Muslim Leaders Tell Off Nation Over Aden Duale's Hijab Remarks

The Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM) has faulted the Nation Media Group (NMG) over a story involving Defence Cabinet Secretary (CS) Aden Duale's remarks on Muslim women wearing hijab in public.

In a statement by Hassan Ole Naado dated Tuesday, December 20, SUPKEM accused the Kimathi Street-based media house of misquoting the CS, referring to its story where Duale warned "Muslim women to wear hijab in public or find another country to live".

"Our attention is drawn to the report on the online edition of the Nation Media Group concerning the speech made by the function's Chief Guest Hon. Adan Bare Duale, EGH, Cabinet Secretary for Defense on the rights of Muslim women to wear hijab.

"The Nation media has erroneously reported without facts that the CS of Defense has warned "Muslim women to wear hijab in public or find another country to live", the statement read in part.

Defence CS Aden Duale speaking at SUPKEM's International Quran Competition at Sir Ali Muslim Club on December 20, 2022. /FILE

During the function organized by SUPKEM to inaugurate the International Quran Competition at Sir Ali Muslim Club on Tuesday, the CS called for public institutions to respect the rights of Muslim women and allow them to wear hijab. 

"The government will respect Muslim culture. We will make sure our girls wear hijab. 

"If you have a problem with our girls and wives wearing hijab, you better leave this country because they will wear hijab," Duale said.

SUPKEM also faulted the media house for its unprofessionalism, saying that they possess the video/audio clip that captured the exact sentiments by the CS.

The leaders called for NMG to apologise and demanded a correction from them over the perception it deliberately created.

"We are saddened with the level of unprofessionalism demonstrated by the writer and the leadership of the media house for allowing such divisive venom to be spewed by its agent or staff.

"We demand an apology from the Nation Media Group and correction of the perception deliberately created by your staff," Naado added.

A hijab is a head covering scarf that some Muslim women and girls wear in public. For many of them, the hijab signifies both modesty and privacy.

A section of Kenyans believed that the CS was taken out of context while others expressed mixed reactions over his remarks. 

"I think the statement by Hon. Duale is being twisted. I have listened to the clip and there's absolutely nowhere the CS has threatened to force Muslim women to wear hijab or leave Kenya. 

"In fact he was defending them against anyone uncomfortable with seeing muslim women in hijab!" Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ezekiel Mutua wrote.

Duale still stood by his remarks, believing that 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. 

"The men and women masking their ulterior motives in kanzus and hijabs must be called out for who they are; charlatans! The Holy Book, that 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 world over, I will not be cowed by the bias and distorted information the media outlets have chosen to run with," said the CS.

The Ministry of Education in March 2022 directed that learning institutions stop violating religious rights of school going children by enforcing bans and forcing them to take specific religious subjects, noting that heads of schools were using the same excuses to deny students admission.

In 2019, Duale who was then Garissa Township MP cautioned schools in his constituency not to ban students from wearing hijabs. 

He was making reference to a case in which seven students from Thaara Secondary School in Murang'a County had been sent home after they were found wearing hijabs.

Muslim women in hijabs during the National Muslim Covid-19 Response Committee stakeholders meeting at Jamia Mosque, Nairobi on November 11, 2020. /NAIROBI NEWS