Islam Unveiled (Religion Documentary) | Real Stories

In his will, Muhammad Atta said he wanted "no woman at his funeral. No woman at his grave." "Just," he said. "Good Muslims." For the 9/11 suicide pilot, that meant men. Atta was a man who, like the Taliban, used Islam to justify his fear and hatred of women. It is men like these who have convinced many in the West that Islam is a

religion

that hates and oppresses women. But I want to challenge that view. I am going to travel the Islamic world to ask myself if a devout Muslim woman can find freedom and equality. I was born and raised in Britain as a Muslim and have seen the rise of fundamentalist Islam, the bewilderment.

As a journalist, I have reported on its growth. As a feminist, I wonder if it was still a faith I could call my own. I want to know if the true teachings of Islam have been distorted. If only men were

real

ly allowed to hit their wives. If Islam

real

ly promotes the stoning of women. At the center of my research is the veil. For some it is the uniform of oppression. I want to discover why for many millions of women it has become a powerful symbol of political liberation. The greatest attraction of Islam in submission to Allah is that it is totally genderless.

Allah is not a Father like the Christian God. Both women and men pray in exactly the same way. There is no hierarchy of bishops and priests. In fact, the first convert to Islam was a woman, Muhammad's first wife (Khadija). But the moment you step out of the house into the public space of the mosque street, the women are almost invisible. I was about nine years old when I first entered a mosque. It was like this the first time I was crowded here. All the women here. And you realize that there is a huge place down there, and only men can enter.

I had never been to the main floor of the mosque before. I was up there. Always trying to get a good picture of what it would have been like, and this is... This is... it feels like it was meant to be. I actually talked to my dad about this afterwards and told him that it was... you know, it was a pretty horrible experience for a women's gathering. Not what I expected at all. Even then, at 9 years old, it just didn't seem fair to me. But at least my generation didn't need to wear a veil. It seemed archaic.

Now, girls much younger than me take it by choice. Why is it so important to them now? 25 years ago I started learning to read the Quran. Go to the mosque. It never occurred to me that you would be in a situation where second and third generation immigrants like me would choose to wear a stricter form of headscarf than their parents. My generation was told it wasn't in the Quran, but now many feel they have to use it. The first Friday of Ramadan. Whitechapel Market in the East End of London and the heart of a large Muslim community.

Here I practically realized that I was the only one not wearing a veil. "Have you ever felt that because you don't dress the way you do, you get problems on the street?" This day so bad. It is awful. What kind of people stare at you? Not really Muslims. Exactly. They would really look at us. The men look at us. So what does your mother think of the niqab? Proud. It's good to use. Wa alaikum salam (And peace be upon you). Insha Allah (God willing), I want to see you on TV. It all seems very strange to me.

They are just schoolgirls, but one of them said that she feels naked without her hijab. Feminists of my generation have always fought for the right to dress however they want, but it's surprising that these girls choose to look like this. I want to know why young women who were born and raised in this country interpret their

religion

this way. Shaista, Sidra, Salwa and Umama are all university students in Birmingham. Some of you may even be using it for a long time. Do you think that at first it catches your attention more? What you see is what you have judged.

They don't see, you know, they don't judge you for your mind. You know, how intellectual you are, maybe your personality. The hijab itself is a covering. It comes from the word “cover.” That's the beauty of it, but it doesn't cover your mind. Allow the mind to work on its own terms. Then you are more than an image. When I was a child, I knew