Letters: November 17, 2009

My perspective
I strongly agree with Dr Lamees Hamdan ("Oprah appearance remarks land Emirati doctor in hot water", November 14, Gulf News). The abaya and shayla
are nowadays worn more for cultural reasons than "religious". The Quran does not advocate wearing an abaya but does emphasise the need to cover up, as in not showing your hair, legs, arms and other parts of the body. As for the issue of electricity bills, I disagree. I’m Emirati, and I know my family pays for water and electricity. And I don’t wear the abaya either, because I don’t have to wear it. Because it is cultural.
From Ms Amna
Dubai
Website comment

It is a cultural choice
I think Dr Lamees is right to a certain extent. While covering the body and head is obligatory for all Muslim women according to the Quran, it isn’t said anywhere that the cloth should be black and that there should be a
shayla, too. Afghan women wear just one piece of cloth that covers the entire body. Abaya and shayla are purely cultural [in origin].
From Mr Salman
Abu Dhabi
Website comment

Hijab is a must
It’s very unfortunate to see such things said about the hijab without referring to the Quran. Such a statement exclaiming that the hijab is just a cultural requirement is wrong. However rich or poor you are, the hijab is a must for all Muslim women. Such a statement is a disgrace to the person who has made the comment. May Allah give her the opportunity to reconcile and understand Islam correctly.
From Mr Khalid Al Jabri
Abu Dhabi

Oprah does it again
I am with Dr Lamees only because she is stating her personal view. Oprah [Winfrey] always undermines her guests. What happened with the doctor also happened with Nancy Ajram and other Arab guests on her show. I think she does it on purpose for some hidden reason and agenda.
From From A Reader
Sydney, Australia
Website comment

Need for dialogue
Free speech anyone? Any intelligent discussion about what Islam involves and it results in just attacking the person who dares to scratch the surface? Muslims are offended too easily, behaving not like good Muslims but becoming shockingly aggressive and negative as so many times before. Don’t they realise that it is not Dr Lamees showing Islam in a bad light, but them?
From A Reader
Name withheld on request
Dubai

Not convincing
I think Dr Lamees was speaking for herself and not for the Emirati way of life. It almost seemed like she was trying to justify her not wearing the headscarf by referring to it as a "cultural" thing with no religious significance. Her comments about her lavish lifestyle are also personal too but although she is free to express herself, she could have been more careful when touching on matters of religion.
From A Reader
Ajman
Website comment

Stop criticising!
I think this is going too far. Dr Lamees did nothing wrong. As much as we believe we have moved forward, we are still narrowminded. We are too quick to criticise others without introspecting ourselves.
From A Reader
Dubai
Website comment

Great job
I am a UAE national and I think Dr Lamees did a great job. I was one of the first to see it as I live in the US and watched it live as it was being aired. I was just overjoyed on having an Emirati woman come on Oprah! She didn’t say anything wrong and was representing her point of view. I wear the headscarf myself and think it is difficult to represent all women and points of view in Dubai. She did a great job and I applaud her.
From Ms Fatima Kazim
Dubai

Freedom of expression
Everyone has the right to express themselves. By hyping up such comments, we are only elevating unnecessary propaganda. Every person is responsible for what he or she says, so let it be. I believe that Islam is the most modern of all religions.
From Mr Mahmoud Ali Khan
Dubai
Website comment

Common sense
The shayla and abaya are just two forms of attire which are certainly cultural. Islam asks women to be covered from head to toe with the exception of the hands and face only. 'Awrah' means those areas that are private for each individual.
These areas can be covered with any kind of clothing, which is of course not revealing or tightly fitting. Egyptians, Syrians, Iranians and even some Indians have different types of such clothing.
It’s common sense that clothing is cultural, but the need to cover oneself from head to toe is a religious obligation for Muslim women!
From Ms Sara
Sharjah
Website comment

Not fair at all!
The campaign against Dr Lamees is so unfair. Some people criticise others without reason.
Dr Lamees was talking about the shayla and abaya, which is obviously a part of our culture in the UAE. And I think it’s purely an individual choice to wear it as a hijab or not.
From Mr Ali Al Shamsi
Al Ain

Reader’s issue resolved

Overbooked flight
I had confirmed a ticket by Airblue from Dubai to Karachi. I arrived at the airport at 9.35pm and the flight was at 11.30pm. However, the person at the counter informed me that the flight was full and they did not have spare seats. Twenty people had confirmed tickets but could not travel because the airline had overbooked the flight. The Airblue staff admitted their mistake but could neither arrange any facilities for us - such as a hotel and compensation of transport costs - nor allow us to board another flight.
From Mr Farhan Ahmad
Abu Dhabi

Ms Sadaf Ali, Manager, Airblue,
responds:
We had sorted out the case with the passenger. This happened due to the lastminute arrival of a smaller aircraft, for which we had to deny entry to a few passengers. There are situations where we, as airline staff, also become helpless, but at Airblue, we always try to meet the expectations
of our customers. As a goodwill gesture we will do whatever we can to please our customer and will continue to strive to eradicate our shortcomings.

Mr Ahmad responds:
Thank you so much for your care. On October 8, 2009, I received a call from Airblue and the representative apologized for the incident and explained the reason for the event. He offered a one-way ticket from Dubai to Karachi for my entire family as compensation. In view of Airblue’s goodwill gesture and their positive attitude, I accepted their offer and agreed to the compensation. I hope that they offered such an apology and compensation to every passenger affected by the inconvenience. I really appreciate the effort put in by Gulf News and thank them for their help.