Whither Muslimas and Sports?

Have feminists and sports figures found a common cause?

BY NOOR SAADEH

It may seem that the sirat al-mustaqim (Straight Path) gets harder to navigate every passing day. Nowhere is this more apparent than in all issues relating to Muslimas, dress codes and women in general.

To some extent we might say that the strong and very vocal support of male and female Western feminists for women’s right to choose is helping Muslimas as well. In the build-up to the recent Covid-delayed 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, a great deal of media attention was focused on several international women’s teams opting for new and less revealing athletic wear (https://www.npr. org/2021/07/21/1018768633/). Women and even men the world over supported the more modest — although still immodest under any Islamic view — uniforms.

One can’t help but wonder if Muslimas had started this trend whether the outcome and level of support would have been the same. Methinks not. But I appreciate that the acceptance of ever more immodest sportswear is at least being questioned as to its purpose (https://www.wsj.com/ articles/bye-bye-bikinis-athletes-at-theolympics-and-beyond-fight-sexist-uniforms-11627684035).

It’s the elephant in the room. Men’s fashions simply have not changed much over time. We might see a few trends toward tighter pants and shirts, but not among the majority. Happily, I spent this summer in Jordan after a long hiatus due to the pandemic. I didn’t think I could manage yet another summer in hot, humid Dallas, where women’s clothing seems to be shrinking yearly and nothing seems prohibitively provocative anymore. At least in Jordan there is a balance, and even as a woman I don’t need to drop my gaze before the dress or undress of other women.

Why is this so? If the female figure is not all that alluring, or if men should get over themselves as #MeToo’ers would insist, why are men not convinced or pressured to dress in the same revealing, objectifying manner as women? As Muslims we get it — or we should. Men and women are created equally but different. How we are attracted to one another, as well as our impulses and desires, are different. This is part of the Creator’s plan.

Women insist on getting ahead by behaving and competing with men on the same level, but are still subjected to the whims of fashion that says “yes, be equal but sexier!” It’s still a man’s world. It’s there for all to see, but no one wants to admit it. Men certainly aren’t complaining at the cornucopia available to them wherever they look. Even when it comes to sporting attire, men and women’s clothing is vastly different.

We’ve seen some game changers in worldwide sports. Role models like 2016 Olympic Bronze Medalist Ibtihaj Muhammad

challenged the fencing world by insisting on completing her already somewhat modest fencing attire with a hijab. Others have followed suit (https://www.rollingstone.com/ culture/culture-sports/hijab-in-sports-howmuslim-women-athletes-are-fighting-foracceptance-115443/). Sportswear retail giants like Nike and Adidas now offer lightweight, flexible hijabs suitable for sports and workouts. Other brands may not be far behind. In fact, the Sunna encourages partici— why I felt it necessary to leave my former profession. Just as Halima states, you start off with good intentions, but little by little others convince you to loosen that scarf, remove some of the more flowing clothes, and before you know it you look like everyone else on the runway or the stage. Fame is seductive and illusory. Continuing to sing before mixed audiences in beautiful gowns and costumes no longer seemed appropriate for me either. The gift of God’s guidance

WHY IS THIS SO? IF THE FEMALE FIGURE IS NOT ALL THAT ALLURING, OR IF MEN SHOULD GET OVER THEMSELVES AS #METOO’ERS WOULD INSIST, WHY ARE MEN NOT CONVINCED OR PRESSURED TO DRESS IN THE SAME REVEALING, OBJECTIFYING MANNER AS WOMEN?

pation in sports, a healthy and important choice for both genders (https://www. hrpub.org/download/20181030/UJER3219512203.pdf). Yet some doubts lurk about Muslim women’s participation. We need only reflect on the latest public outcry and firing of several male coaches accused of inappropriate behavior with their young trainees. It’s all too easy to objectify and sexualize women, but none more so than in the sports industry. True, as a life-long swimmer I was delighted when the Burkini™ and other Islamic swimwear appeared on the market.

But as we see more and more young women participating in sports, particularly in the public eye in compromising positions and revealing attire, it remains to be seen how far we can go yet remain true to what our faith requires while continuing to protect the vulnerability of women.

Previously, Islamic Horizons published an article about some Muslim women entering newer, more controversial arenas such as interviews with Playboy and modeling Islamic swimwear. Since then, Muslima supermodel Halima Aiden announced she was quitting the fashion industry on the grounds that her career was incompatible with her strong Islamic beliefs (https:// youtu.be/zK4joMN7nEs). Even though her intentions were good — she wanted young Muslimas to see themselves represented in the fashion world — she found modeling to be a slippery slope.

As a one-time professional singer, I am often asked — particularly by non-Muslims couldn’t be compromised, no matter what fame or prestige the world offered.

In a world turned upside down with gender confusion, overt promiscuity, titillating dress codes and the feminists’ very compelling argument for women to compete on every level with men, is it any wonder that Muslims struggle? From the time they are born, girls are bombarded with images and posts that revealing, proactive dress, pose and prose are all part and parcel of being a woman. Not many other choices are out there, except for their “restrictive” Muslim parents trying to rein all that in and “ruin their lives.” Girls lament that boys won’t even talk to them unless they share intimate photos of themselves on social media first.

What kind of a world is this? And what can we, as parents, do? We struggle to keep our kids close to us. We struggle with our own selves to not be deluded by what appears more normal and acceptable every day. But struggle is part and parcel of life and a fard kifaya in Islam (https://yaqeeninstitute. org/read/paper/fard-kifayah-the-principle-of-communal-responsibility-in-islam). This phenomenal gift we have received to know and practice Islam is well worth all that we must struggle against and strive for.

It’s rather sad that it’s the non-Muslims calling for change. Shouldn’t it be us? Shouldn’t we be the ones calling others to the Prophet’s (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam) way as our Prophet and his Companions did? I fear that God will ask me what I did to call attention to this society’s ills. Where is the duty to enjoin the right and forbid the wrong? We fear that if we put our neck out there, it might be chopped off by society’s hue and cry. Why aren’t we more vocal? Why do we seem to be content with sitting back and waiting for others to do our job?

We need to be reminded that God has blessed us greatly in terms of modest attire and demeanor for both sexes: “O Children of Adam! We have bestowed raiment upon you to cover your shame, as well as to be an adornment to you. But the raiment of righteousness, — that is the best. Such are among the Signs of Allah, that they may receive admonition!” (7:26).

In his groundbreaking 1978 text “Orientalism,” the late cultural critic and theorist Edward Saïd (d.2003) argued that a dominant European political ideology created the notion of the Orient to subjugate and control it.

Westerners chose to perceive the harem, for example, according to their imaginations and perhaps fantasized about what they were forbidden to see behind the closed doors. They no doubt dreamed of all manner of concealed lewd and lascivious behavior. And yet they compared Muslims so very unfavorably with their decent and modest Western women!

How times have changed! These once unseen women are now derided for adhering to the very same virtues that they used to extol in their own women! So, fashion, fad, feminism and the nagging voice of social media are merely passing fancies that may soon fade completely away ... only to be replaced by something even more bizarre.

So, struggle, we must — even with the benefits of sports and sportsmanship. Just as sports enthusiasts are calling for more modest sportswear and uniforms, so must we consider both the clothing and the environment in which our girls and women participate. Perhaps we need more focus on women entering sports education and coaching. A sterling example is Native Deen performer Abdul Malik Ahmad’s mother Llanchie Stevenson, who left her very promising career as one of the few premier African American ballet dancers when she embraced Islam. She now teaches and coaches ballet (https:// youtu.be/CdozALNBhZs). As in so many areas of our lives, we Muslims need to find alternative ways to use our talents and abilities in keeping with God’s commands. ih