To dress or to undress?

Sister Ruth Nasrullah, who is fast becoming a Houston icons for converts to Islam, is now hosting her own blog via Houston Chronicle. Sister Ruth is a journalist by education, and her writings convey that art well. Her blog has an interesting entry regarding the picture of a Muslim woman that appeared in the Chronicle. By all accounts, the picture was not very accurate in its portrayal of Islamic dress (what a surprise). So, Sister Ruth discusses that, and some interesting comments come her way.

Here's her blog : http://blogs.chron.com/thestraightpath/. Look for insert "I'm Disappointed".

One comment that probably got under Sister Ruth's skin, and under mine and probably most Muslims was this comment by a Dennis:
"Ruth - it's an interesting concept that you are promoting here, this idea of freedom through oppression. I thought our society had advanced well beyond that point, even if it is based on a religious philosophy. To steal a line from Richard Dawkins, we tolerate a lot of really bad ideas becase we are told that they have some sort of religious basis. I don't think most Americans will buy into what you are suggesting."

Here's my response:
To Dennis:
Your statement, I quote, "this idea of freedom through oppression" is actually quite amusing. It's as contradictory as Bush's goal of promoting 'liberty' i.e. if people choose to behave in a certain way that you don't like, then it must be oppression, and if they choose to behave in a way that you like, then it has to be liberty! Why is it that you and your ilk feel that they are somehow so enlightened to pick and choose what represents liberty or oppression for others?
For you, liberty may mean women appearing in playboy or penthouse magazines or appearing barely-clad or not clad at all in advertisements that have nothing to do with women. For you, liberty may mean women selling themselves, and be sold by others, for the enjoyment of men. For you, liberty may mean women wearing mini-skirts at work for the visual pleasure of men dressed in 3-piece suits. For you, liberty may be little girls dressing in enticing and 'sexy' clothes, while they haven't yet grasped simple concepts of life. For you, liberty may mean women spending their entire lives trying to please men, whether on the street, on the bill-boards, on TV, in magazines or whatever else purpose they are being exploited for.
For us Muslims, Dennis, liberty means quite something else. For us Muslims, liberty means a women's subservience not to the society or its male sector, but to the God who created her. For us Muslims, liberty means a woman's role not as an object of pleasure for nations, but rather as a mother of nations. And finally, for us Muslims, liberty means dressing to dress, and not to entice; dressing to cover, and not to uncover illicit relations.
As the verse in Quran states, what means, "To you, your religion, to us ours". So, to you, your perverted sense of liberty, to us, our true liberty; Liberty from the worship of man, and liberty in the worship of man's creator.
-amad