Adil Najam
According to a news item in The News, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is going to implement a ban on growing beards – except for French beards – on all male cabin crew:
In a recent notification, PIA administration has announced to have reviewed its policy regarding beards, and said now male cabin crew could not grow beards and they could only have French-cut beards.
Not surprisingly, religious scholars and ulema condemned PIA for this, calling the ban a violation of constitutional and fundamental human rights. Whether this is or is not the most important constitutional violation of our age, the ulema are, in fact, right.
Unless there is a sound technical reason for it (and there seems not to be), forcing someone to take off their beard is deserving of condemnation as much as forcing someone to grow a beard. Especially if either of the act is ideologically motivated; no matter what the ideology. Of course, forcing someone to grow a beard on threat of death or violence is particularly disturbing. But, frankly, a threat to one’s livelihood is also reprehensible.
Right now, I myself do not have a beard. And that is not an ideological statement one way or the other. But my own position remains unchanged from October 2006 when I had commented on facial hair for cricketers:
By way of disclosure I should add that I occasionally sprout facial hair of my own but am mostly clean-shaven. But as a deep and committed adherent of people’s right of expression (how can a blogger not be that!) I stand committed to defend people’s right to facial hair, whether they are grown for stylistic elegance or religious expression.
More pertinent was the June 2006 decision by Habib Bank to ban shalwar kameez and facial hair (by the way, can someone please confirm if that policy was ever implemented). In that case the issue had focused more on the wearing of shalwar kameez to work and the argument that this somehow made the person look less “trustworthy” and less “presentable.” Facial hair were also targeted for the same reason. On the issue of beards, trustworthiness and presentability, my argument was rather simple:
Dr. Abdus Salam? Abdul Sattar Edhi? Sir Syed Ahmed Khan?
Presentable? You bet.
Trustworthy? More than any banker I ever met.
As a rather frequent traveler on PIA – in fact, I read this news item on a PIA plane retruning from Karachi to Islamabad, and one of the cabin staff was supporting a huge beard – I too have noticed that the number of crew members with facial hair, especially large beards, has increased dramatically over the years. But that is a factor of what has been happening in society. PIA has plenty of big problems to deal with, and this seems to be the least of them.
At least in my experience, the quality of service one gets is not at all dependent on the amount of facial hair. Maybe the management should focus on that before it starts following the example of the Swat Taliban in judging people by the length of their facial hair (or not)!
As a beard-wearer, I wish to add my tuppence to the rising groundswell of support for the right to wear a beard. Of course, if PIA insists, then people may have to exercise a choice between their right to wear a beard, and their option to work for PIA. I hope all will recognise that for the individual, it is a choice between a right and an option.
For what it’s worth, in India, only Sikhs get the privilege of wearing a beard at all times, a privilege often exercised; they even sometimes carry kirpans which are rather on the large size for kirpans, and being held in the rifle slope position around midships, threaten to seriously incapacitate people in the vicinity, in manners not perhaps originally intended as a function of a kirpan. However, since they are most of them in excellent working order as kirpans, I most energetically declare my full support for their carriage, in any position that the carrier should select.
After my initial feeling of enthusiasm at the prospect of another battle in the offing for human liberties, I was deflated to realise that what I sport is the half-hearted variety that has been called various things, some in good-hearted spirit, such as the French cut, and by Kamran, in a most unkind spirit, the goat-cut.
Dear Kamran, you are hurting the feelings of all of us goat-cut (and don’t please take the phrase further than applying it to beards, for the sake of those of us who are of a nervous disposition); the proper way to refer to our work of art is a block beard.
Proud To Sport A Beard.
You mentioned Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, who had a huge beard. But it was an attractive beard. You can imagine it to be well maintained and trimmed at all times. Ulema are right in this case and as an Ahmadi muslim I feel that no matter how bigoted many religious scholars of the day are, they have the right to preach the Islamic observance as they please. Fundamentally, a beard is natural part of man’s face and shaving it off is akin to interfering with the natural look, but I can not imagine a person who has no urge to trim it to keep it “under control”. I have noticed that many of the Ulema urge their followers to grow beards a fist-tull long and trim only what comes outside the fist. Meaning that the beard should not be shaped to suit the face or even the lifestyle etc. These beards are unsightly and especially those who also clean shave their moustache look particulary extreme in their stance. There are debates on whether moustach should be trimmed or shaven, whether beard should be a hand’s length or a fist’s length, whether it could be even smaller than that etc. Ulema of almost all schools of thought have never considered thining of the wisdom behind growing beards. I have to rationalize everything so my reasons for growing a beard should be.
a. It is the sunnah of RusoolAllah (saw) so it is the wise thing to do.
b. It differentiates men from women (on a visble level atleast)
c. It bestows a sense of maturity on the person.
d. It is a means of beuatification for a man (if kept trimmed and tidy).
e. It has a number of health benefits. Evolutionary function of hair is temprature regulation, protection against the sun, mosquitos etc. Islam you will note, prescribes shaving of the hair which can cause medical/hygiene problems.
The orthodoxy keeps beard for the reasons below.
a. It is the Sunnahof RusoolAllah (saw). (I agree completely).
b. Each hair of the beard sends salam to the person who grows it etc.. (a good reason if you are counting the blessings of Allah.Very fashionable in Tablighi circles. but I am dead set against keeping count.. Fabi Ayyi aalaa)
c. The beard should be kept in one fashion which has been described in Hadith and opinion of an Imam of Fiqh (there are four or five different versions). There is no reason one should deviate from this fashion.. etc
d. Beard differentiates between a muslim and a non-muslim. This a popular argument but many Ulema have never seen an orthodox Jew or a portrait of Charles Darwin.
In short, PIA should use some common sense and encourage their employees to educate themselves in the moderate interpratations of Islamic observance and rituals. For example, you do not need to bring a prayer mat and look for space to pray with full protocol on a 12 hours long flight when you are allowed to offer prayers while seated wearing your seatbelt.
As a matter of fact PIA administration is trying to deprive muslims of their basic right.No doubt it has been decided on the directions of Mr.10% and he is doing nothing but trying to make his west allies happy.
What they’ve actually done here is banned the Sunnat of Rasulullah sallallahu ‘alayhi wasalam. May Allah guide these fools.
This is thanks to the rampant liberalism in the “Islamic” Republic of Pakistan.
— Lets read ” The News ” first, of Sat 21st or click on it which will take you the ‘story’.
The reporter says that a ” recent PIA notification ” — .
Printing news of this nature and quoting a few politicians does’nt make news fact worthy, though its just maybe news worthy.
The reporter should have quoted The Notification– date and serial number (he must have got a copy of it, I’m sure).
I beseach Adil Najam to get to the root of it as the onus of responsibility( in these god forsaken times) rests on him.
Cheers !!!
— Naseer