Faith without the Headscarf

Her decision caused quite a stir. Emel Abidin-Algan, daughter of the founder of the Islamic association Milli Görüs, has put aside her headscarf after wearing it for over thirty years. The 45-year-old mother of six children spoke with Ariana Mirza about her motives

Her decision caused quite a stir – in Germany as well as in Turkey. Emel Abidin-Algan, daughter of the founder of the Islamic association Milli Görüs, has put aside her headscarf after wearing it for over thirty years. The 45-year-old mother of six children spoke with Ariana Mirza about her motives

Emel Abidin-Algan (photo: Stephan Schmidt)
"We need fewer religious people and many more believers", says Emel Abidin-Algan

​​"It is absurd to infer about someone's beliefs on the basis of outward appearances!" said Emel Abidin-Algan, expressing her views in a ready to print form. She has experience in articulating her positions. A few years ago, the former chairwoman of an Islamic women's association took part in Germany's headscarf debate – and offered some rather unconventional suggestions.

First, Emel Abidin-Algan and a group of Berlin women designers created fashionable hats as an alternative to the controversial headscarf. Then, in early 2005, she took off her own headscarf for good.

Since then, there have been many changes in the life of the mother of six. She dances with an Irish folklore group, practices martial arts in a mixed Aikido team, and goes to night school. Emel Abidin-Algan continues to take care of her three youngest children, who still live at home, together with her husband, although they have decided to separate. Her conservative husband refuses to accept his wife's new attitudes.

Assuming more responsibility

Only after immersing herself in the study of the Koran and its revelations, she came to a new way of seeing things, said the 45-year-old. Since then, Abidin-Algan has become a proponent of an individual's right to form their own opinion – and not only with respect to one's choice of head covering. She would like to encourage others to investigate the Koran and the historical context of its revelatory message.

Abidin-Algan is also calling on Muslim women to assume more responsibility. That doesn't mean, however, that "all those who wear headscarves must now take them off." Rather, women should be free to choose the type of covering they wear according to their own individual, natural modesty. "Personally, I only go swimming with leggings under my swimsuit. Those are the limits to my personal sense of modesty."

As it turns out, Emel Abidin-Algan is not a feminist. Her primary concern is to call into question the validity of scholarly Koran interpretation for modern times. "A legalistic Islam now holds sway, and not the Islam of the Prophet," she claims argumentatively.

In order to support her claims, the headstrong Muslim brought along an abundance of material. The remarkably youthful looking woman busily leafs through her documents. She suddenly pulls out one of the manuscripts in which she presents her position in-depth. "Here, this is particularly important to me!" she says, energetically pounding her index finger on the page.

Opposing the dogma of the "punishing God"

The issue of body and face covering is just one of many topics that occupies her. She opposes the widely held dogma of the "punishing God" and thinks that such an image can cause great harm in the upbringing of children.

According to Abidin-Algan, the greatest and fundamental mistake is to theologize belief and to convey it through a hierarchical structure. "We need fewer religious people and many more believers," is her personal conviction. Raised in Germany by an Iraqi father and Turkish mother, she considers herself cosmopolitan. She regards many superficial religious rules as stemming from regional customs.

How has the Muslim milieu reacted to Abidin-Algan's views? It is a delicate subject, as her name is closely linked with Milli Görüs, an association that is under surveillance by the German security services. It was Emel's late father, the doctor Yusuf Zeynel Abidin, who founded the German section of this controversial organization in the mid-1970s.

"My father would have understood my intentions," says the daughter assuredly. To date, however, the Muslim association has tended either to ignore or to be taken aback by her behavior. Abidin-Algan, who is currently completing evening courses to become a public relations consultant, would have preferred constructive discussion.

The peacemaking wisdom of Islam

She hopes that in the future, more young Muslim women who are brought up in the West will engage in an open dialogue with the majority population. She feels that any kind of isolation, whether external or internal, is harmful.

"These young people can use their education and multicultural backgrounds to discover the peacemaking wisdom of Islam, instead of simply emulating tradition without reflection." In the end, the Muslims in a non-Islamic society "should be living examples of the faith," and thereby spread a positive image of Islam.

Yet, what are the responsibilities of non-Muslims? Does Abidin-Algan place no demand upon the majority German society? "Of course," comes the prompt answer. Germans should show more interest in finding out about Islam. "Even those in government circles hardly have any basic knowledge about the religion."

In addition, for many Germans the issue of terrorism has strengthened an anti-Islamic stance, which prevents them from approaching Islam with an open mind. There is a great deal wrong with Western society, sums up Abidin-Algan. She describes apathy and frustration as direct consequences of consumerism. It is high time for people to devote themselves to immaterial values. "Like faith and love, for instance," she says smiling.

Ariana Mirza

© Qantara.de 2006

Translated from the German by John Bergeron

Qantara.de

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