There is an op-ed written in a NY Urdu language paper (English translation) that deals with the issue of hijab. I’m looking for the Urdu version, but the English translation reminds me very much of what some of the early debate was like in NY in English. You would throw out a whole bunch of arguments and see what would stick. The arguments have become much more sophisticated and targeted, helped both by time and the easy accessibility of more academic material. I think this article is important, not because of what it says, but because of the language and audience it’s written for. Urdu is the language of a particular segment of the society, of Pakistani immigrants, and mostly of the 1st generation. The dynamic of the argument is being shifted from those who are attempting to reconcile identities, to those who are attempting to preserve an identity. More importantly, the debate is getting to a question of religion and culture, and the hypocrisy of certain Muslims in the US.
As an aside, in the same issue of the Indy Press, there’s an article about the approval by Orthodox Rabbis of a dating site. I wonder how much longer until we get muftis and mullahs thinking about similar things.
Writing articles in Urdu is not going to help any one. Like in this article where Iftikhar Naseem tries to debate the girl she responses in a rude behavior. Pakistanis particularly and Muslims generally think that any mind which has the ability to ask a “Question” is actually brain washed by Jewish Propaganda against Islamic traditions. 🙂