Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume II — Page 132
132 change along with them and then there are some people who change the times according to their ways. The Muslims were a nation who did not change with the times; instead they caused the times to change. Wherever they went, people were compelled to emulate them on account of their good conduct. T hey compelled them to mimic their manner of dress, and they compelled people to emulate their culture. They were recognized as teachers and leaders of the world. Nowadays, the Muslim woman copies Europe’s lack of modesty, even though there was once a time when European women copied the Muslim women’s purdah. Take nuns for example. Europe was a place filled with im modesty. Lack of modesty was considered fashionable among them. However, when they saw tha t Muslim women observed purdah , they also adopted it to a great extent. For example, even if nuns do not observe full purdah , they wear a veil and their foreheads are also covered. They wear a coat over their figure, w hich covers their entire body. Even if we cannot characterize this as full Islam ic purdah , it can indeed be considered as ninety percent Islam ic purdah. Even though this was the same woman who used to walk around immodestly before Islam came to Europe. In the same way if you were to dress a female monkey or a crow in a petticoat , [other monkeys or crows would ] also w ear a petticoat. Take a look at old photographs of Europe. The women’s arms, legs , and chests wer e all exposed , however when they saw the Muslim women’s purdah , they adopted a large part of it. But Europe is now reverting to that previous era and the Muslim woman is also happy to shed her purdah because she now mimics the European ways. The Muslim woman of today says that we should change with the times. The Muslim woman in the past said , ‘T he ti mes should change with me. ’ The former acknowledges her subservience while the latter decl are d her supremacy [saying], ‘W hy should I copy others? It is their job to follow me. ’ As I was saying, there was a time when we faced difficulties in acquiring education. A Christian nation ruled over us, and there were difficulties for us that arose in attaining Western education. That is why I insist ed that our girls take courses in religious knowledge and spend all their effort in acquiring religious education. I was perhaps alone in the Jama'at in emphasizing this. Otherwise, Jama'at officers and members at large tried at various times to a ttain permission to build a boarding house next to the h igh s chool so that girls could come from outside [of Qadian]