One of the most unfortunate things about the advent of Boko Haram terrorism is how it has erroneously depicted Islam in a poor light, making people believe that it was championing the cause of Islam by using its platform to commit heinous crimes and ungodly atrocities. Initially, everybody thought that Boko Haram insurgency was synonymous with Islam in view of the fact that its adherents were Muslims from an area whose inhabitants were renowned for their perverted religious fervor and enthusiasm for the protection and promotion of Islamic ideals.
Soon thereafter, it dawned on all and sundry that the disgraceful exploits of the unreasonable members of the Boko Haram dreaded gang were profane, totally unconnected with Islamic tenets or injunctions. Their dastardly acts were therefore dismissed or disregarded as blasphemy, showing complete disrespect for God and sacred things.
Their recent attacks in Madagali and Maiduguri in Adamawa and Borno states respectively, targeted at innocent civilian population and other soft targets, in the face of sustained offensive by the gallant armed forces, had clearly betrayed their desperation to annihilate compacted communities of true believers of Islam whom they consider as enemies. Such attacks on gullible and unwary civilian populations were carried out using naïve and susceptible objects as suicide bombers, mostly young girls and women, concealed in guiltless, but dangerous attires or innocent apparels.
This is to ostensibly provide a false sense of security to the targeted victims and mislead other people into believing the suicidal attacks were always committed by Muslims whose outward identity was betrayed by Hijab, the clothing in which they were bedecked.
As a result of the continuous use of heavily veiled women in series of deadly bomb attacks in densely populated areas, especially in the Northeastern part of the country which has been turned into a veritable theatre of insurrection, Adamawa State Government had undertaken to review hijab use if the devious and reprehensible attacks, using the garb continued. This may be an indication that governments may be left with no alternative means of preventing attacks other than banning the use of such apparels. Such suggestion was promptly greeted with outbursts of disapproval, with many cautioning that such move should never be contemplated.
Others argued that doing so would mean that Boko Haram has indeed succeeded in prohibiting the Muslims from observing a fundamental divine injunction.
It could, therefore, be further reasoned that if Boko Haram’s continuous attacks on defenseless population could force the government to ban Hijab, it would simply means that they have successfully instilled fear in Nigerians and are forcing the authorities to accept the fact that the terrorists can, in fact, dictate what Nigerians should wear, what they should eat and drink or how they should live their lives.
That shouldn’t be so. While many were totally averse to the idea of banning hijab, others have wholeheartedly welcomed it, pointing out that the move would actually deter veiled women from committing immoral and dishonest acts in public places.
In the actual fact, the question of Hijab for Muslim women has been a controversy for centuries and will probably continue for many more years. Some people do not consider the subject of wearing hijab as suitable for discussion as doing so was a divine injunction which must be obeyed. Others are of the opinion that a Muslim body must be completely veiled except the face. Nevertheless, Muslim women all over the world cover their heads and bodies, because to them that is the truest test of being a Muslim. In other words, women have been observing Hijab because Allah has told them to do so. Therefore, for Nigerian Muslims there is no going back in their determined effort to endorse that divine command.
Islam has no fixed standard as to the style of dress or type of clothing a Muslim must wear. However, some requirements must be met. The first of these requirements is the parts of the body, such as the hair, the bosom and the waist which must be covered, and these prerequisites must be met as soon as a girl reaches sexual maturity.
The second requirement is looseness of the clothing which must not be tight-fitting as to expose all the curvatures that tend to emphasize sexuality of an individual.
It should be realized that Hijab to Muslim women are absolute necessity and not a frivolous luxury, for they reveal modesty and majesty in them. They also make people evaluate them for intelligence and skills, instead of good looks and sexuality.
In fact hijab is a sure way of discouraging men from treating women like sex objects as they have always done. Muslim women in this country wear hijab because they want their male counterparts to ignore their appearance and to pay more attention to their personalities and frame of mind.
Therefore, a Nigerian woman who has chosen to wear hijab wants to be taken seriously and be treated as equal to a man and not an object to be chased around for her body and physical looks. Thus a hijab-wearing woman in the North is only making a statement about her identity. She is a pious Muslim filled with dignity and self esteem, and not a bomb-throwing terrorist clad in dishonorable hijab. After all, hijab is considered a universal garb adorned by the righteous as well as the felonious.
