Festering wounds

No religious symbol in modern times has found itself to be more divisive than the Muslim headgear, the hijab. For years, it has been painted by some in the West as a symbol of “oppression on women”. Such acrimonious souls refuse to accept the “choice” made by many to don the head covering as an integral part of faith and have formed the front line on the proverbial “clash of civilisations”.

The clash, which never really faded out of the public sphere in the West in modern times — especially Central Europe, the heartland of the modern colonisation experiment — has been rejuvenated in recent times with a global tilt towards the right. With fires billowing from extreme elements across Europe, fanned by incidents involving some Muslims, there has been rising animosity towards Islam and its followers. This has corresponded with a period of growth in the Muslim population in Europe which statisticians believe could comprise around 8% of the continental population by 2030.

Symbols, as European colonisers understood long ago, are key to retaining control, either by building some of them up or by tearing some of them down. This has driven the assault on religious symbols — especially Islamic ones like the skull cap as well as the hijab and the niqab (the full face covering). When two Muslim women insisted on their right to don a piece of clothing of their choice at their workplaces, they were suspended from their jobs. The women approached the court for having their suspension undone. The court, however, ruled in favour of their employers. According to the ruling, from the European Union’s top court, private enterprises can prohibit the wearing of religious symbols if an employer justifies his genuine need to present a religious, political or philosophically neutral image.

The ruling has indirectly leveraged long-held European bias against Muslims and their religious symbols, which is clearly reflected in the rising incidences of Islamophobia. Europe is still standing at a crossroads of its future. Yesterday it was racism against dark-skinned footballers and today it is the hijab. Who knows what comes up tomorrow.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 18^th, 2021.

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