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I recently traded emails with a good friend about several aspects of Islamic dress — especially as it pertains to women — that I would like to share here. My friend is Muslim himself and has spent significant time in Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, England, Canada, and the U.S. My primary question for him involved how I, as a Westerner, can better understand the various religious, cultural, historical, and political forces that influence the way a Muslim woman dresses. My friend was gracious enough to allow me to turn his email into a blog post here, so I’d like to offer him my thanks.

I’m glad you asked me about your question on burqas, hijabs, and Islamic dressing in general. I love answering this question, and let me try to explain from the very beginning.

Before I begin answering your question, let me define a few terms and a few concepts:

• Hijab: In Arabic it basically means something along the lines of humility, which, when talked about in day-to-day terms, refers to the basic headscarf.
• Naqab/niqab: This refers to the covering of the face, where only the eyes show.
• Burqa/burka: It is any garment that covers the body and shoulders down to the toes. It could be a coat or a traditional robe with no buttons on it and so on. The differences are based on which region you belong.

Concept of modesty in Islam

• Pre-Islamic Arabia had a very patriarchal society and no actual concept of “modesty.”
• The advent of Islam brought a lot of cultural and societal changes especially for women — their role in society and their concept of dressing and social values.
• Islam allowed women to own property, conduct business, and participate in the public sphere, but it also defines gender roles and discourages excessive gender mixing. Islam’s places great emphasis on a strong family system and in order to do so it defines restrictions on gender interactions. Islam also favors the soul versus the body; it wants you to understand people as their wholesome personalities and not by their physical attraction. From a man’s perspective, those relationships (like mother, sister, mother-in-law, or aunt) or seen from a woman’s perspective (like brother, father, father-in-law, or uncle) are mahram. (A word meaning a person one does not have to cover in front of. These are relationships with people whom you cannot marry).
• I think the most important concept to stress is that the concept of covering and modesty are not new in Islam. Christianity and Judaism had very similar concepts except Muslims believe that Islam is timeless and the Quran (being the direct word of God) and its rulings cannot change over time. So if you notice Mary, the mother of Jesus, is never depicted with her hair open until a few centuries ago. Throughout history, many religious Christians and Jewish women covered their hair as a form of modesty.

Islamic teachings on hijab and subsequent obligation

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Now I know that not all Muslims follow the actual teachings, but the consensus amongst the scholars in Islam is that this is the understanding of covering and modesty. What Islam deems as an obligation is hijab. In the Quran it is referred to as khimar, not hijab. But in essence, they are one and the same thing. Now I know that it is just the headscarf in literal terms, but it entails with it the meaning of covering up. Basically the only exposed parts are your face, hands (not arms), and feet. What you wear should be a loose garment. She hides her beauty from all other men who are not her family members as the “purpose” of interaction between other men should not be related — consciously or subconsciously — to her beauty or attraction.

Summing up this point: Islam says that a woman’s beauty is something that is only for her husband and should only be exposed fully in front of her husband. So basically, in front of all the family men, one doesn’t have to wear the full hijab.

The niqab

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The naqab is not compulsory but there are incidents from the time of the Prophet when women did cover their faces in order to avoid being seen by men outside their families. The Prophet’s wife, Ayesha, who is also one of the most learned Islamic sources of the books of hadith (sayings of the Prophet) continued teaching men after her husband’his death. But she is known to have done so from behind a curtain/veil. So yes, it isn’t compulsory, but it isn’t a remote cultural practice. It is an Islamic practice, which isn’t 100% compulsory, but any woman is free to do so if she wishes.

Also about these women integrating into society The deal is, getting to know these people. Some (maybe not all) of them are very active in society and take part in different forms of activities just like everyone else. In more hijab/naqab tolerant cultures it’s easier for women who choose to do so to become active in society. For example, in the UAE (United Arab Emirates), it is not very common, but a lot of women choose to wear the naqab. I have come across a lot of office or hospital secretaries who wear a naqab, tellers at banks, bill payment officials, etc. So while in the West it might seem weird to be in the service sector dealing with people and not showing your face (and make some people uncomfortable), but it’s not that awkward if it is part of a country’s culture.

The burqa

The burka falls within the definition of Islamic modesty. While the Quran does not use the word burqa (the word in Urdu, Afghani, and Farsi) or Abaya (the Arabic equivalent), it uses the word jilbab. This is a covering for the body such that the shape of a woman revealed to men outside of the woman’s family, emphasizing how important it is to protect her beauty. In case you need a reference for that, it is in the Quran in Surah Ahzab verse 59, which is translated as follows:

O Prophet! Tell thy wives and thy daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks close round them (when they go abroad). That will be better, so that they may be recognised and not annoyed. Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful.

The burqa itself is a cultural form of jilbab. However, it was always some form of cloak or manteau as you would say in French. It is not only worn in Afghanistan but in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and most of the Middle East.

Personal choice and a man’s hijab

You see a wide spectrum of women in the Islamic world. Some choose to wear hijab, some choose naqab, some choose burqas and some choose not to follow at all. In essence, Islamic dress is a religious obligation by which some women choose to strictly abide and some not at all — with many shades of “covering” in between these poles.

The arguments on the concept of modesty in the media are very one sided because the concept of hijab equally applies to men as it does to women. In the same chapter of the Quran that talks about covering, men are also given an obligation, which is to lower their eyes. There is a concept in Islam that while the first look by mistake is forgiven, the second isn’t. So if a man looks at a woman with lust/desire/attraction, he should divert his attention immediately because his hijab is the hijab of his eyes.

This concept is not talked about enough because while a woman’s hijab is seen in the form of a clothing, a man’s hijab is equally obligatory (religion-wise), and, if Muslim men actually followed the rulings on hijab, they would never look at a woman other than their wife with lust.

Now to answer your questions

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I had an interesting discussion last night with my roommate about the decision of some Muslim women in London and other places who choose to wear such clothing — even if they didn’t wear it growing up and come from a family that doesn’t stress this type of dress. What do you think of this decision? I know many factors influence the way a Muslin women chooses to dress, but I’m trying to understand it better.

In London, like a lot of other parts of the Muslim world, our generation is a post-colonial generation. Our understanding is also post colonial. Two generations ago, most of the Muslim world was either ruled by the French or the British, and the concept of culture and religion was very complex and intertwined. As a symbol of resistance, there was in some sense an Islamic revival, which focused on separating culture from religion and focusing on religion. Beards and hijabs became symbols of opposition to the Western rule.

Within my generation of Muslims, there is also a sort of revival or change. This revival started to take the political and other connotations out of the hijab and try to return to the basics of what the Islamic concept of modesty entails. Although I talk in general terms here, I only refer to those Muslims who actually are religious or who strive to be better Muslims.

A lot of young Muslims from my generation become more religious at some point of their lives because of the hypocrisy they see in their families’ teachings versus their families’ actions. Islam is all about actions, and, like other religions, it speaks to ideals in life. A lot of families instill a sense of “right” and “wrong” in their children, but when the children don’t see their parents following it they observe a hypocrisy. No matter what a Muslim may define as the appropriate hijab (covering completely or covering partially), no Muslim would deny the fact that it is a commandment in the Quran. This fact, in my opinion, leads many women of my generation at later parts of their lives to choose to cover.

The other main reason for Muslim women in the West (especially Britain, US, and Canada) choose to cover stems from their realization that — unlike their parents’ generation, which was an immigrant generation that always felt like “the other” — they are fully British, American, or Canadian and see no dichotomy in the different identities they hold. While their parents went out of their way to adopt an “American” way of life, the new generation sees that you can equally be Muslim and American at the same time. So there is no reason to compromise on religious values, and you don’t have to constantly prove that you are patriotic by adopting a certain way of life or style of dress.

On one hand, I think of so many women in places like Saudi Arabia who don’t have a choice of what they wear. In this case, is veiling a symbol of oppression? When I use “oppression here,” I’m thinking of the lack of choice and opportunity a woman might have in these places (especially in regards to education, marriage, health, and work).

Saudi Arabia is a theocracy and Iran an Islamic democracy (although we know it’s far from perfect). Both countries impose a certain form of clothing on their entire population. Veiling is not compulsory in either: In Saudi Arabia, a woman must wear loose clothing and a head covering, and, in Iran, a woman can wear anything that seems “modest” according to her specific culture (though it must be at least head covering). Iran is more liberal than Saudi Arabia as it does not police clothing as rigorously.

While I personally do not agree with these forms of government, forcing a “moral” authority, or policing morality, I would like to emphasize that many women in these countries choose to cover out of personal choice.

As I mentioned before, like the UAE, these forms of clothing are culturally acceptable, so it doesn’t hamper educational, marriage, health, or work opportunities as much. Definitely, there are limitations on certain professions — I haven’t heard of models in Saudi Arabia or women beach guards in Iran — so in some ways it does limit work opportunities. But it is very different from the Taliban rule in Afghanistan where women were invisible. In Iran, in the recent protests, you can see how active women were against the current regime.

Also I think the bigger issue within these patriarchal societies has nothing to do with the hijab but with the view of women’s roles, which are very intertwined by Saudi bedouin cultures where women are generally homemakers. The issue is that men need to realize women are equals and can do anything men can. And slowly, the culture is changing. “Women’s issues” or “women’s rights” are evolving in a positive direction in these places. However, I think this is a separate issue from dress.

If a wealthy, educated Muslim woman begins to wear a hijab at age 20, is she in some sense not in “solidarity” with Islamic women who have no choice? Do you think there is a relationship between free choice for the woman and oppression in another place?

I have met a lot of hijabis in my life and I can personally say that I have never come across anyone who wears it as a political statement or “solidarity” statement. Most educated Muslim women who make the choice themselves choose to do so as a personal sign, a chance to come closer God, and a chance to focus on their inner self versus their outer body as perceived by others.

Wearing a burqa or a hijab is a decision steeped in religion, culture, personal morality, and personal expression. As a Westerner with only basic knowledge of these traditions, who am I to judge? Also, what do you think when you see a Muslim woman with a hijab? Do you think she looks more “wholesome”?

Not really. I mean I do not think of women differently in either way, but there is a cultural and religious form of respect that comes with a hijab. On a subconscious level, if in a Muslim country you see a woman with a hijab there is a natural respect that comes with it. So I wouldn’t say wholesome is the correct word to use here.

Other things when I see a hijabi. I wouldn’t hug or shake hands with her unless she shakes hands with me, as it is normally the case that women who wear a hijab choose not to have physical interaction in any form with non-mahram men.

One final question: In London, I noticed that some Islamic clothing for women had amazing colors and designs — just wonderful, attractive, and stunning clothing. But doesn’t this defeat the whole purpose of burqas and hijabs, which I though was “modesty”?

An item available at The Hijab Shop website. Click to follow.

You are pretty perceptive. This is completely true and I completely agree with you (as do most Islamic scholars) that wearing attractive burqas and hijabs defeats the purpose of wearing one.

I think while a lot of women wear hijabs for religious reasons, others wear them just because it’s the thing to do or that culturally they see it everywhere. It’s mostly those people who do it for such reasons that wear attractive ones. Also, it’s quite complex because obviously this is a big market.

Muslims are human too, and everything eventually does open up to commercial opportunities. The hijab, burqas, and even naqabs have become large markets for designers and apparel stores all over the Muslim world. Some designers are been creative and make the most wasteful burqas which are studded with diamonds and other embellishments. Sometimes, it becomes more of a cultural clothing than a religious one.