Hijab, far from the body image dissatisfaction to

Hijab, far from the body image dissatisfaction

Hijab and Islamic societies: far from the body image dissatisfaction and eating disorders of Westernised society

Body image is defined as “one’s satisfaction with his or her body.” ¹⁵

In Westernised society, body image dissatisfaction, eating disorders and other psychological disorders as a result of being unhappy with oneself are rampant. Media and society promote a certain kind of image of the “ideal woman”. This article will examine the incidence of these disorders, the reasons for this body image dissatisfaction and the way in which hijab and living in an Islamic society provide some protection from this panacea. One major consideration is of course the absence of values education in the West that are tied to a religious/cultural tradition. “Values” in the West seem to be largely taught through glossy magazines and mainstream media these days

First of all, here is a general overview of Islamic teachings regarding “diseases of the heart” (emotional /mental ailments), and also the Islamic attitude towards food. This entails discussing how wellbeing and contentment are defined in Islam

Imam Ali (PBUH) says in Nahjul Balagha: “More terrible than physical malady is the sickness of heart…better than wealth is physical health. More preferable than physical health is the piety of the heart.” ⁵

Although this is the Islamic point of view, it is of course also the universal, common sense approach to “wellness”; without psychological (mental, emotional) health, one is unable to partake fully in life, let alone be a productive working member of society, or parent. This is because psychological disorders affect the physical body and result in physical maladies, eating disorders being an obvious example

 When a particular part of the body is sick the whole body is under terrible pain and life becomes difficult. Similarly when one is afflicted with a spiritual malady one feels remorse in this worldly life also. He continues to be afflicted even after his death…sometimes he is even inclined to commit suicide. The best prevention is to keep the heart pure from defects. ⁵

When a believer of one of the monotheistic religions becomes afflicted with an emotional/psychological disorder, he must worry also about the impact of this “disease of the heart” upon his hereafter, as our sins, flaws, afflictions must be accounted for in the hereafter

With feeble body there is very little chance of his soaring very high spiritually. ⁷

A feeble body is not just one that is weak, because it is being ill-fed; it is also one that has become weakened due to the impact of emotional/psychological stresses. A person who suffers from any psychological ailment, or even just a person who is afflicted by a ‘broken heart”, is unable to achieve their full potential, as their heart has become tainted by the affliction

It is narrated that the Prophet (PBUH)said: “If the heart is pure, the entire body will also be pure. If the heart has wickedness, the nature of the person too will be depraved.” ⁴

This is acknowledgment that emotional health is key to our overall well-being. Islam suggests, “Reason dictates and religion commands us to make every effort to cure the disease of our heart. We must care more for the well-being of our heart.” ⁵

Specifically, regarding (healthy) eating, Islam prescribes the following

Imam Sadiq (PBUH) has been reported as saying: “If people are moderate in having food, they will have healthy bodies.” ³

Here are some statistics on body image dissatisfaction, and on eating disorders – it remains to be said that there is a relative wealth of information on the topic, with particular focus on these disorders in Western society, yet no concrete solutions have been put forward by researchers

• Up to one third of young Australian women experience episodes of binge or overeating ⁹
• 17 % of women reported episodes of overeating, 16 % reported binge eating and 10 % reported compensatory behaviours such as vomiting, use of laxatives or diuretics and fasting in an Australian study. ⁹
• In a survey of 803 American adult females, 50 % reported dissatisfaction with their physical appearance, specifically with their weight. ¹²
• Almost 80 % of the fourth grade girls in the US are watching their weight. ¹¹
• In a study of 106 Australian school and university students, 94 % desire to weigh less than their actual weight. ¹³

However, strikingly, in another study, for only 2 % of an African-American sample, does beauty mean having an attractive face and body! ²⁰   There is a different way of conceiving of beauty other than the “Western” idea that it is all in the looks.

Initially, though, let us conceive of this narrowly fixated Western model of beauty. For example, of one of the most popular toys for young girls, the Barbie doll, it is said that “the waist and stretched limbs caused the teenage girls in the West and other countries to avoid eating during their growth age.” ⁸ It is widely accepted that Western media, magazines exclusively promote the ideal woman as slim, even verging on thin. Sadly, it has also been reported in studies that “the emphasis placed on thinness in the West, besides resulting in negative self-evaluations, is considered to be an important factor in the aetiology of eating disorders.” ¹⁴  There is however another factor at play here; it is not just about images paraded in the media – sadly, it goes much deeper than that, it goes to the fundamental values of a society.

(Western) society clearly defines women’s status in terms of their bodies and appearance. ¹⁷

Despite supporting equal rights and women’s liberation, society has prescribed specific standards of body attractiveness and a very narrow range of beauty shapes for females.¹⁸

Interestingly, some societies do not promote the same values, and in these societies, body dissatisfaction and thus eating disorders are not at all prevalent.

The cultures that had a high incidence of eating disorders also had the thin ideal. On the other hand, no culture that did not have the thin ideal was found to have eating disorders. ¹⁷

Islamic culture of course promotes different values for a woman: a woman’s physical beauty is only secondary, especially as it is covered by her hijab. In a study of eating disorders amongst Caucasian-Australian and Pakistani first year university students, aged from 17-22, “although all the groups identified a similar body shape as the “ideal”, the Australian and Pakistani-Australian females expressed significantly higher levels of body dissatisfaction than did the Pakistani females. The Australian females expressed greater dieting and bulimic tendencies.”¹⁰

In conclusion, there are several reasons why an Islamic society and women covering up (wearing hijab) makes women much less susceptible to body dissatisfaction disorders.

1. An Islamic society is one in which the beauty of a woman is defined more in terms of her character attributes, her piety;
2. In an Islamic society a woman is not so much bombarded with images of the “Western, thin, half-dressed and heavily made up perfect (?) woman” in media, in her day-to-day life.
3. Even in a “Westernised” society, a woman observing hijab as a Muslim woman will have a different way of conceptualizing her self-worth (considering the purification of her character, her inner beauty more important). The act of covering up itself reminds the woman that her beauty is much more than what is visible on the outside.

Modesty is a human quality that can be proposed for mankind, regardless of any cultural or religious tendency. ²

Perhaps it is time for Western societies to embrace the values of other cultures in which outer appearance is only secondary to a good character. This can only be achieved through a complete overhaul of the portrayal of women in all media. An Islamic society offers an easy path towards this goal. Naturally, the adoption of Islamic values would provide a shift towards a society that is shaped by religious faith, and Islam is able to permeate the entire fabric of society, so to make it one that is based on the divine qualities in the human being.

The reason why the man of today has become so miserable and restless is that he has distanced himself from his Lord. He looks at everything but not at God. He trusts everyone and everything except God. ⁶

Bibliography

• Lantern of the Path (Imam Jafar Sadiq (a); Hadith by the Sixth Imam)
• Mahdi Mahrizi, Woman
• Sayyid Hussain Sheikh al-Islami Tooyserkani, Taqwa (Piety) Advice of Ahl al-Bayt
• Allamah Muhammad Baqir Majlisi,Ain-Al Hayat, The Essence of Life
• Ayatullah Sayyid Abdul Husayn Dastghaib Shirazi, Qalbe-Saleem, Immaculate Conscience
• Allamah Sayyid Abdul Husayn Dastghaib Shirazi, Moral Values of Qur’an, a Commentary on Surah Hujurat
• Sayyid Muhammad Husayni Beheshti, Muhammad Jawad Bahonar, Philosophy of Islam
• islampfr.com, The Effects of Barbie Dolls on Children, Pt 1
• UQ News 28 June 2016
• Nargis Mahmud, Nadia Crittenden,A cross-cultural examination of body image among young females: exploring the role of value orientations (2000)
• Kilbourne, J., Still killing us softly: Advertising and the ) obsession with thinness (1994
• Cash, T F, and Henry, P E, Women’s Body images: The results of a national survey in the US (1995)
• Abraham et al, Eating behaviors among young women (1983)
• Nasser, M, Eating disorders: the cultural dimension (1988)
• Berscheid, Walster, and Bohrnstedt, The happy American body: A survey report (1973)
• McCarthy, Thin ideal, depression and eating disorders in women (1990)
• Fisher, Body consciousness (1973)
• Crook, M, The body image trap (1991)
• Levine et al, The relation of sociocultural factors to eating attitudes and behaviours among middle school girls (1994)
• Parker, Nichter, Vuckovic, Sims, and Ritenbaugh, Body image and weight concerns among African American and White adolescent females: Differences that make a difference (1995)
• Islampfr.com

WORLD WAR Z”, A BRIEF REVIEW – PART 2“

World War Z”, A brief review – part 2“

part 1

In this movie, Israeli soldiers are the peacekeeping troops who may be in danger by zombies at any moment. They are the protectors of the Jew’s Jerusalem and the refugee Muslims. Interestingly, they are the brave soldiers who fight with zombies to death

Then, the peaceful people in that square, some holding Israel’s flag and some holding Palestine’s flag, start singing a hymn in Hebrew calmly and peacefully and  they enjoy their happiness in an intimate environment. Jews are practicing their own rituals and Muslims are praying together. A casually dressed Jewish girl, face to face with a veiled Muslim girl, are singing a Hebrew peace hymn

Arab Muslims welcome peace and take refuge in Israel and under the shelter of this land’s tranquility they are filled with joy

At the moment, a helicopter passes over the crowd with the camera that shows the view of the other side of the tall security walls where the zombies are moving towards the walls but hindered by the big West Bank barrier

Zombies are sensitive to the noise and it stimulates and attracts them to the center of the noise. The loud noise of the peace party stimulates them and leads to their insane attack to the walls. Scattered zombies climb up each other’s head and body and make a hill of zombies so far that its height reaches the height of the walls quickly and pour into Jerusalem. Jerusalem falls, too. The huge number of zombies and their blitz and fast attack leaves no place for resistance

In the meantime, only a slim boy and a frail old man are not attacked. It appears as if zombies don’t see them. Gerry sees these scenes while he is on the run

The hand of the Israeli female soldier who is responsible for protecting Gerry and is escorting him to the airport, gets bitten by one the zombies and Gerry cuts off her hand immediately to prevent her from becoming a zombie

This woman accompanies Gerry till the end of the story. They can reach the plane just before it takes off. Gerry looks out the window and sees Jerusalem and Dome of the Rock surrounded by bloodshed and smoke and is attacked by zombies and the last defense fort is also collapsed by the zombies

Now, Gerry is sitting on the last plane, along with homeless and wandering Jewish refugees that could take off before zombies attacked the airport while they along the pilot have no clear destination. This scene is repeatedly depicted on condition of Jewish refugees in other movies in different ways

After treating the wound of Jewish female soldier, Gerry goes over the scenes of zombies’ attack and a few people who haven’t been targeted by zombies in his mind and figures the zombies weak points

According to the guidance of a UN agent he goes to Wales, to the world health organization and its equipped laboratories, where the doctors of one ward themselves have become zombies

The researchers are studying zombies. They know that bullets don’t stop them but there is also no other way but to shoot them in the head. There, Gerry examines his hypothesis. He has already realized that those who haven’t been targeted by zombies, are the patients suffering from Typhus, Meningitis and so on. Therefore, he injects the microbes of these diseases into himself and realizes that his method works and he passes the zombies without being seen

In this way, zombies realize that those who are infected by these diseases are dying and therefore they do nothing to them

Soon, the vaccines that are made using this method are distributed all over the globe as a camouflage and a shield against zombies, and a few remaining people in the world, are vaccinated and start confronting and killing the zombies

Then a huge pile of dead zombies are shown that bulldozers are gathering and setting them on the fire

! At this point someone anonymous says: It’s settled! It’s over with! There’s no forgiveness in hell! Whatever goes to hell, stays in hell

Then, Gerry is the narrator who says: If you can fight, fight! Help each other, be prepared for anything

And the last sentence which is the most amazing one is uttered at the end of the story: Our war has just begun

Although the character of “zombies” is a repeated theme that has been used in several movies such as: “Resident Evil”, “I am Legend”; and PC games such as “Call of Duty”, the “World War Z” for the first time, transforms the wild zombies who have no identity that are created in the research center and occupied the U.S. in the “Resident Evil”, to the zombies who have identity and occupy the world by their astonishing fast growth

The last remaining city is Jerusalem and the last defense forts are the security walls made by Israelis. The movie reveals its intent very soon, zombies are the Muslims who are progressing and conquering the strongholds of the world quickly while the last fort they still couldn’t capture is Israel that due to the Jewish ethnic sentiment, the Jews are the only grandchildren of the Isaiah and zombies cannot conquer them

What does the movie intend to convey by depicting this quick spread? During the recent years, uncontrollable wave of conversion to Islam among the citizens of the U.S. and Europeans has terrified Zionists and colonial countries. Maybe the quick spread in the movie refers to this contagious wave of people converting to Islam

The Israeli army shelter particular Muslims who come to them in the movie and they sing the  peace hymn together with Muslims and wave the flags of Israel and Palestine while dancing, so that these refugee Muslims don’t turn into violent zombies. In the entire movie, however, it is impossible to ignore the anti-Zionist identity of zombies and the constructions such as the security walls and it is impossible to consider any identity for zombies other than being Muslims

The movie mustn’t be even watched from any viewpoint other than that of a Zionist or it will be nothing but an imaginary movie that a part of it is recorded in Jerusalem

But, from a Zionist point of view, what is the virus that has captured the world quickly and no one has the resisting power against it while it is going  to take Jerusalem out of their hand soon

Beside the event of sending Jews to Nazis concentration camps, 1972 Munich Massacre and the 1973 Arab–Israeli War (also known as Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War) , what would be the next threat to Israel which made them build the security walls around Jerusalem

? Who are these people that bullets have no power to stop them? Who wants to conquer Jerusalem in the real world

What is the role of the security walls in Israel and why they are so similar to forts in the movie? Why have people been building walls in this land since 2000 years ago

? Why is the plane carrying the Jewish people, as the last means of rescue, again wandering aimlessly and has no clear destination

? What is the war that has just begun according to the last sentence in the movie

These questions can help us in solving the puzzle behind the movie. It would be useful to refer to the Quran and study some similarities

 : The Verse 14 of Sura Al-Hashr [59:14] says

They will not fight against you all together except in fortified cities, or from behind walls

: Also the Verse 7 of Sura Al-Isra reads

 “So when the second of the warnings came to pass, (We permitted your enemies) to disfigure your faces, and to enter your Temple as they had entered it before, and to visit with destruction all that fell into their power.”  (17:7)

From now on, they are looking for a way to hide from the eyes of zombies, and the next time, after their failure, by recognizing the weakness of zombies, destroy them once and for ever

Passing the security walls reminds a critic of the vehicles crossing the walls of the Zion city in the “Matrix Trilogy”. Anyway, in the category of imaginary “Apocalyptic” movies, the aggression against Israel and Zionists is being depicted during the recent years. Unlike, “Matrix” and other movies which finally show the Zion (the Mount Zion) as the last remaining city of mankind, the “World War Z” frankly and openly depicts Jerusalem as the last city of mankind which is under attack

islampfr.com

WORLD WAR Z”, A BRIEF REVIEW – PART 1“

World War Z, A brief review – part 1

Part 1

In Philadelphia, everything was as usual until suddenly the audience get surprised by the incursion of wild humans who are running quickly and attacking. It becomes clear that these men were infected by a certain type of virus and as a results have acquired inhuman characteristics. The name “zombie”, is a well-known name which has been used previously in several movies and games

Zombies attacked the people of Philadelphia and by biting them they make another zombie within 12 seconds. The duration of transformation of the humans into the zombies is so fast that there is no time for any reaction or running away

The leading man of the movie, Gerry Lane, is a former investigator of the United Nations who has spent many years of his life in the countries which are involved it war and conflict, but for dealing with his family issues and the problem he faced in his job in the UN, he left the job forever

Soon, the audience will encounter a world that is captured by zombies and Gerry Lane, the investigator of the UN is summoned for the service because of his specialty. The service which is beyond his personal problems with the UN, thus immediately he accepts the cooperation with the UN

His dependence on the United Nations evokes the sense of being neutral and independent in the viewers

He leaves Philadelphia for Newark, New Jersey where he and his family are taken to the aircraft carrier far from the coast by rescue helicopters. There, a deal is offered to him: if he accepts to cooperate with an epidemiologist and his secret team in finding the patient “zero”,  i.e. the first person who has caught the disease, he and his family members can be safe forever on the aircraft carrier. Then he gets on the military helicopter to go to South Korea

He is clearly investigating how the virus was created and how it is spread all over the globe.  South Korea, is the first place where the existence of the zombies has been reported, but there is no significant point in South Korea, except a weapon dealer who had a connection with the CIA and had been selling weapons to the North Korea, and now he is apprehended by the UN soldiers. The dialogue between Gerry Lane and him may be the  summary of the movie when Gerry asks

 Man: They sell the virus to all of their advocates

? Gerry: Why’d you sell guns to the North Koreans

 ? Man: Why not

? Gerry: Are they surviving this

 Man: Indeed they are

 Gerry: Using your guns

 Man: Guns are useful; they have influence

? Gerry: How then

Man pulls off the last remained tooth in his mouth with difficulty from the root and says: They took the anatomical power of zombies, they beat all 23 millions in less than 24 hours

 The greatest feat of social engineering in history. It’s brilliant. No teeth, No bite, No great spread

 Gerry: Bullshit

? Man: Why do you have to burn them to ashes to get them to finally stop

? Why do they move like a plague? Why is the Israel winning

? Gerry: How is Israel winning

 Man: They sealed off their entire country. Days before the zombies attacked men

 First to know, first to act

Gerry: People have been building walls there for two millennia

Man: Yes, that’s over, all those thousands of years of work finished a week ago. Impeccable timing is all

Then he introduces Jurgen Warmbrunn to Gerry to meet him in the Jerusalem and find his answer

Warmbrunn thought the cause of erecting the wall was a rumor at first, but when he investigated the matter, he found out that it was true. He heard about zombies in a communiqué by Indian army for the first time

On the way of visiting the Israeli West Bank barrier in Jerusalem, he tells Gerry that Jews never anticipated  that they might end up in Nazis force labor camps in 1930 or might get massacred in the 1972 Olympic games or even they didn’t believe the Arabs’ war against Israel in 1973, although they  had observed  the Arabic armies movements

But this time, learning from the possible dangers, Warmbrunn, a Mossad employee of high rank, detects this danger, builds the West Bank barrier of Jerusalem as a way out of to save Israel

Then, he takes Gerry to a house, to see the security walls of Jerusalem form its window.  High walls and strong constructions which are as strong as the current west bank barrier in the occupied Palestine

These are the way out and the solid walls of Jerusalem, two of the most secured ramparts of Israel, Warmbrunn says

? Watching the people who have Islamic and Arabic appearances enter the city, Gerry asks: Do you allow people to enter

Every person we save is one less zombie to fight, Warmbrunn says

... be continued

part 2

islampfr.com