Alphonce Mungunda Critical Journal Format B HUMA 1100 March 1, 14 4:00pm 1.

Creators Name:Elizabeth Fernea and Robert Fernea 2. Creations Title: Symbolizing Roles:Behind the veil 3. What do you think is the main point or message of this work? (Think a little more deeply than normal about this; remember, rarely are things only or even primarily literal).

This was a very informative article for me because I can honestly say I never knew the veil that Muslim women wear meant so many things and was actually a sign of socioeconomic status in their culture. Our American culture is portrayed in foreign countries with symbols such as blue jeans or a baseball hat. Foreigners might not fully grasp the meaning or intentions behind how Americans dress just like how I, as an American, did not understand the reasons for Muslim women to wear a veil in their society. I found it interesting to learn that the veil was worn as sign of identity in order to relate to other Muslims. Before reading this article I thought Muslim women must really hate wearing those veils all the time when they are in public. I was shocked to find that wearing a veil in this culture is a sign of luxury and millions of women in their culture have not been able to afford to wear one. When asked about the veil and what its meaning is for them, there are many women, if not the majority, who prefer to wear the veil in Middle Eastern countries. For them it is a simple sign of religious commitment, as well as a socially enacted ritual, just like the use of high heels in American culture.

4. Why do you think so? I think this information was important to express to the readers. They authors made sure the readers would fully understand the reason for the veil. Most people do not know the background information for why the veil is worn. I think this article shed some light on that. I definitely took a lot from this article that I didn't know before. I think the authors wanted to show people the real reason for the veil. 5. How do you react to this material? Some of my initial thoughts were directed towards those in the US who choose to make immediate moral judgments about the wearing of the veil. How can we sit from our point of view and make judgments about a culture we can't possibly understand the way they have for generations? We are the melting pot of diversity in the world. When diversity is here in the US, we fight for equality and justice towards those individuals in the minority. But on the other side of world we see an element of diversity like the veil and judge it to be something immoral and something to be corrected. I think we as Americans should learn to try and see things through the eyes of those who behave in the manner we are questioning, and try to understand that there are ways of life that are just as natural to those practitioners as our ways of life are to us. I used to often wonder why they wore veils in the U.S. since it is not dishonorable to do so here. After reading I found out that women wear veils to honor their religion and their family, so it makes sense to me now why women wear them here. They do not want to dishonor or shame their family and it is a huge part of their culture. I think that is very interesting and shows their loyalty to their religion, family, and culture. I think that Western society has a hard time understanding that wearing a veil doesnt mean that

women are oppressed, it just means they are doing what their ancestors have done for thousands of years. 6. Why do you think you react this way? I think because I didn't know a lot of information on the veil I was really interested to read the authors article. I was able to find out information on why the veil is worn. It really changed the way I think about it. I will no longer wonder why Muslim women wear the veil despite being in the United States. I now know its because of religion and honor to their family. 7. What else do you think you need to know more about to understand this work? I think with more research I can find more information to include with this article to provide me with a better understanding. I find this topic rather interesting since I always wondered why women in the United States still worn the veil. This has definitely enlightened me and helped me realize the background for why they wear it.