It’s no big deal!
Muslim scholar Dr. Qanta Ahmed has some choice words about the recent visit of the Trump family to Saudi Arabia, where neither Ivanka nor Melania Trump wore a headscarf when meeting the king of that nation. But as Dr. Ahmed points out in this expository clip, this occurrence was neither looked askance at or considered blasphemy by the Sunni Wahhabist hosts of the American delegation.
Some members of the Western media have sought to make a big fuss over of the lack of a head covering for the Western women, but Dr. Ahmed explains why for most Muslims, this was not even considered a minor faux pas.
Of course, the key word is “most Muslims,” because as Dr. Ahmed says, there’s a small minority of this group who are troublemakers within the Islamic world, such as the Islamic State (ISIS), which claims to adhere to a purer, more fundamentalist sect of the religion. But in fact, as Dr. Ahmed confirms, these terrorists are the betrayers of their religion, acting against the explicit teachings of a number of portions of the holy Quran.
Dr. Ahmed also points to the boldness of Ivanka Trump’s Women Entrepreneurs Fund, which will be administrated by the World Bank and which seeks to raise the status of women worldwide — including within the Arab world. It generated a $134 million donation from the Saudis and the United Arab Emirates to advance its efforts. This is in spite of the fact that both Saudi Arabia and the UAE are acknowledged to be among the world’s most segregated nations by gender.
However, last month, it appeared some progress was being made on women’s rights as Saudi King Salman issued a proclamation stating that women who lacked a man’s consent should not be denied services of his country’s government. This is a most surprising development in a nation where women traditionally have not been allowed to drive, get a passport or travel outside the country without the explicit permission of a male relative or guardian. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has hinted at further possible reforms for women in his country’s future. Watch as Dr. Ahmed gives more details on this story.