Cant see the comic? Click here: https://picasaweb.google.com/111692177401409132923/MaleHijab?authuser=0&feat=directlink
When we talk about hijab, women get all the attention. A little too much attention. But men have hijab too! Male hijab doesn't cover up as much as female hijab, but it is still important. We obsess so much on what Muslim women shouldn't be wearing and doing out of modesty that we fail to address the violations of male hijab that are becoming more and more common.
Every Friday at the mosque, I cant tell you how many men are sitting their with their midriff, underwear and even butt-crack exposed. No one ever complains of it to the imam and no one looks down on the offending person for not complying with male hijab. If a woman has some hair peaking under her hijab, or has her sleeves rolled up, we instantly judge her level of religiosity (somewhere between mild and medium, but definitely not strong). Come on people, we cant let the brothers get away with it so easily!
If there is a news article on Muslim women playing professional soccer in full hijab, you will more often than not find someone complaining that the women should not be playing soccer, because it doesn't comply with Islamic modesty. If there is a picture of Muslim professional soccer players making dua (supplication) on the field, but wearing shorts above the knees, you wont hear any objections to them not complying to Islamic modesty (I'm not saying we should), but we would probably only hear praise. We're going to easy on the brothers!
The point I'm trying to make is not only about our awareness of male hijab, but that we should ease up on our Muslim sisters a bit. Putting on hijab, well the headscarf part at least isn't easy. For many women, it is a huge internal struggle between their love of Allah and their society and inner desires. Many women get to wearing proper hijab in stages. Maybe they'll start by wearing looser clothes, and then cover more parts of their body and then finally put on the headscarf. So it isn't fair when we judge our sisters' faith if they don't wear proper hijab yet. As for brothers... there is no excuse for showing your butt while you're in sujood. C'mon guys, that's disgusting. Just pull up your pants or wear a longer shirt, please.
I got the idea for this post from Sheikh AbdulRahman Chao. Check out his video:
