News:
Women in Turkey and around the world took to social media this week posting pictures of themselves laughing, after Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç commented that women should not laugh in public. There has been outrage from the Western media, and the statement is viewed as proof of the “Islamist” sentiments of the AKP government and their desire to erode the secular nature or Ataturk’s republic.
“[The woman] will know what is haram and not haram. She will not laugh in public. She will not be inviting in her attitudes and will protect her chastity”, he said during his speech on morality.
There have been more than 300,000 tweets using the term “kahkaha” – the Turkish word for “laughter” – and on the hashtags “Resist Laughter” (#direnkahkaha) and “Resist Woman” (#direnkadin). Extreme feminist group FEMEN have also taken part in the social media protest by posting pictures of a topless member with “real women don’t laugh” painted across her torso.
In the same speech, the deputy prime minister also called on men not to be “womanisers” and blamed TV shows for encouraging teenagers to become “sex addicts”. While the general tide of opinion on social media was critical, he did get some support. One man tweeted to say Arinc was simply trying to uphold “moral values” that form “part of Turkish culture”.
Comment:
With the presidential election little over a week away, this was thought by many as a ploy to appeal to the religious voters of Turkey, despite alienating the ardent secularists.
Islam has clearly defined the way in which men and women should behave in public life in the Quran and Sunnah. Allah سبحانه وتعالى says in Surah Nur verse 30 and verse 31:
قُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَغُضُّوا مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِمْ وَيَحْفَظُوا فُرُوجَهُمْ ذَلِكَ أَزْكَى لَهُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا يَصْنَعُونَ وَقُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا
“Tell the believing men to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts). That is purer for them. Verily, Allah is All-Aware of what they do. And tell the believing women to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts) and not to show off their adornment except only that which is apparent”
Modesty is to be observed at all times, not merely through individual actions but through the Islamic systems implemented upon society.
Social laws such as dress code, segregation and marriage seek to limit the sexual instinct to within the private sphere and only between a married couple where both the husband and wife have rights and responsibilities towards one another. Harsh punishments for crimes such as fornication and adultery further act as a deterrent to promiscuity and truly ensure that the Islamic State is a state which avoids the destructive social problems we witness in the West today such as sexually transmitted diseases, abortions and the rise of the single parent family to name but a few.
Thus, whilst the comments of Arınç are not necessarily contrary to Islam, devoid of the implementation of such systems comprehensively they will not produce the desired result. At the same time, such a statement coming from a state that only removed its decade old ban on the wearing of the hijab in public institutions in October is hypocritical to say the least.
Anything other than the full implementation of Islam will always result in the oppression of women and men, for Allah سبحانه وتعالى says in Surah Maidah verse 45:
وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَا أنزَلَ اللّهُ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ
“Whoever does not rule according to what Allah has revealed, they are the oppressors.”
The actions of the AKP government are not motivated by Islam, but rather what will win most support from the majority population, regardless of what they identify with. The time has come for Turkey to decide whether it is a secular liberal democracy or if it will embrace Islam holistically and fulfill the promise of Allah سبحانه وتعالى through the return of the Khilafah Rashidah.
Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Aisha Hasan