Kaleidoscope

I am not after controversial topics per se, but for some time I wanted to present the arguments for and against the veil. I tracked down discussions on mailing lists, articles, discussions,,, etc. I will try to present briefly what I have collected so far, and in another page (here) I will put a more detailed study.

Pro Hijab:

• It was dictated by God in the Quran, and the prophet (PBUH) talked about it in some ahadith.
• In all religions (Judaism and Christianity), the veil was decreed.
• It is a sign of discreetness, in order not to get attention from staring eyes.
• It is a sign of belonging to the nation of Islam
• It is a tool to spread the ideas of Islam (when a veiled woman sits with a crowd, most probably they’ll watch their mouths)
• Putting a Hijab is essential in prayers, the same goes for everywhere else.
• “You do not have to look western to be modern.” The veiled woman defies the sexual mores of the west, with its strange compulsion to “reveal all”.
• Where western men and women display their expensive clothes and flaunt their finely honed bodies as a mark of privilege, the uniformity of traditional Muslim dress stresses the egalitarian and communal ethos of Islam.
• Discarding the veil in the late 19th and early 20th century was an expression for gaining women rights and fighting male dominance, now women enjoy a better environment (in elections, work, media,,,etc), consequently, this intrepretation for taking off the veil is not valid anymore.
• Wearing the veil doesn’t affect marriage proposals, koloh esma we nassib. “if a man wants to marry me for my beauty only, beauty will fade. And he will look for a prettier woman later on“. “El tayeboon lel tayebat = the good men are for the good women. If he doesn’t like my veil, then he is not good enough for me“.
• “How could you postpone wearing the veil till you get older? Do you have an insurance against death?” 

Against Hijab:

• There are no roots in our culture for veil; it is the results of the return of Egyptians workers from the Gulf countries (with all the Wahabi’s ideas)
• It is a sign of oppressing women and limiting their choices
• Sometimes we should go along the western regulations (example avoiding religious signs in public facilities) in order to be developed, learn in western institutions and work in western enterprises.
• It became a symbol of terrorism; veiled women are harassed in the west. There is no need to go through this hassle.
• The veil may constrain the girl from certain activities (ex: sports), as it might strangle her by accident.
• It covers the beauty of women, a beauty that God has given her; this means that she is hiding the present of God.
• The Quran verse doesn’t mention covering the head; it just includes covering the bosoms.
• Until the late 19th century, veiling was neither a central nor a universal practice in the Islamic world. The Hijab was traditionally worn only by aristocratic women, as a mark of status, not as a religious obligation.
• Many women, whose mothers had happily discarded the veil, adopted the hijab in order to dissociate themselves from aggressively secular regimes. That’s why it is a political expression, not necessarily a religious one.
• it is an outdated dress code and a sign of going backwards and self-isolation
• The advocates of Hijab are more business oriented, it became a trend in the Egyptian society, not a moral issue.
• a veiled girl has a limited chances of getting married from a well established groom because he will need a freer girl to enjoy his youth with.
• The majority of working opportunities need an unveiled woman. So veil will limit the girl’s chance of having her dream job.
• Wearing a veil doesn’t mean that the girl is religious, and vice versa. Many veiled girls are displaying their beauties in tight clothes and sit on the Cornish with their boyfriends. There is no relation between being religious and wearing a veil.
• “Enjoy life while you are young, get married, and then wear the veil when you are more mature“.