Quill & Quire, January 2010 by Stacey May
Fowles
In 2002, The Globe and Mail asked
columnist Sheema Khan to share her personal insights on Islam
and Muslim life in the wake of 9/11. Of Hockey and Hijab, a
compilation of these essays, is provocative, intelligent, and –
given the thorny nature of the issues explored – surprisingly
accessible. Each concise piece looks at a political, religious,
or social issue, and succeeds in bringing both wisdom and humour
to subjects the average newspaper reader might shy away from.
The collection covers a wide variety of
topics, ranging from the Maher Arar affair to a woman’s right to
wear a hijab while playing soccer. Khan fearlessly confronts
Islamophobia head on, advising readers not to make damaging
generalizations while expressing her disdain for the rise of
terror and fanaticism. The final section of the book, “The
Rights of Women,” dissects some of the more controversial and
misunderstood issues around religious patriarchy and sexism.
Khan has a knack for
exposing the hypocrisy of public perception and media
interpretation. In “What Close-minded Liberals Can Learn from a
Rape Victim,” she calls out liberals and progressives who fail
to see that their so-called “open-mindedness” is actually
limited to those who share similar world-views. She eviscerates
the popular belief that devout Muslim women are “poor
ill-informed souls” who have no ability to think for themselves.
For many, she argues, a secular outlook can be dissatisfying,
and she points out that denying someone’s choice to seek out
spiritual fulfillment is the furthest thing from progressive.
There are readers who
might find Khan a bundle of contradictions: a modern liberal
scholar, a hockey and soccer mom, and a practicing Muslim. For
that very reason, hers is a voice rarely heard in mainstream
media, and her contribution to our ongoing cultural conversation
is a valuable one. As Khan herself puts it, without taking the
time to recognize the multifaceted nature of the issues at hand,
we are in danger of becoming “casual observers who assume so
much and know so little.”
link:
http://www.quillandquire.com/reviews/review.cfm?review_id=6698
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MyBindi.com,
October 29, 2009 by Syerah
Introducing Of Hockey
and Hijab: Reflections of a Canadian Muslim Woman
Of Hockey and Hijab is the newly-published compilation of Sheema
Khan’s contributions to The Globe and Mail. In these thoughtful
essays, Sheema Khan—Canadian hockey mom and Harvard PhD—gives us
her own pointed insights on the condition of being a modern and
liberal, yet practicing, Muslim especially in Canada. Tackling a
host of issues, such as terrorism, human rights, Islamic law,
women’s rights, and the anti-veil controversy, she explains
Islam to the greater public while calling for mutual
understanding and tolerance.
link:
http://mybindi.typepad.com/word/2009/10/of-hockey-and-hijab-reflections-of-a-canadian-muslim-woman.html
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Rabble.ca, Dec 16, 2009 – by June Chua
Sheema Khan
stick-handles Muslim misconceptions
As I was interviewing Sheema Khan about the debut of her
collection of essays Of Hockey and Hijab: Reflections of a
Canadian Muslim Woman (TSAR Publications), The Globe and Mail
columnist shared a truly Canadian moment with me.
"In 2002, my husband was making the Hajj in Mecca and I hadn't
heard from him in a couple days," recalls Khan, a patent agent
living in Ottawa, who is also a hockey mom and a Habs fan.
"He called me, and this was during the Olympics, and I told him
the men's and women's hockey teams had won gold. He was so happy
and he told his fellow Hajji's because they had no news. Well,
he returned home after two weeks and the first thing he asks me
is: 'who did we beat?'"
Khan's light-hearted delivery of the story over the phone ends
in a gaggle of laughter. It's evident her ability to tell
stories is top-notch and that's reflected in her book of essays,
which explores the gap -- as well as solutions to bridging that
divide -- between Western non-Muslims and their notions of Islam
and the adherents of the faith.
Writing for the Globe since 2002, she says she felt the book's
time had come.
"There have been many issues over terrorism and security but
recently, the issues have been more about integration and I felt
there was a rich reservoir of material we could put out."
Khan confronts anti-Semitism in her first chapter, deriding her
fellow Muslims for their anti-Jewish sentiments. It's a potent
introduction to her collection of clearly-written,
well-researched, clever pieces.
"Canadian while Muslim"
Khan delves into the radicalization of her faith, the war of
words on both sides that detract from the true precepts of her
faith while also pointing out the double standards applied to
Muslims in Canada (in a chapter aptly titled "Canadian while
Muslim").
She goes into examples in which either rabbis or Christian
clerics espousing anti-Muslim rhetoric have been let into Canada
while at least one imam was barred from entry because of his
comments against Jews and Hindus. Rev. Franklin Graham freely
enters Canada from the U.S. despite his incendiary view of
Hindus and Muslims, repeatedly calling Islam a "very evil and
wicked religion."
Khan is proposing a smarter examination of how to deal with the
misunderstandings inherent in the discourse about Muslims in the
modern world.
She talks of neutralizing extremism through civic engagement and
the need for Muslim parents themselves to educate their children
about the dangers of extremism and "cherry-picking" from the
Koran.
"Our biggest strength in Canada is that we have an open society
where ideas can be debated and discussed and those who hold
extreme views have to be challenged, especially within the
community," Khan tells me.
She also warns of the alienation felt by second-generation
Muslim youth, whose parents came to Canada seeking to better
their lot in life.
"All the young people know, because they have lived in Canada
all their lives, is the promise of a better life. Then, they
face discrimination or feel it's harder for them to get a job
and they compare their reality with the promise. That's when
they turn to some other cause to validate who they are."
Allophilia as the answer
In her book, Khan implores Canadians to see their fellow citizen
Muslims as neighbours, co-workers and "parents trying to raise
families." As far as she is concerned any attack by terrorists
is an attack on all. What's needed to keep Muslims from being
stigmatized isn't the age-old Canadian concept of "tolerance"
but of "allophilia."
"With tolerance, I don't have to know any thing about you but I
tolerate you!," Khan lets out a hearty laugh. "That's not much
to build upon."
"Allophilia is a concept concocted by
researchers at Harvard who claim this attitude fosters more
social cohesion. Allophilia obliges different groups to create
positive feelings towards each other based on the ideas of
"trust, admiration, interaction, kinship."
"I see allophilia right now with the Olympic torch relay," Khan
points out.
"I read a newspaper article when it first began in Victoria
about Canadians of all sizes, backgrounds and colours there
along the route. I went through it in 1976, standing in downtown
Montreal as the flame went by. It was such an inclusive moment
when you felt a connection with everyone else."
While eschewing the Canadian tolerance model, she does uphold
certain Canadian customs, which she says, provides a useful
method for understanding "the Other."
For instance, the creation of the CBC show Little Mosque on the
Prairie -- popular with Muslims and non-Muslims -- allows
everyone to have a laugh at each other. Khan says the show
signaled a move into the mainstream for Muslims in Canada while
also serving to "whittle away mutual insecurities."
Part of the Canadian way is also to engage in critical inquiry,
which she says is missing in Muslim societies. In the book, she
urges fellow Muslims to learn more about the Prophet's life and
for women to explore the Koran to understand what rights they
have. That way, extremist views which don't jive with Koranic
teachings can be refuted.
"I give the example of my mother who was a Muslim in India. She
never stepped foot in a mosque until she arrived in Montreal.
Where she came from, women were forbidden in mosques."
Khan goes on to say that education systems in Muslim countries
"aren't geared towards inquiry but passive acceptance" which
seeps into how Muslims deal with their faith.
WMDs -- Women in Muslim Dress
She devotes several sections to the role of women in Muslim
societies including female inequalities, the controversies over
the hijab and niqab, wife abuse and honour killings. These are
intriguing analyses by Khan and plumb the depths of her own
decision to wear the head scarf.
Khan takes a look at how the issue of WMDs (Women in Muslim
Dress) is treated in Quebec. 11-year-old Asmahan Mansour was
banned from playing soccer because of safety concerns about her
head scarf (fortunately, her teammates decided if she couldn't
play in tournaments, then they wouldn't either) and the Quebec
election commission's prohibition against Muslim women wearing
the niqab while voting. I asked her why it became such a touchy
issue in Quebec.
"Prior to the Quiet Revolution in the 1960s, the Catholic church
had complete control of society in Quebec," Khan deduces.
"It was the last province to give women the right to vote back
in 1945. The memories are still fresh about how women were not
given full rights and that consciousness is still there.
Quebeckers are more sensitive to issues of religion and faith
than the rest of Canada."
That's in addition to Quebec's own issues of identity and
culture, adds Khan.
Now, back to hockey. It's intriguing to note Khan was
instrumental in creating the Harvard University intramural
women's hockey league back in the early 1980s. That's where she
got a PhD in chemical physics. She was a left-winger and when I
queried her about whether she still played the game, her
response was: "well, my knees don't but I still play soccer."
Much like the author herself, Of Hijab and Hockey is both
engaging and illuminating. I conclude with words from Khan's
final paragraph -- no doubt, the purpose of her collection --
that "ignorance must be vanquished by knowledge and fear by
courage." And, perhaps I should add, hockey.
link:
http://www.rabble.ca/columnists/2009/12/sheema-khan-stick-handles-muslim-misconceptions
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Ottawa Citizen, December 7, 2009 - by
Jennifer Green
Admit it: Islam challenges Canada's vision of itself. Surely we
can't be the kind of country that sends away its own citizens to
be tortured. That's just so ... American.
Yet let's be honest. We are afraid. We don't even like to talk
about it (that's so Canadian). But it means only the shrill (and
truly scary) voices are heard: 'You're all terrorists! ' 'You're
all unholy racists!"
Sheema Khan is a blessed exception to the rule. She is an Ottawa
mother who wears a hijab and stayed home with her children for
several years. Now that they are a bit older, she is back to
work as a patent agent (she has a Harvard PhD in chemical
physics). She is also releasing her book tonight, Of Hockey and
Hijab: Reflections of a Canadian Muslim Woman, at 6 p.m. at the
main Ottawa Public Library at 120 Metcalfe St.
Some of the essays might be expected: 'why Muslims are angry,"
and "You can't pigeonhole 1.2 billion Muslims.' Others, not so
much: she calls on Muslims to acknowledge the rise of
fanaticism.
Joining her will be Kerry Pither, who has written Dark Days: The
Story of Four Canadians Tortured in The Name of Fighting Terror,
about national security arrests, Farhat Rehman, a Muslim women's
rights activist, and Keith Neuman, with the Environics Research
Group.
Go. You'll learn something. (And it's free.)
link:
http://communities.canada.com/ottawacitizen/blogs/meaning/
archive/2009/12/07/hockey-and-hijab-muslim-women-raise-their-voices.aspx
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Dialogue with Diversity, Jan 7, 2010 – by
Qais Ghanem
This is the latest book on Islam
and Muslims in the Canadian context, by a female progressive
modern Muslim, who chooses to wear the hijab! It comes in 161
pages, in five major chapters entitled: The Hijacking of Islam,
Living in Fear, Islam in the World, The Canadian Way and The
Rights of Women. Even within her introduction she addresses the
struggle between integration and identity, which is possibly why
her book has been endorsed by Michael Adams, author of that
excellent book “Unlikely Utopia”; and between security and civil
liberties, which perhaps explains the endorsement by Monia Mazig.
The first chapter talks about the semantics used in discussions
of Islam, indeed the meaning of ”Islamism” or “Islamist” as
opposed to plain Islam or Muslim; fatwa, and most importantly
what the true meaning of Jihad is, as opposed to what the West
understands by the word. She quotes Benjamin Barber’s
acknowledgement that Jihad is a rich word whose generic meaning
is ‘struggle’ of the soul to avert evil. However she does not
absolve Muslims, such as Osama bin Laden, from such
misinterpretations, and she demands of Muslims to reclaim the
authenticity of their own language, although she is in fact
talking about Arabic, since there is no such thing as an Islamic
language, any more than a Christian one.
She also points out how some Muslims who adopt a militant
ideology tend to cherry pick verses from the Koran to justify
their criminal behaviour. She laments attempts by the West to
pigeonhole 1.6 billion Muslims (25% of the world population)
into distinct groups based on their practice and interpretation
of Islamic text; and to reform Muslim nations as liege nations
rather than equal partners.
She is encouraged, on the other hand, by the popularity of
Muslim reformers who come with a message of compassion and
personal accountability, such as Amr Khaled, from Egypt and
Farhat Hashmi, from Pakistan.She urge Muslims to abandon the
ethos of victimhood and the politics of grievance which do not
empower them, but asks them and Canadian security agencies to
improve their relationship.
Although very critical of Bin Laden throughout her book, Sheema
Khan does have the intellectual honesty to point out that he did
warn the West that “if you continue to kill civilians in our
countries, we will do the same in yours, until you stop” and he
also addressed Canada specifically by saying “Our fight is with
the Americans, but if you insist on supporting their aims by
invading our lands, then we will bring the fight to you in
yours.” She also quotes former CIA agent Michael Sheuer who
pointed out that al-Qaeda’s attacks were not based on who we
(the West) are, but because of what we do in their lands; and
who criticized American leaders for lying to their people about
al-Qaeda’s true motivation.
It was great to see the author confront the death penalty issued
to those accused of apostasy, pointing that the Koran says “la
ikrah fiddeen” which translates as “there is no compulsion in
religion”, and therefore Islam does not prescribe any punishment
for it. This is indeed a sensitive subject which is bound to
evoke a heated discussion, even in this day and age.
Chapter 2 is about the fear Canadian Muslims experienced after
9/11. The author avoids the controversy of who exactly is behind
the attack and seems to accept the official American version. It
would have been quite legitimate for her to discuss the
controversy and the doubts, since these are widely shared by
many in the Muslim and other communities.Since then 60 percent
of 300 Muslim respondents admitted being subjected to some form
of discrimination. One very disturbing statistic is that as many
as 48% of Canadians were in favour of some form of racial
profiling.
Sheema Khan lists all the other communities that had gone
through this before: Poles, Ukrainians, Italians, Germans,
Japanese and Jews, and tell Muslims to come to terms with the
reality that it is now their turn.The author points out one
single Christian pastor who was convicted of inciting hatred
against Muslims. On the other hand, David Warren, a Catholic
regular columnist of the Ottawa Citizen claimed that Christians
and Muslims have been antagonists since the very beginning of
Islam; and got away with calling Islam a “splendidly false”
religion.
A major chunk of this chapter deals with many instances of
double standards, such as refusing entry into Canada of Imam
Sheikh ul-Haq, but allowing in Rabi Kahane and the Reverend
Franklin Graham. It also discusses in some detail the
“reasonable accommodation” controversy in Quebec, where the
author believes xenophobia is alive and well. Sheema Khan, who
herself wears the hijab (head cover) during playing hockey and
soccer, passionately defends that right. She claims that “more
often than not, Muslim women are freely adopting the veil”.
However, she does not provide any statistics to back that up.
The author refers to the
double standards to which Muslims have been regularly subjected.
On the one hand they have been subjected to laws and
investigations shrouded in secrecy, under the guise of national
security. On the other hand, the same politicians dare to
criticize Muslim governments for their secrecy, such as Iran,
when Bill Graham opined that “Justice will not be done behind
closed doors”. She also quotes Mr Justice James Hugesson, who
expressed his frustration with the secrecy of our system thus:
“We hate hearing only one party. We hate having to decide what,
if any, sensitive material can or should be conveyed to the
other party” adding that it sometimes felt “like a fig leaf”. In
addition, she pays tribute to Kerry Pither, audacious author of
the book “Dark Days”, and the work of Supreme Court Justice
Iacobucci.
In Chapter 3, Islam in the World, the author explains why
Muslims are angry and frustrated with the west, especially the
USA, because of the disconnect between American ideals and
American actions abroad. They are disappointed at the ignorance
of American citizens of the foreign policies of their own
government. They see the disparity in wealth, where 6% of the
world population, the Americans, owning 50% of its wealth,
maintain that difference by plundering Muslim lands with bombs
and missiles. The amount of bombing in Iraq is quoted as
equivalent to 7.5 Hiroshima bombs. Then they accuse Muslim Iran
of nuclear ambitions, but do not dare do anything about North
Korea, or Israel. The USA talks about democracy, and when a
democratically elected government was chosen in Algeria, they
supported military intervention to annul it.
The author speaks a
plenty about the denigration of Muslims and Islam, and also
speaks courageously against the well documented burning of the
Danish flag. But I am not sure that she is accurate when she
claims that “the Koran emphatically prohibits its desecration”.
The Koran, to my recollection, does not mention the subject,
period. She also decries the poor level of education and
scientific research in Muslim countries, but glosses over the
reasons rather quickly, although she did say that autocratic
governments, often supported by the West, and colonial
occupation have formed the daily reality of millions of Muslims.
Chapter 4 is entitled “The Canadian Way”. It gives her the
opportunity to talk about her passion for hockey. Her comments
about casual nudity in the locker rooms may be interesting to
read for westerners!
She refers approvingly of the TV show “Little Mosque on the
Prairie” and the use of comedy in initiating dialogue about
Islam; and approves efforts to export the principles of the
Canadian Charter of Human Rights to the Muslim world, because
human rights and human dignity are germane to Islam; but she
asks why not one single Muslim sits on the advisory council of
the Canadian Museum of Human Rights. For Muslim immigrants, the
question of loyalty is being asked. Is it to Canada or to the
country of origin? But this is not confined to Muslims. She
relates the story of a friend who told her of her discomfort
when a Rabbi asked her son at his Bar Mitzvah whether his
primary allegiance lay with Israel or Canada.
She urges Muslims not to abide by “my tribe right or wrong” but
by principles of universal justice – sound advice
indeed.Religious schools, and more so the funding of them, have
recently been discussed in the country, especially in Ontario.
The author feels that there is a place for them, because people
need spirituality. However, the issue of having children growing
up separately for years as Hindus or Ismailis or Catholics or
humanists, and not intermixing during those crucial formative
years has not been adequately addressed. In the section about
China’s Hui community, I learnt for the first time, that there
were mosques run by and for women, with female imams!
The final chapter is all about the rights of women, not
surprisingly. Six years ago I gave a talk to the Arab Canadian
University Graduates Association about the place of the Arab
community in Canadian society, in which I claimed, with no stats
at the time, that the main reason for any negative feelings
Canadians have about Arabs is to do with their treatment of
their women, and that 9/11 only made it worse. This is confirmed
in this chapter, only this time about Muslims. Sheema speaks
from the heart about her own struggles against taboos and
chauvinism, while going through her different levels of
education, and her sporting interests.
Sheema Khan disapproves of Premier Dalton McGuinty’s
capitulation to the campaign against what has been called
“Sharia Law”. She reminds us that similar arbitration systems
already exist in Ontario for Aboriginals, Ismailis and Jews, so
why not Muslims? She accuses: “our own neosecularists (including
several Muslims) brazenly peddled Muslim family law as an
existential threat to Western liberal democracy.”
On hijab, the author discusses the controversy in France, and
the possibility of the same in Quebec, with the banning of 11
year old Asmahan Mansour from hockey. She says that she only
donned the hijab (head scarf, NOT veil) at Harvard after much
spiritual reflection, but when she tried the niqab (veil) she
found it stifling and “unnatural” and yet she respects those who
choose to wear it. She thinks that the pressure on women to
discard the hijab resulted in the unforeseen reaction of more
women deciding to use it as an expression of nationalism, as in
Algeria under the French, or resistance, as in Iran under the
Shah, or simply as a symbol of identity or even rebellion.
She also decries the custom of honour killing, which she calls
“the mother of all oxymorons”, giving examples, albeit not from
Canada. She asks the obvious question “Why should a victim of
sexual assault carry any guilt about rape?” The exemplary story
of courage of the famous Pakistani woman Mukhtar Mai Bibi, gang
raped by order of her own community, is described in detail. It
is a story worth reading.The issue of wife beating, seen in
Muslim society is also briefly discussed, and the author urges
Muslims not to misread the Koran in order to justify it; and to
abandon female genital mutilation, relating success stories on
that issue from Africa.
Several stories about violence against women are cited.
Misconceptions in Western society about the so called right of
husbands to beat their wives are exposed, even amongst judges!
The author poses this question to Muslims: “Are women inferior,
or are they worthy of the same treatment as men?” She also
admits that “We Muslims have a greater responsibility than the
mere preservation of image. We have a duty to address social
injustice head on...”
In summary, this is a small book packed with analysis and ideas
about and for Muslims. I believe that it should be read by all
Canadians, but especially by the David Warrens and others who
seem to opine about Islam in the media, often with very
superficial knowledge of the subject. Having said that, I think
that Sheema has left uncovered a gaping hole in the book; namely
the issue of sexuality in the Muslim Canadian community. These
are questions that need to be asked: We know how the average
Muslim male behaves, at least those who are willing to be honest
about it, and of course those who are more than willing to boast
about their real or imaginary conquests, with total approval, if
not admiration, for their male prowess. But what is the
prevalence of virginity in young Muslim Canadian females in high
school and university and the work force? Is non-vaginal
intercourse commonly practised to preserve virginity, as I read
in a British newspaper last December? What is likely to happen
when a Muslim girl “dates” a non-Muslim man? Why is it OK for a
Muslim boy to date a Catholic girl? Are we going to invoke
Islamic rules to deal with this? How will Muslim parents handle
their gay or lesbian children? Perhaps the author, or some other
female writer, will produce the sequel “Of Sex and Hijab”! I am
reserving my copy now. Qais Ghanem, January 2010
link:
http://www.dialoguewithdiversity.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4777:of-hockey-and-hijab-by-sheema-khan-book-review-by-qais-ghanem&catid=51:commentary&Itemid=71
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Generally About Books, Jan 9 2010 – by
Mayank Bhatt
I don’t consider myself religious,
although I’ve begun to shy away from describing myself as an
atheist; agnostic perhaps better describes me and millions of
others who don’t quite belong to the category of true believers
(of any religion) and clearly abhor secular determinism as an
idea of the past.
Secularism like democracy is a constantly evolving concept that
takes different forms in different regions of the world. There
is no right fix that can possibly be applied to everyone. As
Sheema Khan explains, “To you your way, to me mine.”
In 1988,
Sheema Khan “got religion” seemingly an affliction that
turned this average Canadian Muslism of South Asian origin into
a hijab wearing Woman in Muslim Dress (WMD).
Although everyone she knew didn’t react in quite the same way
George Bush reacted when he heard that Saddam Hussein had WMD,
they still couldn't figure what had gotten into her. They
sympathised with her condition because they were convinced she
was “brain-washed” and that she “had no choice.”
On the contrary, it was
a personal decision that emerged from within as she tried to
fill a spiritual void by relying on faith.
Khan explains she found secularism dissatisfying. “Many of us
have experienced a purely secular outlook and found it to be
thoroughly unsatisfying, for it fails to address the dynamic of
one’s spiritual core. That inner voice, hidden to all except to
the One who created it and who alone can respond.”
Of
Hockey and Hijab Reflections of a Canadian Muslim Woman (TSAR
Books) is a slim yet important contribution in understanding
the Muslim mind.
Khan is a feisty,
fearless woman and clearly a product of the Western society.
She’s a patent agent in Ottawa, holds a doctorate from Harvard.
As with any one who has
spent some time at such institutions, she’s intelligent and
articulate; they inculcate everyone at Harvard with these
qualities. Khan also has qualities that aren’t taught at
Harvard: deep-rooted compassion, tolerance, empathy,
understanding, patience – qualities that come from contemplation
and looking inwards.
The essays in Hockey and
Hijab touch upon several issues that are constantly being
debated in today’s newspapers across the world.
They deal with the idea
of Islam in a frank and non-didactic manner. Khan handles a
range of topics right from global issues such the ‘clash of
civilisations’ to Canadian controversies such as the horrific
treatment meted out to some Muslims by the Canadian
establishment.
In discussing all these
issues, she adopts a candid yet non-confrontational style. While
upholding the values espoused in Islam, she doesn’t mince words
in focusing on the ills that beset her religion.
Khan’s style opens doors
because her writing is sincere and straight from the heart. She
doesn’t want you to change your views; all she expects is that
you open your mind and free it of preconceived notions about her
religion.
link:
http://www.generallyaboutbooks.com/2010/01/of-hockey-and-hijab.html
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CHIN Radio (interview), Dec 19, 2009
http://www.dialoguewithdiversity.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4609:dwd-20091218-sheema-khan-talks-about-her-book-qhockey-abd-hijabq&catid=54:radio&Itemid=74
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Ottawa Citizen, January 17, 2010 – by
Jennifer Green
A Muslim woman speaks out: Ottawa author talks about Canada,
Islam, women's rights and terrorism
Sheema Khan was just
three years old when she emigrated with her family from India to
Montreal. They wanted a country with a good education system,
and work opportunities. But mostly, they wanted to leave behind
the sectarian violence between Hindus and Muslims in their
Calcutta home.
Canada was that land of
promise for them. Today, Khan is a patent agent who holds
several patents of her own in drug delivery systems. She has a
PhD in chemical physics from Harvard, and took a year off to do
social work before continuing her studies at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. She is married, the mother of three,
and a faithful follower of Islam who started wearing a hijab
after much soul-searching. She loves hockey (the Canadiens, of
course), and plays soccer once a week with a women's team near
her home in Kanata.
Most recently, however,
she has become a public advocate for Muslims in Canada,
particularly women, who find their rights and points of view not
always heard.
Toronto publisher TSAR
has just published her book of essays, Of Hockey and Hijab:
Reflections of a Canadian Muslim Woman. It is evident that the
50-plus essays started as newspaper columns. Each is very short,
and tied to daily news: terrorism, sharia law, the balance of
rights between people of faith and those who do not want any
signs of religion in the public square.
A few are more personal,
such as the piece about playing hockey as a young woman, and
"storming the Harvard bastion" where women were less than
welcome, especially in the hard sciences, such as chemistry. It
is interesting that Khan herself finds these two her favourites.
The essays are grouped
into five categories: extremists' highjacking of Islam, the
rights of women, Islam on the international scene, and two
aspects of Islam in Canada: how other Canadians see Muslims and
what Muslims want and expect from their country.
Khan introduces her
subjects by using a personal detail as a point of departure,
then widening the lens to the national or international scene.
In "No Veiled Threat," she says: "At Harvard, after much
spiritual reflection, I donned the hijab and also tried the
niqab (covering the whole body and face) -- for all of one hour.
I found it stifling and unnatural. Yet others don't." She then
goes on to talk about the political impact of the new WMD (women
in Muslim dress). Many of those personal details were
tantalizing invitations to ask Khan more about her book, her
life, and her plans:
How do you think
Canadian Muslims view the threat of terrorism?
The community is in
denial -- we have to recognize that. I was reading court
documents. People have lied through their teeth. It's not always
"poor, innocent, truthful Muslim" against "big bad state."
Of course, there are
egregious cases of human rights violations, such as those of
Maher Arar, Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad Maati, and Muayyed Nureddin,
amongst others.
But we are projecting an
image we are too concerned about the rights of Muslims, and it
seems that we don't care enough about the safety of the wider
society. It's not a balanced approach. A balance between civil
liberties and security is in the best interest of all.
What should Muslims do
to change things?
In some recent U.S.
cases, the parents notified the authorities when they suspected
their children were involved with terrorism. Here in Canada, we
must be more forceful with the message that terrorism is wrong.
There is no cause that justifies the killing of innocent
civilians. We should consider organizing marches and protests
against terrorism.
What are your main
concerns these days?
I'm interested in
women's issues now more than ever. In my work with CAIR-CAN
(Council for American-Islamic Relations Canada), we'd get word
of things happening within the community, especially with
regards to women. I'd say, "Wait a second, why are we ignoring
this?" That to me is the Number One issue.
You are not going to
have a whole community if you treat half of them with disdain.
To me, it goes back to a view that is prevalent in some Muslim
cultures, namely an essential view of women (as emotional and
foolish). Muslims can yell injustice, and oppression, but if you
don't take care of your own properly ...
Has writing your columns
affected your own outlook?
It has changed, maybe
not 180 degrees, but 90 degrees. On sharia arbitration, my
initial point of view was to try to be fair all the way around.
Other communities had availed themselves of faith-based
arbitration, why not Muslims? Also, we had asked for changes to
the Arbitration Act to make the arbitration process more
transparent and accountable. We had asked for oversight so that
arbitration decisions conformed to the Charter. But then when
you talk to people in the community, you realize that sharia
means different things to different people. It's like a
Rorschach blot, everybody has his or her own idea of what it is.
Looking back now, I don't think there's any way classical sharia
can ever be part of the western secular system. It has to be
reformed to fit in.
Gender equality is the
Number One point of contention. The way of thinking that
pervades within the community now is that women have an
essential character that they are emotional, that once a month
they are just basket cases, that is: "Weakness, thy name is
woman." I find that's the view that is at the centre of
classical sharia law. It's not a view I would want to permeate
here.
Canadian women have
fought really hard to get where they're at, and they are not
going to stand for anything that rolls it back. And I think that
this is something that the Muslim community is totally oblivious
to. They are totally unaware of the women's movement. So I think
gender equality is going to be the line in the sand, so to
speak.
What do you think will
be the next challenges for the Muslim community?
There are two other
areas Muslims have to adjust. The education systems in many home
countries don't encourage critical inquiry, here it's not like
that ... so you get a lot of conflicts between kids and their
parents, especially in the area of rules. Secondly, there is
also tension between family/cultural loyalty and more of the
second and third generation moving towards individualism.
You stepped out into the
unexpected, didn't you?
Yes, I took a year off
between Harvard and MIT to do social work. My parents were,
like, "what?" They thought I was throwing away a career. But it
was for my own soul, I spent so many years cloistered away in
ivory towers, with equations and computers -- there is a whole
world out there, it's not just reading books. I worked in a
women's shelter in Montreal, and the cancer ward at (Montreal's)
Royal Victoria Hospital, visiting patients who had no family.
On the Day of Judgment,
God will ask, "When you were on Earth why did you not visit me?
Why did you not feed me?" That really made an impression. I was
searching for that essence (of God) and I found it.
Which mosque do you go
to?
I only go to Friday
prayer once in a while. I pray on my own. (At her local mosque
in Kanata), I remember the imam saying, "just because you have a
PhD from Harvard, it doesn't mean you are qualified to speak to
the media" -- it was a veiled remark directed at me.
How do you handle the
pressures of work, children, writing, and practising your faith?
I discovered the key. I
make sure I exercise, eat right, do my prayers. I'm never
conflicted, because I know inside what my priorities are: my
family and work. I play women's soccer every week, and it's
fantastic. It's one hour where you don't worry, you just have
fun. Those moments to yourself are very important.
What would you like to
tackle next in your writing?
Being a believer and a
scientist -- I would like to be part of the public discourse on
that. I told my publisher I already know the title of my next
book, The Audacity to Believe. Belief is such a touchy subject,
especially for those who don't believe in God. Surprisingly, I
have found a few hardcore scientists who become so emotional
when the topic of God comes up. It touches a nerve.
Yet I remember the
following story in the Koran: Abraham is looking at the moon and
stars and sun and then he arrives at faith and God by what I
call deductive reasoning. (The world and its processes are) not
just by chance. It's so incredible. But some people don't see it
that way. I look at the two of the most influential scientists
we have, Newton and Darwin, and if you read the original
writings, these were men who believed in God. Physicists and
evolutionary biologists just think we're all deluded, and yet
those two scientists are heroes.
What has your own
spiritual journey been?
It's evolving. It's
broadening. When you are young, things look more black and
white. As you grow, you see how diverse and nuanced things are.
And I now see more spirituality in others as well.
Do you foresee a day
when you might not be Muslim?
God knows. The faith
itself provides me with tremendous happiness and the fortitude
to deal with daily challenges.
link:
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/Muslim+woman+
speaks+Ottawa+author+talks+about+Canada+Islam+women+
rights+terrorism/2451422/story.html
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