Muslims on hijab: Ban cell phones, handbags too!

President Muhammadu Buhari should ban vehicles, handbags, cell phones, motorcycles and suits instead of the hijab, the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, Lagos state area unit, has said.

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has also questioned why army and police uniforms have not been banned despite being used by bandits.

Many bombings have been carried out by Boko Haram fighters wearing hijab, most of them female.

The president said on Thursday that he would consider banning the hijab in order to checkmate Boko Haram.

Chad, a Muslim-majority country, banned the use of hijab following two attacks carried out in the country.

Saheed Ashafa, the amir of MSSN LSAU, said: “If Hijab ban must be considered, then the government has to also ban use of vehicles, hand bags, cell phones, motorcycles and suits because more evils have been perpetuated through them.

“It’s totally illogical to attach Boko Haram attacks to a dress code or pattern. Our Hijab is a garment of honour; it is an apparel of modesty and an outfit commanded to be worn by Allah.”

He said it would be a victory for Boko Haram if hijab is banned.

“It is known to everyone that Hijab is worn by Muslims and a ban on the religious garment is an attack on Islam,” he said.

“Just as it would be wrong for anyone to say that suits or vehicles should be banned because they are used to rob or assassinate and terrorise; it would also be unfair  for anybody to consider Hijab ban because of its wrong usage.”

MURIC has also condemned the proposed ban, describing it as “escapist” and “scapegoatism”.

“It will open the floodgates of anarchy. Instead of solving Nigeria’s security problems, it is most likely to compound it,” its director, Ishaq Akintola, said.

The professor said: “If army and police uniforms are not banned although they are often used by bandits, why should we ban hijab? Security agents know how they often fish out hoodlums who use police and soldiers’ uniforms to commit atrocities. The same method should be used to prevent the use of hijab for bombing.

“What crime have Nigerian Muslim women committed that they should be derobed in public? Without their hijab, Muslim women feel as if they are naked.

“Users of hijab are in all walks of life. They are civil servants, business women, teachers, etc. Most importantly, they are tax payers and voters. They voted Buhari into power. Is Buhari’s government warming up to encroach on Allah-given fundamental rights of Muslim women?  Is this an appropriate pay-back?”

Controversy has often trailed the ban on wearing of hijabs in secular schools in the south-west.