New Trend Magazine (Number 6 in our series on Pakistan)

(See hadith text below on women's leadership roles)

Pakistan has changed Tremendously in Last Decade
Influence of Mullahs and Islamic Resurgence can be seen in Women's dress
All Walks of Life influenced: New Trend's three-week long survey


{War news: According to world famous historian David Irving, U.S. treatment of Islamic al-Qaeda prisoners has fallen below the standards Adolf Hitler applied to Russian prisoners.
A news item released by U.S. supporters indicates that one "detainee" was left untreated for ONE MONTH for a wound that required surgery. After surgery, his treatment is being treated as proof of fair treatment.
Pakistani coup leader, 'President' Musharref, demeaned Islam and Pakistan by handing over Afghan ambassador Abdus Salam Zaeef to the U.S. which is treating him like a criminal.}
{In the U.S., a tenured Muslim professor, Dr. Sami Al-Arian, has been fired after a witch hunt which was started by fascist TV man O'Reilly of Fox News, the lowest in media standards anywhere in the world.}
{Palestine TV was attacked by the Israeli airforce. Afghanistan's Radio Shariat was attacked on the first day of the bombing. Al-Jazeerah of Qatar has been under severe U.S. pressure not to report news from the Islamic perspective. }

AFTER A THREE WEEK TRIP TO PAKISTAN, covering the cities of Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and other areas, our team files the following report:

The biggest victory of the Islamists comes in the area of support from Pakistani women. The Islamic resurgence sweeping over Pakistan can be seen in the dress of Pakistani women in all walks of life.

Unfortunately American audiences get to see and know only the tiny westernized Pakistani elites linked to the Pakistani immigrants in the U.S. These groups have become more westernized than ever before.They read SHE magazine for fashion and HERALD for views. (HERALD announced with delight in December that JIHAD IS OVER.) On December 31 at midnight, these groups celebrated New Year with drink and dance and loud music more fervently than Americans. In Pakistani 'clubs', the high living style can be seen in the dining, the shiny cars, the bejewelled women, the haughty men who cavort with pleasure oblivious of Indian armies massing on the frontier.

These frequent the growing numbers of McDonalds, KFCs and Dunkin Donuts in Pakistan!

But these tiny westernized elites, however loud, do not represent Pakistani women.

{Our purpose here is not to claim that women have reached their Islamic goals or that Pakistan has become an Islamic society. It is a society in transition and Islam is winning although Islam does not have state power.}

THE MAIN POINT NOTICEABLE ABOUT PAKISTANI WOMEN TODAY IS THAT THEY HAVE REJECTED THE WESTERN IDEALS OF DRESS AND STYLE AND HAVE ACCEPTED THE TEACHINGS OF ISLAM AS PREACHED BY THE MULLAHS. Here are the segments of Pakistani women influenced by resurgent Islam:

1. THE RADICAL JIHADI WOMEN: These are mostly younger women, the new generation from the lower middle class and poorer sections of society. They take Islam as JIHAD. They usually wear NIQAB on their faces and are active in Islamic meetings strictly separate from men. These women are the main guarantee that the Musharref government will not be able to put an end to the jihadist movement. They belong largely to Lashkare Tayba (Ahle Hadith), Jaish Muhammad (Brelvi) and smaller groups and are to be found in most cities.

2. Jamaate Islami-influenced Islamic women. JI has widespread support among women throughout Pakistan including women in universities and colleges. In Islamabad, a sophisticated Islamic university for women is under construction. Many of these women also wear NIQAB.

3. Unaffiliated women throughout society have been influenced by the Mullahs. The generality of women have adopted Islamic dress as their choice (without the NIQAB). In Lahore, for instance, it is a common sight to see a wife riding behind her husband on a bicycle dressed in Islamic garb from head to toe but with her face uncovered. In Karachi, such couples ride on motorbikes.

4. Village women going to their chores in the fields cover themselves completely, with only the face uncovered.

5. Ultraconservative women are to be found in the frontier areas. These wear burqas, as in Afghanistan. There are also numerous MEDRESSAS for girls from which the mullas have been graduating women well armed with Islamic knowledge.
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We have explored the reports of atrocities against Pakistani women which were propagated in America. There is mistreatment of women in those areas of Sind and Baluchistan where feudalism is still prevalent. Atrocities are also committed among the very poor segments of village dwellers and slum areas. Owing to lack of privacy and change of environment from villages to cities, the slums have cases of serious atrocities where a man feels that a woman is being unfaithful to him.

Majority of women in Pakistan, however, are much better treated by men than women are in America. Rape, incest, prostitution, call girl rackets, date rape, teenage pregnancy, adultery, lesbianism are still extremely rare and the stuff of newspaper sensationalism.

Respect for women can be seen in most public places. In many places, such as lines at banks and airports, women get ahead of men and are not made to wait. Security for women is provided by women police. It's unthinkable for a male officer to search a woman.
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HADITH TEXT ON WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP ROLE:
(Contributed by Jamaat al-Muslimeen:)
"Ali bin Musher narrates: I have not seen anyone who knew more than 'Ayesha, Allah be pleased with her, about the Qur'an, religious obligations, halal and haram (the permitted and the forbidden), poetry, Arabic literature and geneology."
"Urwa reports: I did not find anyone who knew more than her ('Ayesha) of medicine." (Both reports from: MUSNAD 'AYESHA compiled by al-Imam al-hafiz Suyuti who died in 911 A.H.
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2002-01-20 Sun 18:40ct