The Veil

A brief exploration of the complex topic of hijab and face-veiling in Islam

If the average non-Muslim were asked to name one thing about Islam, it could well be that women are required by Islamic Law to wear a veil and cover their faces in public. In fact, that is a gross simplification of a complex topic.

The Quran enjoins both men and women to dress modestly, and also speaks of covering women's adornments from outsiders of the family. All four of the major schools of Islamic law developed a code where women were expected to cover their bodies from the ankles to the neck and the arms above the elbow. But the veil itself, particularly a veil which covers the face, is much more controversial.

Many Islamic fundamentalist movements believe their religion prescribes the covering of women's faces - and they are in the headlines in one country or another almost very week for punishing women who fail to wear what they consider to be proper Islamic dress. But that is largely a political statement.

Traditional dress codes in fact vary sharply in different Muslim societies. In Iran, the black chador is traditional among wide sectors of society but among the bedouin of the Arabian peninsular, women wear scarves that cover their hair but leave their faces open - just like most of their men. The same is also true in Muslim areas of south-east Asia.

As political Islam is at least partly based on the 'Coca-Cola' invasion that followed the withdrawal of European colonial domination, the veil becomes a key part of the ideology. But it's important to recognise that Islam itself merely prescribes modesty rather than actually forcing the wearing of a particular garment. Some scholars, for example, suggest that as modesty means not drawing unnecessary attention to oneself, a woman wearing baggy jeans, a jumper and an unobtrusive scarf in a Western country could be more in accordance with the spirit of Islamic law than another woman who wore the full costume of an alien culture.

Source: http://www.megastories.com/islam/glossary/veil.htm