KEEPING POLITICS OUT OF RELIGION: 'Tudung' - personal decision or the religious authorities'

The question is raised in neighboring Singapore whether Muslim women in public services should put on tudung (headdress).

In Malaysia this is not an issue at all. In the current context, only not wearing tudung will evolve into a severe issue in addition to mounting pressure from the society and co-workers.

But in a secular island state where Muslims are a minority--almost 15% of the population--and where religion and politics are very distinct entities, tudung has all this while been barred in schools, hospitals, military forces and among public services frontline personnel.

Tudung is supposed to cover the hair, ears and neck of a Muslim woman with fabric. In the Middle East, other than the headdress, which is called hijab in Arabic, women must also cover their entire bodies, including hands and feet with chador, In more conservative societies, even the face is covered, leaving only the eyes exposed (niqab). And in even more fundamentalist Afghanistan, everything, including the eyes, must be covered with burka.

Not all Muslim countries make their women don the 'tudung'

Muslim women in Malaysia mainly cover parts of their bodies with tudung andhijab while in more secularized Muslim states such as Turkey, Egypt and Indonesia, many Muslim women don't even put on headdress.

Whether a person should put on a tudung depends on individuals and peer pressure, how she apprehends and accept the religious teachings as well as social and family needs and pressure.

Of course, we are not here to talk about the attire of Muslim women, but the controversies in Singapore have exposed a number of things. For one, the trend of Islamization in a Muslim-minority secular state; and for another, contradictions and frictions between religion and politics.

The same speaks for the controversies surrounding the use of the word "Allah" over here in Malaysia.

The controversies started with an online campaign to urge the Singapore government to allow Muslim women in public services sector to put on tudung at workplace. The proponents claimed that putting on tudung is part of the Islamic teachings and it reflects the sanctity of a woman. The government ban is consequently construed as an impediment to religious freedom.

The online campaign was instantly echoed by several Malay organizations and Islamic bodies while non-Muslim society has viewed the incident with completely opposite perspectives.

'Tudung' may further sideline Muslims

Singapore is a religiously sensitive society and such differences put the government on a taut nerve. Ethnic Malay representatives in the ruling party initially defended that Muslims should try to step up communication with other communities in the island state, and the wearing of tudung could aggravate the sidelining of the Muslim society.

Later, PM Lee Hsien Loong clarified to the Malay reps that although Singapore is a champion of religious freedom, the accommodation and equilibrium of the entire society must also be taken care of.

Lee's statement did not offer a clear direction so long as Singaporeans would compromise for the sake of social harmony.

The headdress controversy happens in other countries as well, notably France, whose government barred female Muslim students from putting on headdresses in schools in the pretext of preserving the characteristics of the French society while trying to avoid religious segregation.

Perhaps on the backdrop of highly intricate religious and political factors, there wouldn't be a definite answer at all whether a person should or should not put on a tudung.

Moreover, in a male-dominant society, it is not up to the women to decide whether or not they should put on tudung.

mysinchew