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The hijab

: A general term for women’s clothing that covers the whole

body except the hands and face; it can also mean the head
covering that conceals the hair (Hillenbrand).

Before the “Hijab,” and what it Meant

 Veiling was common during the pre-Islamic era. Women who veiled themselves were

those among the high class. Veiling became a symbol of your status.
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 Women found outside cities and within villages tended not to veil as their role/function

within their community was to work. Veiling was an inconvenience to their tasks and

responsibilities they needed to accomplish. Whereas women within the cities veiled

themselves to show status and to escape harassment. If you did not veil yourself, you

were seen as lower class and as one to easily be taken advantage of.

Qur’an on Hijab
 (Disclaimer) The Qur’an clearly states that men and women are equal in the eyes of

Allah. That one is not better than the other and both are promised the same paradise.

 Now, looking to what the Qur’an says in regard to veiling oneself; there is no real clear-

cut code of modesty. Out of the 6,236 versus contained in the Qur’an only 3 versus are

given on the matter of modesty.

 First addressed in the Qur’an, men are to “lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that

will make for greater purity for them: And Allah is well acquainted with all that they do"

(Qur’an 24:30).

 A verse later, women are also addressed on the same matter with an extra plea “that they

should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear

thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty

except to their husbands, [a list of relatives], [household servants], or small children who

have no sense of the shame of sex; and that they should not strike their feet in order to

draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O ye Believers! turn ye all together

towards Allah, that ye may attain Bliss. “(Qur’an 24:31).

 The later verse found in the Qur’an is strictly for the wives of the Prophet Muhammad.
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 Carole Hillenbrand shares in here book, Introduction to Islam, the view of a famous

Qur’an translator, Muhammad Asad, where he argues that “the very vagueness…allows

for time-bound changes to occur and therefore for different interpretation to be possible

at different periods in history.” Seeing as Islam has existed for centuries and is widely

spread across the world, each society has its own cultural definition and function for

modesty and covering.

 It can also be argued that what is contained in the Qur’an concerning the matter of

modesty allows followers themselves to be the discerners of what modesty is or isn’t.

That women ultimately have the say in how they dress for their specific culture and for

the progression within that culture. Whether they believe that wearing a hijab (niqab,

burqa, etc.) is indeed the means to fulfill what has been written or that by choosing not

to wear a hijab can still be satisfy that demand. Now that is my outsider view on the

matter along with some Islamic feminists, but the argument is a complex one and heavily

debated among Muslims and especially the four schools of Islamic jurisprudence.

Muslim women’s dress however, is a recommended action and not a required behavior

in the eyes of Islam and Sharia law.

Hijab Across the World

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 It wasn’t till years after the revelation on modesty, that veiling became a symbol of

Islamic belief. Each culture, whether by interpretation or tradition, has their own system

to covering.

 Against some western-world stigma, covering does not have to be plain or boring or a

striping of one’s identity. Many Muslim countries have embraced the hijab and to each

their own, made it beautiful and trendy.

 Hijabs come in all shapes and sizes. Places like Pakistan and India wear a dupatta, a

loosely draped scarf around the head that reveals some front hair. The jilbab “a long

garment which covers the whole body, except for the hands, face, and head”

(Hillenbrand, 298) is embraced in countries like Indonesia and the Philippines. Turbans

are found within places such as Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan. The list goes on with the

various types of hijabs and places which incorporate them.

 However, not every Muslim country gives women the choice of wearing a hijab or not,

but the number is few. Iran and Saudi Arabia are places where the hijab is compulsory,

you have to by law cover your head. In recent years Syria and Turkey have removed

restrictions on headscarves.

Modern Day World Views & Islamophobia

 When seeing a woman wearing a hijab it is easy to identify her as a Muslim. But what

feelings and thoughts do people associate with that? The Muslim women in our REL 2030

class have expressed the mis consumption people of non-Muslim belief have of them.

People tend to view hijab wearers as those who are oppressed, those who have no choice
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or free will and are commanded to cover their heads, and unfortunately, will sometimes

them with terrorists.

 Due to a lack of exposure and limited understanding, many European countries have

banned those, who in their own culture believe in a specific version of the Qur’an, from

wearing a burqa. Those in favor of a ban on burqas argue that a veil covering oneself is

incompatible with values of European countries. “Marcus Knuth, of the ruling liberal party

Venstre, argued that full-face veils are ‘strongly oppressive’” (Samuel). Other arguments

are that the burqa causes a threat to the national security, oppresses women, and

disconnects women who wear burqas from society and vice versa.

 Political officials who are in favor of the burqa ban, claim that the ban will promote

integration, public safety, and met the standards of gender equality for the given European

country. However, the result that come back to not support this theory and indeed have the

opposite effect. Jeffrey Reitz, a sociology professor at the University of Toronto says,

surveys of attitudes toward French Muslims showed that there was a strong correlation

between the highly publicized legislation banning headscarves in 2004 and an increase in

anti-Muslim sentiment (Samuel). Valeri Letourneau, a spokeswoman for the Umbrella

Organization, has said that “the burqa ban contributes to the climate of fear.” Many Muslim

women who wear burqas, have come forward and given their insight on the ban. Reporters

of The Atlantic report the Muslim women who are banned from wearing their burqas feel

isolated and feel like their liberty and freedom are being taken away from them. Muslim

women who wear burqas are in many cases feeling unsafe because civilians have taken it

upon themselves to enforce the law onto these women by removing the veils from off their

faces, says The Atlantic. Bei

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 In the eyes of the world and mass media, the hijab has become a large political symbol.

For many the see it as a means to suppress women, for others it is seen as a separating flag

of culture, to prevent one from integrating into other cultures. For the women who freely

chose to wear the hijab, I believe, wear it because it’s a part of their identity. It’s their way

of following Allah and devoting their lives to him. It is the very expression of their inward

commitment. So regardless of what others may say, it is how the individual chooses to

believe. And you can’t tell others what to or how to believe.

ng worn and many

Work Cited

Sanghani, Radhika. “Burka Bans: The Countries Where Muslim Women Can't Wear Veils .” The

Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 8 July 2016, www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/burka-bans-the-

countries-where-muslim-women-cant-wear-veils/.

Samuel, Sigal. “Banning Muslim Veils Tends to Backfire-Why Do Countries Keep Doing It?” The

Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 3 Aug. 2018,

www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/08/denmark-burqa-veil-ban/566630/.

Sanghani, Radhika. “Burka Bans: The Countries Where Muslim Women Can't Wear Veils .” The

Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 8 July 2016, www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/burka-bans-the-

countries-where-muslim-women-cant-wear-veils/.

Hays, Jeffrey. “MUSLIM VEILING: HIJAB, HISTORY AND INTERPRETATIONS OF THE

QUR'AN.” Facts and Details, factsanddetails.com/world/cat55/sub359/item1431.html.

“Hijab Styles Across the Globe.” Her Culture, 7 Feb. 1970, www.herculture.org/blog/2017/2/7/hijab-

styles-across-the-globe#.XAkeVmhKg2y.
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Hillenbrand, Carole. Introduction to Islam: Beliefs and Practices in Historical Perspective. Thames &

Hudson, 2015.