Defense Cabinet Secretary (CS) Aden Duale is clearly unmoved by the backlash that followed his comment about Muslim women wearing hijab in public.
Duale ruffled feathers Tuesday when he said it is mandatory for Muslim women to wear Hijab in public.
Speaking during the International Quran Competition launch at Sir Ali Muslim Club, Park Road, Nairobi, CS Duale said Muslim women should not be discouraged from observing their culture.
He said anyone with a problem with Muslim women wearing Hijab should find another country to live in.
“The government will respect Muslim culture. We will make sure our girls wear hijabs. If you have a problem with our girls & wives wearing hijabs, you better leave this country because they will wear hijabs,” Duale said in part.
In a follow-up statement in response to the public outcry, the former Garissa Township MP stood his ground saying he will defend what is written in the Quran.
“Almighty Allah ordered the women to let the two ends of their headgear extend onto their bosoms so that they conceal their ears, the neck, face, and the upper part of the bosom also. (Chapter 33, Verse 59 – Al Ahzab). Islam, like all other world religions, is a way of life with defining tenets that the adherents MUST follow to the latter. There are no two ways about it,” he said in a tweet.
He added: “Religious hypocrisy has been the root cause of extremism that for a long time, true Muslim faithful have been stereotyped, segregated and in worse cases, killed for.”
CS Duale also faulted the media for “distorting” his Tuesday remarks and called out ‘charlatans’ who hide behind Hijab.
“The men and women masking their ulterior motives in kanzus and hijabs must be called out for who they are; charlatans! The Holy Book, which is our guide to living a devoted and fulfilling life, explicitly shows that it’s not permissible to mix truth and falsehood together.
“As a member of the community and religion that has suffered the greatest forms of persecution the world over, I will not be cowed by the bias and distorted information the media outlets have chosen to run with. I was addressing members of the Islamic faith who know for a fact that I said nothing but the truth. I still am unapologetically Muslim. And, on behalf of Islam – which is bigger than us all – I said what I said,” he concluded.
