As a kid, I grew up routinely visiting my Bushia, my
Grandma, in Hamtramck (aka Poletown, an enclave within Detroit) and I was
always a bit bemused while observing the old, Polish ladies who would never
step foot out the door without covering their head in a babushka – a head scarf
with ancient traditions.  So, the ongoing
21st Century controversy in Europe and, less so, in the U.S. centered
on Muslim women wearing a hijab in public has always struck me as odd and a bit
hypocritical.

But the suspension from her job this week of a professor at
a hardcore evangelical college over her vow to wear a hijab throughout the
Christmas season, in solidarity with Muslims, has clearly sparked a controversy
across America.  

In particular, evangelicals and others are incensed by
political science professor Larcia Alaine Hawkins’ view that Muslims and
Christians are “people of the book” and worship the same God. Hawkins’ views,
expressed on Facebook, were especially bold because she teaches at Wheaton
College, the alma mater of longtime evangelist Billy Graham.

Dennis Lennox, a freelance
writer from Michigan and a devout Christian (Episcopalian), said in a column
published today by IJreview.com that suspending Hawkins is not enough. A Christian, Hawkins
should be fired, according to Lennox, or Wheaton officials will expose their institution as a place
that is affiliated with “the growing epidemic of spineless Christians”
who now go to great lengths to put the Muslim faith on an even theological
plain.
Professor Hawkins in a hijab

Lennox writes that “kookiness in American Christianity”
has been demonstrated by mainline Protestant denominations, such as the
Episcopal Church, Duke
University, long associated with the United

Methodists,
and even Roman Catholics, who have had their fair share of controversies on the

campuses
of flagship colleges like Georgetown University.

Here’s a portion of what
Lennox passionately wrote about Hawkins:

“Her undermining of the
fundamental Christian belief that Jesus Christ
is the
way, the truth and the life quite understandably offends many
Christians,
especially the deep-pocketed evangelical patrons of

Wheaton
College.



“Yet by
wearing the hijab she does nothing to support her position. In
fact, she
confirms that this is more petty, left-wing political
activism
than the result of rigorous academic scholarship into the
theology
of Christianity and Islam.




“As
controversial as the wearing of the hijab is — the article of
clothing
is associated by many with the oppression of women — the real
issue
here is a self-described Christian professor at a Christian

college
denying the Christian faith.”


I’m no theologian, though
I did attend religious (Catholic) schools through most of my K-12 experience,
so I respect that there are deep-seated, differing views within the Kuran and the
Bible. One religion views Jesus as a supreme being, the son of God, another religion
views Jesus as a revered prophet, though not one with direct ties to God.
Yet, there
are many religious books and writings out there, and dissecting the differences
seems like little more than a faith-based autopsy of ancient decrees that are designed
to prove an unprovable point.

Do Muslims pray to a different god than Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, Hindus — does any of that matter when we’re dealing with ingrained beliefs?

The idea that people
across the globe pray to many, many different gods – in addition to the age-old
perversion that “my religion is better than yours” – makes about as much sense
to me as a now-outdated decree from the Vatican that good Catholics must not
eat meat on Friday.

One religion’s revulsion
to pork is another religion’s weekly repudiation of all meat. But I would
suggest that what you wear on your head, or what you eat at the dinner table,
should have no bearing on your religious beliefs – or your version of morality
and goodness.

When it’s all based on
faith, why should there be a right and a wrong?

There was a time when women
of many Christian faiths were told they must keep their head covered while in church.
Now we are immersed in a time when Christians demand that Muslim women keep
their head uncovered while out in the street.

I’m trying to fathom how
my Bushia (long since deceased) would process this through her devotion to
Catholic teachings. And I’m imagining that she wouldn’t think twice about the many Muslim women who walk the streets of a transformed, diverse Hamtramck
wearing a hijab. It’s just a favored piece of fabric, woven into centuries of
culture — a babushka of a different kind.

 

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