The third item on this week's Sunday was the inevitable upbeat, 'normalising Islam' feature.
Here's how Ed Stourton introduced it:
Here's a new phrase to conjure with: Modest fashion. It's a trend among Muslim consumers who want to look fashionable but within the framework of their faith. And it's been much in evidence in London Fashion Week these past few days. Trevor Barnes reports.
We heard from Trevor's report how "smart young Muslim bloggers" have been driving the trend for "Islamic branding" (of the marketing kind, not the punishing kind). After "Sharia-compliant mortgages and Halal-certification for food", now comes "modest fashion" for Muslims...
...and it's spreading and becoming "mainstream".
Well whoopy doop. Its spreading and become mainstream like anti-semitism on campus, arrests for free speech, forced marriage, FGM, and interference with ballot papers - to name a few other traits.
ReplyDeleteIf covering your hair is 'modest', is leaving it uncovered 'immodest'? What about women's necks, arms, legs? Some burkhas even have a mesh over the eyes, just in case a man sees this female feature and is attracted. Of course, this philosophy doesn't even concede that women may sometimes look at attractive men, or that the vast majority of men and women are able to contain their sexual urges.
ReplyDeleteGood point. The problem isn't what Muslim women choose to wear. It's how this is used offensively against non-Muslim women. So the adjective "modest" is - ironically - very aggressive, a challenge to our norms. The correct name for the clothing is not modest but "Halal".
DeleteOne minor point - Islam does have some restrictions on what clothing men may wear. They aren't supposed to wear tight clothing - hence the baggy pants or long flowing robes that men traditionally wear.
FGM=modest vaginoplasty?
ReplyDeleteAcid burn scars to the face?....the new permanent tattoo that shows a steady refusal to change appearances from now on.
Hand and Foot chopping as an antidote to obsessing about nail polish fashions...and, of course; a welcome to womens sports Paralympic contests.
WITH-of course, that funky option to get half price on the cost of shoes and of gloves too...
Only at the BBC or in the Guardian womens pages eh?