Why Muslim Women Wear the Veil   
      
   Description: Even in the face of adversity Muslim women choose to obey God.   
      
   In recent years, a small piece of cloth has managed to cause quite a stir.    
   The scarf or hijab that Muslim women wear on their heads is making headlines   
   around the world.  Hijab is banned in French public schools and other European   
   countries have adopted,   
    or are drafting similar legislation.  In Australia, a radio presenter   
   triggered both debate and outrage when he called for the face veil (niqab) to   
   be banned from banks and post offices.  Even predominantly Muslim countries   
   such as Turkey and Tunisia    
   ban the hijab in certain government buildings.  When a small piece of fabric   
   causes such controversy and conflict, wouldn't it be easier to remove it?  Why   
   then, under such circumstances, do Muslim women wear scarves?   
      
   There are a myriad of reasons why, but the easy, one sentence answer is,   
   because they believe God has made it an obligation for believing women.  In   
   the Quran God tells the believing men and women to lower their gaze and to   
   dress modestly.  He (God)    
   specifically addresses women when He asks them not to show off their   
   adornment, except that which is apparent, and draw their veils over their   
   bodies.  (Quran 24:30-31)   
      
   These verses of Quran are known as the verses of hijab and it is the consensus   
   of Islamic scholars that they make the wearing of hijab mandatory.  Some   
   countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar do enforce a dress code.  Women   
   there are expected to cover    
   their hair and wear some sort of loose fitting, full-length garment over their   
   clothes.  However, for the majority of Muslim women around the world, to   
   cover, or not to cover, is a freely made choice. God requires Muslim women to   
   dress modestly and to    
   wear the hijab in public and in the presence of men who are not close   
   relatives.    
      
   Although the English word scarf and the Arabic term hijab have become   
   interchangeable, it is worth noting that hijab is more than just a scarf.  It   
   is a term that covers a variety of clothing including scarves, but also a   
   variety of different dress    
   styles from around the world.  Many have cultural connotations such as the   
   Pakistani shalwar khamis or the Afghani burqa, but whenever a Muslim woman   
   covers "her adornment", she is said to be wearing hijab.   
      
   The literal meaning of hijab is to veil, to cover, or to screen.  Islam is   
   known as a religion concerned with community cohesion and moral boundaries,   
   and therefore hijab is a way of ensuring that the moral boundaries between   
   unrelated men and women are    
   respected.  In this sense, the term hijab encompasses more than a scarf and   
   more then a dress code.  It is a term that denotes modest dressing and modest   
   behaviour.  For instance, if a Muslim woman was wearing a scarf but at the   
   same time using bad    
   language, she would not be fulfilling the requirements of hijab.   
      
   The majority of Muslim women wear hijab, to obey God, and to be known as   
   respectable women.  (Quran 33:59)  However, in the last 30 years hijab has   
   emerged as a sign of Islamic consciousness.  Many women see wearing the hijab   
   as indicative of their    
   desire to be part of an Islamic revival, especially in countries where the   
   practice of Islam is discouraged or even forbidden.   
      
   While those who seek to ban hijab refer to it as a symbol of gender based   
   repression, the women who choose to don a scarf, or to wear hijab, in the   
   broadest sense of the word, do so by making personal decisions and independent   
   choices.  They view it as a    
   right and not a burden.  Nor do these women regard hijab as a sign of   
   oppression.  Women who wear hijab often describe themselves as being "set   
   free" from society's unrealistic fashion culture.    
      
   Hijab frees women from being thought of as sexual objects of desire or from   
   being valued for their looks, or body shape rather then their minds and   
   intellect.  No longer slaves to consumerism, hijab liberates women from the   
   need to conform to unrealistic    
   stereotypes and images dictated by the media.  Women wearing hijab have   
   expressed that dressing modestly and covering their hair, minimises sexual   
   harassment in the workplace. The aura of privacy created by hijab is   
   indicative of the great value Islam    
   places upon women.   
      
   It is true that in some families and in some cultures women are forced to wear   
   hijab but this is not the norm.  The Quran clearly states that there is no   
   compulsion in religion (2:256).  Women who choose to wear hijab do not make   
   the decision lightly.     
   In fact many women testify that they faced great animosity from their Muslim   
   or non-Muslim families when they decided to cover.  Across the globe there are   
   numerous instances of women having to defend their right to wear the hijab.   
      
   Hijab can be a symbol of piety and it can be a sign of great inner strength   
   and fortitude.  A woman wearing hijab becomes a very visible sign of Islam.    
   While Muslim men can blend easily into any society, Muslim woman are often put   
   on the line, and    
   forced to defend not only their decision to cover, but also their religion.    
   Nevertheless, women who wear hijab insist that the advantages far outweigh any   
   disadvantage conjured up by media bias or general ignorance.   
      
   http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/2770/why-muslim-women-wear-veil/   
      
   Thank you   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)