More important than her appearance are her faith, deeds and character.

A little about me: I do not consider myself a feminist. I have no problem with femininity and I adore being a woman. I became Muslim about 10 years ago of my own accord, not via a man. (One of the benefits of being independent and having my own mind.) I am often asked by the leaders of my community to give talks about the role of women in Islam to churches and engage in other dawah events and activities, and I teach a class for new Muslims and those interested in Islam in the Islamic Center. In addition, I am a “doctor” (just as much as the author of the article) – I hold a Ph.D. in plant breeding and genetics and I do international development work in the field of agriculture. My work has a direct impact on helping eradicate global world hunger.

Wassalam,
Callista

Salaam ‘alaikum,
Eid mubarak! Most of these items (except the shoes) are approximations of what I already have at home, not the real thing. But they are close enough!
Wassalaam,
Callista

Salaam ‘alaikum,
I have discovered Polyvore and here is my first attempt, using my brown outfit.
Wassalaam,
Callista

Assalamu ‘alaikum,

OK ladies, let’s talk fashion. Has anyone been out to the stores lately? Is anyone else really disturbed by the new trends? In my area, there seems to be a really bad case of pregnant-cropped-babydoll meets 80’s flashy, gaudy ick. While out shopping for jackets the other day I found — I kid you not, I swear — a denim (dark wash) cropped (to the ribcage) babydoll/empire waist, double-breasted, belted jacket with elbow-length bell (yes, bell!!) sleeves and a Peter Pan collar. I mean, who buys this stuff? Who wears it? And don’t get me going on the bright or metallic bags. Or the bright rolled-short-sleeve jackets that have the boxiest, most masculine cuts? I thought we all (including the fashion industry) learned a thing or two from the 80’s. At least I was hoping. *sigh* And I could go on all day about all the babydoll everything — sweaters, cardigans, shirts, blouses — is there any store carrying plain ol’ blouses these days? You know, with those magical things called buttons?

And at least in my area there is a severe shortage of normal spring jackets. I take that back. There is a shortage of any spring jackets, period. I’ve even seen very few windbreakers. What are people supposed to do? I was looking for what I thought would be an easy find — a simple safari-type (single or double breasted) belted spring jacket/trench light enough that it could also be used as a suit jacket. Well I didn’t find any trenches, period. Or raincoats, or car coats or anything. How disappointing.

You see, fellas, this is why women must spend so much time shopping. In order to build a decent wardrobe, she has to dig and hunt and paw through all of the garbage the fashion industry packs the stores with to find the normal stuff. When she finds it, she must hope that it fits, that the color is right, that it is well made and of good quality, and then finally make sure that it’s a reasonable price. Men have it so easy. The shirts, jackets, pants, etc. basically all have the same cut. They just have to make sure that the measurements are right and they like the color. There is not all this trendy, gaudy, silly nonsense. Give us a break!

Wassalam,
Callista

Assalamu ‘alaikum,

Last night I went to my first Dar-ul-Qur’an class in over a year. It’s been months since I opened the Qur’an. At first I was a bit leery, but then as I looked over the familiar surahs and began to read and run the words over my tongue and lips, I was filled with comfort and familiarity, as if greeting an old friend I haven’t seen in a while. I can hardly describe the way it made me feel. SubhanAllah, how can one feel this way about a book and in an unfamiliar language? The Qur’an is no ordinary book, and indeed I think I’ve read somewhere that it can have this effect on people, perhaps within its very pages. I guess I didn’t believe enough, or didn’t think that it was meant to be taken literally. SubhanAllah.

Wassalam,
Callista

Assalamu ‘alaikum,
I have not logged into WordPress for a while and wow, everything is different!

You’ll also notice that I’ve changed my name. “Maha Abdo” was a pseudonym for several reasons and now it is no longer necessary, and I’ve gone with my given name “Callista” in a quest to reclaim my identity and figure out who I am again.

I have a new life now, and a new career involved in international development and ultimately trying to eradicate world hunger alhamdullillah.

I’m sorry if my absence was missed but insha’Allah but as I’ve finally logged back in I’ll take this as a good sign. I’m starting to regain my interest in things that used to interest me, which is also a good sign. Insha’Allah I’ll also feel the urge to begin blogging again.

Wassalam,
Callista

Assalamu alaikum,

Do you love the Prophet Muhammad (alayhi salatu wassalam) more than you love your parents, your siblings, yourself? It is a goal we should strive for as Muslims.

Some haters say or imply nasty things about the final Messenger of God (alayhi salatu wassalam), the one who was sent as a Mercy to all of Mankind (not just the Arabs or the “foreigners”). Yes, that means you. (By the way, did you know that there are more Chinese Muslims than Arab Muslims? Betcha didn’t.)

I’m proud to say that I love Muhammad ibn Abdullah, Rasool Allah, sallallahu alayhi wassalam. Why? For starters, he was as close to perfection in human form as humans can get. He taught us the correct way to live; his entire life was an example for us to follow. Every move he made and every sound he uttered was carefully recorded so that we could be guided. This was a tremendous sacrifice of his privacy, and he did it willingly, without complaint. He was a perfect example of charity, piety, spirituality, mercy, compassion, patience, perseverance, strength, and a whole host of other noble character traits. Without his example, we could not correctly practice our deen.

Secondly, he was patient. He endured great trials, disappointments and sacrifices. He taught us to be patient and persevere and to depend only on Allah. Lastly, and surely there are other great reasons, but for me personally this is the greatest: he sacrificed for us. Yes, that’s right, for you and me. He would stay awake all night in prayer, and he was praying for his Ummah, the ones he called his brothers. He called us his brothers (and sisters)! Imagine being bestowed with such an honor! He told his Companions (radiAllahu anhum) that he was praying for his brothers, and they thought he was talking about them, but he corrected them by saying that they were his Companions, but his brothers would come after him; they would believe in him and the Message although they never saw him. That’s you and me!

What’s so great about that? you may ask. Well, have you ever stayed up praying all night? I know I could not. I can stay up all night working on a paper for class or some other work on the computer. But the thought of standing up for prayer at night–even two extra rakas–seems like just too much work for me. I ask Allah to protect me from my own laziness. We get tired if the imam takes too long, subhanAllah. And he stood up all night long. Until his beloved ankles were swollen. And he wasn’t praying for himself or his family or his Companions. He was praying for his brothers. He was weeping for us, because he knew what trials lay ahead for us. He was asking God to forgive us and guide us and protect us from Shaytan and the haters. And he did this on a regular basis. SubhanAllah we can’t even do this for ourselves, for our own souls. How short do we fall.

I love my brother. I say it loud and proud. You can hate him and insult him and slander him all you want (Lord knows he endured enough of that already), but you’ll be missing out in my opinion. I’m proud to be able to call him my brother and that he bestowed the honor of that title on us, on me. And all the hating going on out there just makes me more firm in my beliefs and cultivates more love for my religion and my Prophet. Alhamdullillah.

Alayhi salatu wassalam.

Wassalam,
Callista

Assalamu alaikum,

I have been waiting for over a year for her, and she’s finally here… Alhamdullillah!

Yep, my brand new computer. I love her way more than anyone should love a computer, and way more than any self-respecting Muslimah should love an item from the dunya. But I can’t help myself.

She’s a 13.3 inch glossy screen MacBook (yes, a switcher!) with a 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2 Gb RAM and a 120 Gb hard drive. She is the most beautiful thing I own. I’ve got her all set up so I can do my work; I even have VMware Fusion so I can run Office for my spreadsheets and Word docs. I should point out that I’m now way more productive because I’m not waiting for my computer to respond or fixing problems or downloading some software to do something that the OS should do anyway. My old computer was a good, solid PC who served me well, but her time was up.

I’m not sure what the point of this post was but I’m just so excited and happy I wanted to share the news. I am truly so lucky, alhamdullillah.

Wassalam,
Callista

Assalamu alaikum,

Today I deleted the first comment that informed me they were going to link me on their site. This site is some crazy site that I’m not even going to talk about (I wouldn’t know how to begin to explain it and I really didn’t get the point or message–here’s a tip: your point, if you have one, should be near the top of the page and clear to see) and it has some garbage about Islam on it. I saw links to some of my fellow blogging sisters there too.

You know what? Go ahead! If you want to link me, that’s great. The more traffic I get, the more people get to hear from an intelligent, Western, female Muslim convert. The more people will be exposed to a real-life, everyday person practicing Islam who is not crazy. The more people who will learn about the beautiful religion of Islam and be warned that God is the Truth and there is no Power or Might save Him!

I just cannot believe how people waste their time hating other people, other faiths. They wish we (and Islam) would just go away. You will not succeed. You cannot. God will Protect His Religion. Why don’t people just mind their own business?

So, if you want to link to me, go ahead. I am not afraid of questions or comments from non-Muslims or even hateful attacks. I have a delete button, after all. And I know everyone will have to answer to a Higher Power one day, so no matter what you do to me in this life, I know God will take care of it in the end. You know what they say, what goes around comes around. And, as was pointed out so eloquently on this particular site, Jesus (alayhi salam) made the same point: He basically said to rejoice when you are attacked for adhering to the Truth, because there will be a Great Reward in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Truly there are Signs for those Who Reflect. (Qur’an, many places)

Wassalam,
Callista

Assalamu alaikum,

SubhanAllah. Today, I didn’t have any food cooked for myself to eat except some soup, and I came home really hungry. Remember how I was whining about people giving me food? So ungrateful!! I hope Allah forgives me insha’Allah *sigh*. Anyway, 2 (TWO!!) sisters spontaneously called me up, requesting to bring me food they had generously made for me today after work. (I’m talking, salad, rice, chicken, mahshi, makshi, dessert…) Masha’Allah, alhamdullillah! (and it wasn’t an overly generous amount, so insha’Allah I’ll be able to finish it off and not have to throw any away!)

And, just yesterday I was thinking to myself that I needed a blue shyla to go with my one blue shirt that I own (the only color blue that actually looks good on me). Now, I have nowhere to go hijab shopping and don’t have a clue as to the next time I’d be able to go or where. Guess what fell into my lap today? Out of absolutely nowhere.

I guess sometimes we need a little nudge to let us know that He really, truly is paying attention, even to our tiniest whispers to ourselves, that seem meaningless to us at the time. And maybe, it is just to let us know He’s there, so we can turn to Him in repentance and hope. And to remind us that He is the one who Provides, and no one else. He Alone. La ilaha illa Allah!

Wassalam,
Callista