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  3. 4-Christianity as well believes that Women should wear Hijab

4-Christianity as well believes that Women should wear Hijab

Auther : Fawzi Alghadiri
10938 2009/07/18 2024/10/11
Article translated to : العربية Русский עברית

as for christianity, we should remember prophet isa's (jesus) (pbuh) saying, "think not that i am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: “do not think that i have come to abolish the law or the prophets; i have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." (matthew 5:17)


 as hijab was a habit and religious obligation in judaism, it is not logical that prophet isa came to change it. the first letter of paul to the corinthians asserts the necessity of head cover in christianity as well as follows:    

 

"now i want you to realize that the head of every man is christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of christ is god. every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. and every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is just as though her head were shaved. if a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head. a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of god; but the woman is the glory of man.  for man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. for this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head. " (i corinthians 11: 3-10)

if a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off

in light of the above (the previous part of this article", it was an obligation on the woman rather than the man, as per christianity, to cover her head; otherwise it must be shaven. the importance of hijab in christianity can be revealed not only by reviewing this religion in depth but just by looking at nuns at churches. they not only wear hijab but also what seems as full islamic dress. if hijab had not been that important in christianity, nuns would not have been obligated to wear it inside and outside churches. lady mariam (mary), the mother of prophet isa (jesus) (peace be upon him), always appears wearing hijab in their drawn pictures. this indicates that hijab is an essential sacred characteristic in christianity.
 
saint paul indicated that hijab is the symbol of the manly power. he says,
"the man indeed ought not to cover his head: because he is the image and glory of god. but the woman is the glory of the man. for the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man." (i corinthians 11:3)
 
in his famous treatise "on the veiling of virgins", saint tertullian wrote:
"if on account of men they adopt a false garb, let them carry out that garb fully even for that end; and as they veil their head in presence of heathens, let them at all events in the church conceal their virginity, which they do veil outside the church. they fear strangers: let them stand in awe of the brethren too; or else let them have the consistent hardihood to appear as virgins in the streets as well, as they have the hardihood to do in the churches. i will praise their vigor, if they succeed in selling aught of virginity among the heathens withal. identity of nature abroad as at home, identity of custom in the presence of men as of the lord, consists in identity of liberty." one of the laws at the catholic church is the law that orders women to cover their heads. (9)
 
the women of the amish and the mennonites, two christian sects, wear hijab to date. the rationale of their church leaders is that of saint paul in the new testament, that is, the hijab is the symbol of woman's subjection to both man and lord. (10) 
 
 
 
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[9] clara m. henning, "cannon law and the battle of the sexes" in rosemary r. ruether, ed., religion and sexism: images of woman in the jewish and christian traditions (new york: simon and schuster, 1974) p. 272
[10] donald b. kraybill, the riddle of the amish culture (baltimore: johns hopkins university press, 1989) p. 56
 

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