Niqab: A Cultural Encroachment of Religious Values in Europe - Essay Sample

Introduction

The traditional wear of Muslim women specifically the niqab inspires a sense of religious overbearing feeling among many Europeans. In France, for instance, Sarkozy banned the wearing of niqab for the sole purpose of protecting France’s secular values (Friedman and Merle 772). The sight of a woman in hijab especially one who veils the face with a niqab is agitating especially when a sudden feeling of religious encroachment engulfs a person. Many white Europeans will share the same sentiments when coming across a huge population of Muslim women wearing hijab as it inspires fear on Muslims and non-Muslim’s alike regarding the encroachment of Sharia laws. In this regard, embracing Muslim women’s attire is a threat to the existence of Christian and Secular values that most European nations are founded upon (Friedman and Merle 778). As such, the sight of traditional Muslim women’s attire thronging the streets shows that Muslims are taking over the western world by subtly introducing Sharia.

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Restrictive Approach

Considering the restrictive approach that western nations have taken on the wearing of the hijab, Muslim women feel that their culture and traditions are not as important as western practices. To tell a Muslim woman to forego a hijab for traditional western culture attire is tantamount to asking an individual to give up their culture and assimilate unwillingly. It is hypocritical since the same western nations claim to be supportive of religious freedoms (Abdullah 227). For this reason, denying Muslim women the right to wear hijab is the same as denying them a right to be religiously free as a Muslim living in western nations. At its core, a ban on hijab-wearing should be regarded as an infringement on the religious freedoms of the Muslim people. Such a ban, according to Abdulla, is only justifiable in a security threat of the level of terrorism, otherwise, Muslim women should be allowed to veil themselves (225).

Culturally, the significance of traditional Muslim wear draws from religious understanding where the Quran prohibits Muslim women from dressing provocatively so that they are not molested when abroad (Amer 25). Besides, the historical significance of the covering dressing is associated with women’s desire to maintain modesty and privacy, especially from non-related males. Muslims believe that an immodest woman brings shame not only to herself but to her household including the male member of her family (Amer 34). History, however, shows that the veil itself is not unique to Islam women as women from various religious backgrounds also adorned head coverings (Amer 70).

In some cultures, women who veiled themselves were regarded as high-class citizens since veiling was a sign of royalty, for instance, the Hindus (Amer 67). There is a wide range of head coverings available for Muslim women from ones that veil the whole face leaving only the eyes to others that leave the whole face revealed. Nonetheless, the veil must cover their hair at all times as a requirement of modesty for the Muslim woman (Amer 111).

The personal responsibility of individuals to Muslim women is to respect their adherence to their religious practice. Accordingly, Abdullah affirms that the choice to wear covering should not be hindered since it is an expression of culture and identity (224). In this regard, everyone must protect the right of Muslim women who choose to wear concealing attire. Nonetheless, Muslim women should also be held accountable when it comes to committing acts of terror under the veil of Muslim dress (Friedman and Merle 776). Muslim women wearing covering have a responsibility to ensure that they foster a sense of safety and security and not a threat to the same.

Coverings Among Women of the Muslim Faith

Working with the people of Texas in creating awareness about the importance of wearing coverings among women of the Muslim faith, presenting a campaign about what it means to be a Muslim woman would be most appropriate. Considering findings from a study that was conducted by Dunkel, Davidson, and Qurashi that evaluated attitudes of Muslim and non-Muslim women about conservative clothing – mainly hijabs – it was established that Muslim women exhibited high self-esteem, comfort with their body image, and had a healthier body weight. In comparison, non-Muslim women drawn to western clothing fashion showed attitudes of pressure to have a thinner body shape, had a propensity to have an unhealthy BMI (Body Mass Index), and felt pressure to appear dressed appropriately for different occasions in contrast to Muslim women who wore hijabs in all their social gatherings (64). Essentially, communicating to the people of Texas the reason why Muslim women find traditional attire appealing can be convincing when empirical research is presented showing how beneficial it is for them to dress in their veiling clothing (Dunkel et al. 55), as a means for awareness creation.

According to Bucar the example of Saudi Arabia’s legislation regarding what constitutes a violation of wearing of the hijab stipulates that it cannot be used for malicious purposes such as acts of terror (118). Therefore, first, it is recommended, that Muslim women who wear hijabs for purposes of committing terror should be held accountable by law. Hence, not subjecting all Muslim women to coverings’ restrictions. Secondly, it is recommended that society should be educated on the psychosocial benefits of coverings to heighten awareness of its importance to women’s health and sense of fashion (Dunkel et al. 59). Finally, the third recommendation is for religious leaders to embrace head coverings as most religions such as Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity do advocate for women to have, at the very least, head coverings (Abdullah 221).

Works Cited

Abdullah, Wajid Jumblatt. "Managing minorities in competitive authoritarian states: Multiracialism and the hijab issue in Singapore." Indonesia and the Malay World, vol.44, no. 129, 2016, pp. 211-228.

Amer, Sarah. What is veiling? Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2014.

Bucar, Elizabeth M. Creative conformity: The feminist politics of U.S. Catholic and Iranian Shi'i women. Washington D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2011.

Dunkel, Trisha M, Denise Davidson, and Shaji Qurashi. "Body satisfaction and pressure to be thin in younger and older Muslim and non-Muslim women: The role of Western and non-Western dress preferences." Body Image, vol. 7, no.1, 2010, pp. 56-65.

Friedman, Barbara, and Patrick Merle. "Veiled threats: Decentering and unification in transnational news coverage of the French veil ban." Feminist Media Studies, vol. 13, no.05, 2013, pp. 770-780.