ANKARA – A viral video showing a woman offering prayers in her swimsuit has sent the social media into frenzy sparking a heated debate in Turkey. The controversial video – presumably taken in Turkey – has been retweeted more than 2.7k times since it was posted followed by flummoxed Twitteratis questioning if the strikingly atypical style of prayer was in accordance with Islamic laws or is violative of the Shariah law that requires women to dress modestly and cover their hair with the hijab, or headscarf. https://twitter.com/volkanatesvip/status/895716954127962112 Turkey is a predominantly Muslim country which follows a moderate brand of Islam popularly attributed to the radical ‘reforms’ brought by Mustafa Kamal after the World War 1. His reforms included refashioning of Islamic rituals such as rewriting azaan in Turkish and outlawing Hijab. However, offering prayers in a swimsuit would most probably provoke anger and public obloquy. Most of Muslims consider amendments in religious rituals disrespectful or even heretical especially in a country like Turkey where moderate Islam has been said to be eroding recently under Erdogan. Nonetheless, the video was welcomed by some who considered prayer an act based on intention instead of traditional ritualistic style
Önemli olan niyet değil mi arkadaşım
— Ат гибин адам (@atgibinadam) August 10, 2017
