Religious Symbolism

November 19, 2008 in USA

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Religious Symbolism

Atul Dev

One of my mother’s earliest pictures in our family album is from her college days in Lahore. It is a group photograph taken in the 30’s with two of her best friends and they are all wearing burkhas over their salwar suits, of course with the face veil lifted. I had often discussed this with her and she explained that in Lahore, prior to the partition of the subcontinent in 1947, college-going girls often wore burkhas as a fashion statement. It had no religious overtones! Lahore, as one may have read, was the fashion capital of the Far East in those days. The college girls of Lahore then were as fashionably dressed as one sees in the streets of Paris today. Alas, not many wear the burkha as a fashion statement today.

Many years later, I did tenure in the Indian Army. I spent a full 25 years in uniform. One of the most important regulations that I still recall was the – “Dress Regulation”. It was explicit in its wordings, in that it forbade the wearing of any religious symbols of any kind by anyone while in uniform except a signet ring, to be of an ‘unobtrusive size worn only on the left third finger’. No religious symbols were permitted around the neck or even the mauli (red religious thread) on the wrist or for that matter any other caste marks on one’s forehead, etc. I can assure readers that this law was followed to the last detail by each one of us while in uniform. Shaving was compulsory every morning; no beards were permitted except for Sikh personnel.

Dress regulations in our armed forces were drafted during the time of the British and have been followed without too much modification till date. For the Sikhs there were clear orders. They were expected to adhere to a strict code of dress in consonance with their faith. This code includes the observance of the five Khalsa symbols – keeping Kesha, or uncut hair, Sikhs thus wear their hair uncut under a turban and also sport beards; wearing a Kaccha, a specially designed undergarment; wearing a Kara, a steel bracelet; carry a Kanga, a wooden comb; and, carry a Kirpan, a ceremonial dagger.

Wearing of a turban best symbolizes Sikhism universally. Wearing a turban for a Sikh is mandatory to cover their long uncut hair. The Sikh soldiers refused to wear helmets during World War I and World War II. They fought with turbans on their heads. During these and other wars many Sikhs have been decorated with the Victoria Cross for valour, the highest medal awarded by the British for gallantry in war against the enemy.

The British government recognizing these essential religious symbols incorporated them in all dress regulations where Sikhs were expected to join. Thus you see these very clearly defined dress regulations in the armed forces, police forces, etc. It would not be out of place for me to emphasize that no exceptions were made for any other religious symbolism whatsoever in all these dress regulations.

I was, therefore, not surprised when I read in the newspapers some days ago, that the management of British Airways (BA) had advised a check-in counter staff to remove the necklace with a cross because it contravened the company's policy on wearing of uniforms. This is the dress code the British have followed from times immemorial. The BA dress regulation further clarifies that such jewellery may be worn underneath clothing as long as it is not visible outside. When the issue was first reported in the media, a BA spokesman had clarified: "This rule applies for all jewellery and religious symbols on chains and is not specific to the Christian cross."

It is not the first time the Christian cross has been subject to such a controversy. British Midland airline has the same policy for wearing uniforms, which it says is based not on religion but on the kind of image the company wants to present. The BBC too admitted that it had a discussion about a newsreader wearing a cross necklace though it insists there is no ban within their organisation. While many Christians work happily for firms that do not allow crosses to be worn, some feel the action taken by British Airways is simply a reaction to prevent any further liberties being taken in dress regulations by other religious groups as that would be detrimental to their business image.

Meanwhile the controversy over Muslims wearing veils in UK is still going on. A school teacher in Yorkshire is still fighting her suspension orders for wearing a veil to class. The entire controversy took a more serious turn when Jack Straw, Britain’s former Foreign Secretary, advised Muslim women in Britain to completely discard the full veil and thus integrate better with society. Prime Minister Tony Blair joined the controversy by his statement that – “The time had come to step outside the boundaries of political correctness and debate the place of the veil in a modern secular society.”

Women in some Muslim countries or subcultures wear burkha or niqab that cover them from head to toe. Standards for modesty in dress vary greatly depending on the cultural context. A cultural conflict arose in the Netherlands, when school authorities once forbade Muslim students from wearing a burkha, arguing that non-verbal communication is often required to teach the students.

In April 2006, two girls were suspended from a school in Bonn, Germany, for 14 days for wearing a burkha. The school’s director argued that the "peace in class" had been disturbed and that school requires communication where pupils' faces can be seen. Additional reasons given were that wearing a burkha makes chemistry and sports lessons impossible.

Similarly a court in New Zealand ruled that women cannot wear a burkha while providing courtroom testimony. As a compromise, the Islamic Women's Council endorsed a policy that allowed Muslim women to be hidden from public view by a screen while giving such testimony.

In Italy, hiding one's face while in public has been forbidden since 1975. An anti-terrorism law passed in 2005 imposes increased fines and prison sentences for violators of the law. Some believe that lawmakers specifically intended this clause to prevent women from wearing burkhas.

Let us examine the concept of the Jewish headgear, yarmulke, that is sported by many an orthodox Jew. The most commonly known and recognized piece of Jewish item of dress is actually the one with the least religious significance. The word yarmulke is Yiddish; it comes from a Tartar word meaning skullcap. The Hebrew word for this head covering is kippah.

It is an ancient practice for Jews to cover their heads during prayer. This custom is probably derived from the fact that in Eastern cultures, it is a sign of respect to cover the head (the custom in Western cultures is the opposite: it is a sign of respect to remove one's hat). Thus, by covering the head during prayer, one shows respect to the almighty. Whatever the reason given, covering the head has always been regarded more as a custom rather than a religious practice. Does this mean that wearing a yarmulke becomes a religious diktat and must be worn by all Jews at all times?

There is also the well-reported case of one Abdus Samad Haqq, who had been employed as a corrections officer at a New York office of the Department of State for more than 12 years. For almost all of those years, he has worn a kufi, a traditional Muslim skullcap, to work everyday. Last May, Haqq was asked by the authorities to remove this kufi. Haqq has abided by the orders to remove the kufi but has since filed a lawsuit against the order on the grounds that, “the change has deeply disturbed him”.

It does appear that, except for Sikhism, no other religion has laid down any symbolic representation. These are based on customs or cultural practices from region to region. Such practices are more for seeking an identity rather than being ordained by their religion.

(Atul Dev is a New Delhi based senior freelance journalist. He writes a weekly column for Mauritius Times)

Source : www.mauritiustimes.com

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