Veiled Women and Religion
The issue of the veil never ceases to fascinate people from other cultures, nor does it stop claiming centre stage in any talk show or social gathering that aim to be tagged controversial. You may want to think of it in this context: it’s an instant attention grabber.
Whenever I meet new people, I am instantly asked some questions about religion or the veil. I understand why this happens, of course: people see a veiled woman and they instantly believe that she is religious or quite literate in religion. But isn’t this assumption fallacious in many cases?
Many times a woman wears the veil due to social or cultural pressure. In some families, wearing the veil is the normal consequence of puberty or bodily maturity. In some geographical locations, wearing a veil is simply the way women dress. In others, it is considered improper not to wear a veil. The reasons are many and diverse, and only a portion of them has to do with religious beliefs.
I am usually annoyed when people ask me religious questions. It feels as though I have this preacher duty to do, and I simply hate preaching. Asking me about religion also puts me under a lot of pressure to give out the “correct answer” which, more often than not, I do not have. To avoid any misunderstandings, I always start my answer (if I decide to answer) with announcing that “I am not an authority on religion” and then I proceed to explaining my personal beliefs about the question asked. I always urge people to ask an expert if they are really interested in investigating things, or to do their own research.
Even if I meet the investigative type of people, like journalists or writers, who are interested in one activity I have, I still get the usual questions on religion and the veil. I am usually asked why I wear the veil, and why other Muslims don’t, and if it is wrong not to wear it, etc.
I resent these questions because they stereotype me as being a religious person and I am not really religious. Why I wear the veil is a question worthy of asking, of course, but it is also private. If it’s the charm of my contradictions that people are interested in, well then, why don’t they ask about that?
Questions on religion and the veil also take away from the “point” I am being met or interviewed for. It’s almost like meeting someone who wears socks and who’s also a distinguished artist. Instead of paying attention to the art, many people would focus on the socks and forget that their main interest in this person is de fact, the art. Not the socks.
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April 25th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
nice article, as always. this soooooo needs to be on nowpublic! <br />-j-<br />
April 26th, 2007 at 11:45 am
Heh-heh, yea, I remember that interview last year…and when I referred to you as an authority on religion…yea, you helped me understand a thing or two about Tololy! :D
April 26th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
I totally respect people wearing hijab,but the problem comes when wearing hijab becomes compulsory,like in Iran :
Exile for Teheran women who flout dress code 24 April 2007 TEHERAN - Women in Teheran who repeatedly flout the Islamic dress code in defiance of a police crackdown may be banned from the Iranian capital for up to five years, Teheran’s prosecutor said in comments published on Tuesday.”Those women who appear in public like decadent models endanger the security and dignity of young men,’ prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi was quoted as saying by the Etemad newspaper.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=
data/middleeast/2007/April/middleeast_April376.xml§ion=middleeast
April 27th, 2007 at 5:17 am
No offense, but I don’t think girls wear veils because they (the veils) are hip or cool (talking about the clothes), or that she thinks its a nice dress to wear!!<br /><br />So if someone wants to be a bit optimistic and think that a veiled girl was not "forced" to wear that veil, then its reasonable to think that she is religious!! As I said, here lies an assumption that girls don’t wear veils for aesthetic purposes, this might not be true for all, but correct me if I am far from reality!<br />
April 30th, 2007 at 11:39 pm
Can I ask what you mean when you say you’re "not really religious"?
May 2nd, 2007 at 9:29 pm
<div><br />
<div>Few (not short, sorry) thoughts</div>
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<div>First i guess not everybody meet journalists. </div>
<div>If u do is because u belong, in some way, to the public communication sphere. </div>
<div><span class="hm" id="misp_1_1"><font style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffff00">U’re</font></span> a blogger. <span class="hm" id="misp_1_2"><font style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffff00">U’re</font></span> exposed for what u say. <span class="hm" id="misp_1_3"><font style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffff00">U’re</font></span> in the arena. </div>
<div>And… "socks are part of <span class="hm" id="misp_1_4"><font style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffff00">ur</font></span> art". </div>
<div><br />Why western journalists are always making the same boring question about veils? </div>
<div>There are many reasons, I guess. </div>
<div>Sometimes because their mind is full of stereotypes and they look to confirm it. </div>
<div>Sometime because they try to highlight the puzzle they have in their poor mind. And this attitude it’s not too bad considering what they think is what they later express to the readers or TV watchers!</div>
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<div>The veil became an issue, a political issue since the Islam entered in the daily life of everybody. Before it was just another religion, some knowledge, but nothing more.</div>
<div>Then, after 9/11, became an issue. </div>
<div>And there’s a good side on this new deal: people want to understand the bad and the good of this religion that is becoming part of western society. </div>
<div>Italy, for example, is facing a strong new aggressive policy of the Vatican in many aspects of the Italian social life. But we know what catholic church is. We can agree or not, but we know it.</div>
<div>On the other side we don’t really know what Islam is. </div>
<div>That’s the reasons of so many questions.</div>
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<div>Yes, it’s true, the veil became sometimes the only thing we talk about Islam. And it’s not, for sure.</div>
<div>But it’s a symbol. </div>
<div>More; it’s the more evident symbol of a religious person, like wearing a <span class="hm" id="misp_1_5"><font style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffff00">kippah</font></span> for a Jewish, like an evident cross for a christian. </div>
<div>There’s a big debate also in the Islamic world about it. </div>
<div>Tunisia is an Islamic country, but it has a law against the use of the veil in public places. </div>
<div>And the majority of french Islamic community agreed with the law to forbid the use of the veil in the schools after a years-long debate.</div>
<div>My mother couldn’t enter a church without a veil, and it was only 30 years ago. But now she’s happy to see this kind of rules belonging to the past. </div>
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<div>The main question about veil is related on the freedom of choice, and Iran or Saudi Arabia are not a good advertising for those who sustain this point.</div>
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<div>That’s why it’s maybe boring, maybe heavy, sometimes breaking your intimacy, to always hear the same question. </div>
<div>Particularly for people like you, free in your choices and in your mind. </div>
<div>But at the same it’s really important, now, today, to hear as much different voices as possible on this subject. </div>
<div>To clarify, to explain, to give another point of view to those who want to understand more. </div>
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<div>That’s why I wish and I hope a "not really religious" person like u, would explain other hundreds of times to stupid western journalists your personal reasons for using a veil. To help in filling a small part of a huge gap.</div>
<div>Because the lack of knowledge and understanding is one of the biggest danger we have to face in this times. </div>
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<div>So long.. sorry</div>
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