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Veil is Not Oppressive
by Jennifer Proctor
THE POST
Stating that her veil equals power, control, freedom and liberty, Aminah Assilmi attempted
to set the record straight about Muslim women to an overflowing Morton 237 Tuesday night.
Assilmi is the director of the International Union of Muslim Women.
# "This veil warns people up front that I am not a woman to be messed with,"
Assilmi said. "It shows that I am a woman with a mind and that I know I am more than
a body."
# The veil that Muslim women wear is part of their total dress, called Hijab, which means
"covered" in the Islamic religion. Assilmi said men also have a proper way of
dressing according to the Koran, which says they must dress with modesty at all times.
# "In no way does this veil equal oppression and we don't want you to feel sorry for
us," Assilmi said.
# Assilmi said the Koran, the holy book of the Islamic religion, gave women rights 1,400
years ago that they are still fighting for all around the world. These include the right
to be heard and to have ideas accepted regardless of gender.
# "Muslim is liberating in ways you couldn't imagine unless you took the time to get
to know us," Assilmi said.
# After studying the Koran to learn how to convert Muslims to Christianity, Assilmi said
she chose Islam because she realized it must have come from God.
Aimee Talbott, a junior Linguistics major, listens to Aminah Assilmi Tuesday evening
in Morton Hall. Talbott has been a Muslim for a year and a half.
# "A lot of American women are becoming Muslim, even in the Athens community,"
said Yasmin Inal, President of the International Muslim Women Association in Athens.
She explained that Islam is the name of a religion, while a Muslim is someone who belongs
to that religion.
# Assilmi addressed questions from the audience concerning child abduction, polygamy and
domestic violence.
# "One of the greatest fallacies in existence is that the Koran gives men the right
to beat women," Assilmi said.
She said the Koran limits abuse by the man, but there is no restriction for the women.
# "I can get up morning, noon and night and beat the bijeebees out of my
husband," Assilmi said.
Assilmi also said women benefit from polygamy because they have a sister to share in the
responsibilities of marriage.
# "Muslim is a stand up and fight religion, and you have to respect that. It must be
hard to go through life everyday and show everybody what you believe," said Wendy
McMillan, a graduate student.
# Junior Urooj Amjad said she is familiar with the Muslim religion.
"(Assilmi) seemed to be switching things around to what you didn't expect to hear.
She had a powerful way of presenting her ideas," Amjad said.
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