Bermudez 1

Jennifer Bermudez

Dr. Ella Schmidt

ISS 4935

10 April 2013

Western Misconceptions of Veil-Wearing in Islamic Societies

The practice of women wearing a veil is one that dates back to ancient times in Islamic

society. Though the tradition has remained firmly in place with little or no resistance from the

members of the society, there has been a significant increase in the controversy revolving around

this practice which stems from other – mainly Western – societies in the last hundred years or so.

Veil wearing for Muslim women is a voluntary practice which brings honor to a woman’s self

and her family; unfortunately, many Western societies have formed biased and incorrect

assumptions regarding the Muslim practice of veil (hijab) wearing due to lack of information,

lack of education, and the spreading of incorrect information through the media. This has

resulted in not only prejudices toward the Muslim faith, but has also caused problems for Muslim

women who desire to wear their veil in peace, due to issues such as bannings of the veil (such is

the case in the nations of France and Turkey) in the public sphere.

Defining the History and Controversy of the Veil

History of the veil. The history of the veil dates back to the Qur’an’s direction for women

to wear the veil. According to Fatima Mernissi, “the hijab – literally ‘curtain’ – ‘descended’, not

to put a barrier between a man and a woman, but between two men” (85). The Qur’an commands

that “when ye ask of them (the wives of the Prophet) anything, ask it of them from behind a

curtain. That is purer for your hearts and for their hearts” (33:53).

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The hijab’s roots lie in this protection of women from being objectified by men. Mernissi

goes on to write that the hijab “can be understood to be a separation of the public from the

private, or indeed the profane from the sacred” (101). In contrast, Lila Abu-Lughod discusses

what modern tradition has turned the veil into in her article, The Marriage of Feminism and

Islamism in Egypt… According to Abu-Lughod, East/West discourse has turned the veil into a

loaded symbol marking cultural identity and status in the modern Muslim world. Thanks to

colonialism’s application of feminism to “undermine native culture”, this forces Eastern society

into a seemingly subordinate culture supportive of colonial interests (Abu-Lughod 243). The

problem with the veil in modern terms is that rather than its original idea of protecting the private

(household) sphere of a society, the veil has become a symbol of oppression.

Controversy of the veil. In this paper I would like to identify the real issue behind the

hijab. My position is that societies which are not Islamic – specifically Western societies – often

have a very skewed idea about the purpose behind the wearing of the hijab by Muslim women.

My goal in this paper is to raise awareness to the lack of understanding and consequential blind

judgments made by those who have fallen prey to propaganda against Islamic societies.

Westerners tend to have an opinion of Islamic society as a whole to be something negative and

something that is almost taboo. Islamic culture is not covered very well in Western education

systems unless an individual seeks it out; this is due mostly to its connection with terrorism

against Western societies throughout the world.

Unfortunately, this has resulted in the assumption that Muslim women are victims of

oppression who are forced to cover their bodies with heavy clothing. These assumptions are

furthered by many Western media outlets which use all kinds of reasons to support their claims

for oppression such as extremely hot conditions of the Middle Eastern countries and tremendous

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gender inequalities in the Muslim societies including arranged marriage among others. On the

contrary, my paper will point out that women not only choose to wear this apparel out of self-

respect, but that it is a privilege to wear these items reserved for those who possess prestige and

bring honor to themselves and their families. Muslim women face a conviction in their faith

which, without requiring them to wear a headscarf, allows them to display self-respect and honor

and command respect from others due to their sexual neutrality while wearing the veil.

Islamic Laws and Society’s Attitudes toward Veil-Wearing

What Sharia and the Qur’an say about the veil. Although the hijab is not required by

Islamic law – known as Sharia or Sharīʿah – what is expressed by Sharia is that women are to

keep themselves covered in an attempt to keep their sexuality at bay when dealing with men

outside their family. It is also important to realize that, like Sharia, the Qur’an does not require

women to wear a veil, but instead prescribes it as a mode of protection for women. In the Qur’an,

Allah tells women to “bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments. That is more

suitable that they will be known and not be abused” (Qu’ran 33:59). From this, one might see

how the Islamic direction for the veil is for the benefit of the woman’s well-being rather than for

the man to have control over her.

This comes back to looking at perspectives of those who are very much outside of the

Islamic society’s traditions and practices; those who belong to Western culture and its traditions

and customs – those who see the practice of veil-wearing as gender segregation and oppression

toward women. The most obvious and, consequently, one of the most popular reasons why

gender segregation is such a hot topic among outsiders looking in on the Islamic way of life is

the differentiation of attire. While men are often free to wear what they please when they please

(as well as where), women are asked to dress with extreme modesty. There are specific rules for

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body parts which must be covered for both men and women; however, women’s rules appear to

outsiders to outnumber men’s.

There are varying arguments and reasons as to why women dress the way they do, and

many are independently and individually developed; but still the question in many Westerner’s

mind remains, why so much variation between the genders? Azeem uses the Qur’an which asks

women to cover their heads, necks and bosoms (Qur’an 24:31) to explain the reasoning. He

asserts that “the Islamic veil is only a sign of modesty with the purpose of protecting women, all

women … This is the whole point, modesty is prescribed to protect women from molestation or

simply, modesty is protection” (Azeem 51).

After looking at this information, it is important to understand one concept: although the

individual reasons for wearing a veil do vary significantly person to person, the reasoning behind

blanket-recommendations such as those found in Sharia and in the Qur’an are specifically to

protect the individual woman from meeting harm in a sexual manner. As Merve Kavakci puts it,

“mainstream Islamic tradition considers the headscarf an obligation for Muslim women because

it conceals their physical allure” (67). This means that Islam’s attitude toward the veil is that it

should be worn if a woman wants her physical and sexual nature to be downplayed.

Consequently, other than the concealment of appearance, the matter of individualized reasoning

for women who wear the veil is a completely separate issue to which the bigger institutions of

Sharia and the Qur’an do not discuss.

Individual Reasoning for Veil-Wearing

According to Merve Kavakci, advocate for Muslim women’s rights and more specifically

women’s rights to the hijab, the headscarf is an individual choice which should be made by each

Muslim woman according to her own religious beliefs or convictions. Kavakci discusses in her

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article, Headscarf Heresy, that women should not be defined by the headscarf, which is why it is

not and should never be mandatory; however, she does argue that “for women who choose it, the

headscarf is an indispensable part of their personal identity, one that should not be

compromised” (67).

Commanding respect by shielding sexuality/physical allure. The individual reasons for

wearing a veil differ from those which are portrayed in the larger-scale organizations such as the

Sharia law and the Qur’an. Also, because they are individual reasons, they differ from each

other, although most have similar underlying themes. Merve Kavakci, herself, has much personal

experience with headscarf controversy. As an elected official of Turkey’s parliament in 1999,

Kavakci was mistreated and eventually dispelled from her position due to the headscarf ban in

public offices of Turkey, a proclaimed secular nation. Kavakci discusses her own reasoning for

wearing the veil by comparing it to symbolism of her religious principles. Despite being elected

to parliament in 1999, she faced being exiled from the country and, even five years later when

writing her article, Headscarf Heresy, she is still insecure about the reasons for which she was

denied her basic human rights those days in Turkey.

This change in perception of a veiled woman over non-veiled woman is another reason

why Kavakci chooses to remain veiled. She argues that modern society’s judgments are so

superficial, that the use of a veil or hijab is absolutely necessary in order for a woman to gain any

kind of ground in the public sphere. “By covering themselves, Muslim women can be recognized

not only for their religious beliefs but for their contributions to society as well” (Kavakci 67).

She discusses the idea that covering physical features which may be distracting for any number

of reasons (including sexual ones) is beneficial to a woman’s ability to have others view her for

her actions and accomplishments rather than for her outward appearance. Note here that “others”

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as stated in the previous sentence, does not only refer to men, but to the public in general. This is

important to understand because it is necessary to realize that, although sexuality is considered

the biggest issue from which to shield oneself, judgment based on physical appearance of any

kind is eliminated by wearing a hijab.

Displaying power and prestige through action rather than physical appearance. This is

an important concept to remember when looking at reasoning for wearing the veil. Many women

who are in powerful positions have chosen to wear their hijabs or veils in an attempt to help

others see what they can offer to the society rather than what they look like. In the film, Not

Without My Veil, several Muslim women are interviewed who hold highly respected positions in

their society, and they all wear a veil. For them, it is about ensuring that society sees their

positive influences and contributions rather than seeing and judging their appearances.

Although many of the women who choose to wear a veil do not cover their faces

completely, they are sending a message to those around them which demands that one look past

the outer body and into the heart of the matter. Mernissi writes that the hijab has both physical

and spiritual connotations; the spiritual discusses the descent of the verse and the origin of the

veil into Islamic society, and the physical actually refers to the hijab’s ability to separate the

wearer from the outside (Mernissi 100). The hijab is both a physical entity and an idea. Its

traditions began as a mode of separation, and over time the traditions have evolved depending on

the society. Because of the hijab’s physical and spiritual attributes, it has become a method for

women to command respect whether they are fully covered or simply wearing a scarf covering

only their hair.

Honoring self and family. Wearing the veil is a symbol of honor for a woman. It shows

that she has respect for herself, for her body, and her privacy. This understanding and subsequent

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action of wearing the veil brings honor to her and to those in her household. Mernissi claims that

“a space hidden by a hijab is a forbidden space” (93), meaning a sacred space, one that should

not be shared with or displayed to the public. Muslim tradition shuns Westerners’ sense of dress;

an attire which is described in Leila Ahmed’s article as a reflection of a “sexist” (153) and

chauvinistic society.

Ahmed begins her article, The Veil Debate – Again, by citing three Muslim college

students living in America who have different reasoning for wearing their veil. One young

woman stated that she wears it to identify with other Muslims in a foreign and oftentimes

prejudice culture, another said she wears it in the hopes that it will help Western women question

their own dress choices, and a third wears hers to acknowledge and affirm her community and

her identity as Muslim (Ahmed 153). Though these reasons are different, they can all be applied

to any of the categories I have identified above.

Western Thinking vs. Eastern Thinking

The Western concept of Islamic nations as the ‘others’. The idea of superiority is one that

has endured since the beginning of time. We know that race is a socially constructed concept

which was brought about in order for one society to put themselves above others. The notion of

superior and inferior races is what Said discusses in the introduction to his book, Orientalism. He

discusses the relationship of the Western and Eastern cultures, and how the Western Europeans

have impacted and oppressed the Eastern Oriental people. He introduces the term “the Other” –

which represents the so-called inferior society, in this case the East. Said defines orientalism as

“a style of thought based upon an ontological and epistemological distinction made between the

‘Orient’ and (most of the time) the ‘Occident’” (2). His argument is that the term orientalism

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refers more to a stigma of inferiority than to a scholarly and academically-sound reference to a

vastly rich group of people.

Just as Said states, the concept of “other” has been in place for as long as seemingly less

ill-intended concepts such as culture. Lila Abu-Lughod writes in Writing Women’s Worlds:

Bedouin Stories of the impact in which the idea of culture has had on the inferior societies –

those in which the West has determined are inferior. “The problem with the concept of culture,

therefore, is that despite its positive intent, it seems to work as an essential tool for making

‘other’” (Abu-Lughod 12). Because there is always an “other”, this also implies that there is a

“better”; meaning that someone (or some group of someones) is responsible for labeling societies

as superior or inferior. In a world where there is a seemingly globally-accepted notion of

Western dominance, how can Islamic societies expect to successfully end their marginalization?

This idea has been known as ‘the West and the Rest’ – a demeaning phrase which

furthers the domination of Western civilizations. This is discussed in Niall Ferguson’s book,

Civilization: The West and the Rest, which attempts to explain the processes by which the West

came to win the world. Ferguson writes of six powerful concepts which allowed the West to

dominate beginning in the 15th Century: competition, science, the rule of law, modern medicine,

consumerism, and the work ethic (13). He goes on to explain the terms by which a nation and/or

its population is defined as “Western”. “The West, then, is much more than a geographical

expression. It is a set of norms, behaviors and institutions with borders that are blurred in the

extreme” (Ferguson 15).

Islam’s fight for modernity. In a world where there is this constant sense of “other”, there

is also a sense of superiority and oppression which is deeply felt by Islamic societies. In a

struggle to compete with powerful Western nations, Islamic people have tried to find their place

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in the modern world. Gender has played an interesting and puzzling role in the evolution of

Islam, and this is discussed by Deniz Kandiyoti in Some Awkward Questions on Women and

Modernity in Turkey when she states that “the politicization of gender in the Middle East speaks

to, and attempts to heal, and, at the same time, exacerbates the confusions and uncertainties of

modernity” (284). Kandiyoti is trying to explain how gender has both assisted and inhibited

Islam’s reach for modernity.

Women’s ability to express themselves and find their own place in the modern world has

jumpstarted Islam’s gains toward relevancy in modern times. On the other hand, due largely to

the incorrect assumptions placed upon Muslims regarding oppression and mistreatment of

women, and sexual inequality, gender has been a hurdle for Islamic cultures to conquer. This is

just another reason why these misconceptions must be broadcast for the general public to see and

understand. Right now, Islam is fighting a battle to prove that they are not doing something that

they are not doing! This is not to say that no woman has ever been oppressed or mistreated by

her husband or another man in her household or in the society; but these cases are found in all

parts of the world – including Western nations – and they do not represent the general public or

the normal behaviors of the societies.

Misconceptions of Veil-Wearing

The down side of the veil-wearing practice is the all-too-prevalent misconceptions of the

veil and its perceived backwardness. There is one important claim to make here, and that is that

these above-named misconceptions are a direct result of misinformation being broadcast as not

only correct, but also credible. In this paper, three reasons for the perpetuation of these

misconceptions are discussed: lack of information, lack of education, and the role played by the

media which is, as I claim, the biggest benefactor in the persistence of these false truths.

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Lack of Information. Kavakci writes of her experiences in Turkey and says that she was

fully expecting to face some controversy, because she was the first woman who wore the hijab to

be elected to parliament – a public office which not only viewed veils and veil-wearing as

regressive and oppressing toward women, but a place which banned the wearing of headscarves

due to the nation’s secular proclamations. Despite these trepidations, Kavakci has continued to

choose to wear the hijab because of her personal religious conviction (66).

It is this choice which Kavakci discusses that needs to be understood; if one is to form an

opinion about the Islamic veil, they should first understand that wearing it is, in fact, a matter of

choice. There are unfortunate cases where a man, who is, according to Islamic tradition, the head

of the household, may usurp power from the women in his household and force them to wear the

veil, but these are not the typical cases, they do not represent the average woman, and they do

not represent what has been laid out by both the Sharia and the Qur’an as ordained by the Islamic

religion.

As stated previously, Western society suffers from a lack of understanding of the Muslim

religion and the Islamic culture. These misunderstandings have led to incorrect assumptions and

statements made by many Westerners, including high profile and supposedly educated foreign

policy leaders. Due in part to the traditional way of life in many Middle Eastern countries and

also to the extreme prejudices placed on members of Islamic society, many Islamic people are

oftentimes left with no opportunity to address misconceptions portrayed by mainstream news

bearers and other public figures in Western nations.

In the film, Not Without My Veil: Amongst the Women of Oman, producer Mia Grondahl

interviews several women who, despite their progressive actions as professionals and well-

educated women in society, have chosen to wear their veil for many reasons such as symbolizing

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their religion, setting themselves apart from non-Muslims, and requiring others to see them not

for their physical attributes, but rather what they bring to the table in terms of their professional

abilities. One woman discusses being raised in European culture and then moving to an Islamic

region. Dagmar Taylor-Al Busaidy talked about how her quality of life got better once she

decided to begin wearing the veil and other traditional clothing rather than her European attire,

“It was a great relief. It was a freedom behind the veil”.

It is films like Not Without My Veil and testaments such as Taylor-Al Busaidy’s which

need to be broadcast in our society, rather than biased information presented by under- or

unqualified and uneducated individuals who do not know and do not seem to care whether their

information is accurate. Western society appears to have a prejudice toward the Muslim faith,

and consequently all of those who are members. This results in blatantly unfair

overgeneralizations and connections being made where connections should not be made. For

many Westerners, Muslim radicalism was brought to the forefront of their mind after the

infamous terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centers in New York City on September 11, 2001.

Although the men involved in this ruthless attack on the United States were Muslim, they are not

representative of the general Muslim population. These men belong to a Muslim-extremist

terrorism organization which takes the Qur’an, and both Allah’s and the Prophet Muhammad’s

teachings out of context and applies them as justification of mass murder and terrorism.

Lack of Education. The idea of educating people about Islam is a controversial one. As

stated earlier, discussion of Muslim culture and education on Islamic society has been limited

due to the borderline taboo-nature of the religion in Western nations. This is, again, thanks in

large part to its ties to terrorism and consequential biases formed against the whole society rather

than one small group of extremists. When it comes to the media’s role, Liz Jackson argues that

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the media tends to negate the positive or even neutral repercussions of educating Western

individuals on Islamic culture and customs. Jackson discusses in her article, Images of Islam in

US Media and their Educational Implications, that:

Educators teaching about social difference and minorities in

society face a variety of challenges in effectively teaching

students accurate and balanced understandings of different

groups in society, including, particularly, the competing influence

of the mass media on young people’s minds. (3)

In Homegrown, Muslim and Other: Tolerance, Secularism, and the Limits of

Multiculturalism, Eve Haque explains the separation between the more modern cultures of the

West with those of the East and offers an idea of the role women play in this separation. Haque

states that “Muslim women’s bodies, as many scholars have argued, become the battlegrounds

which clearly demarcate the line between the civilized secular modern nation and premodern

religious fundamentalisms” (79). This idea explains from where the Western misconceptions of

Islam may stem. Muslim women are wearing a veil – a blatant action which is observable all

over the world, and if one does not know the meaning behind it, it is easy to see how incorrect

assumptions of backwardness can be made.

Another reason for the education is the same one discussed throughout this paper and

specifically in the section ‘lack of information’. Terrorists and their organizations represent a

very small percentage of the Muslim population, and leaders of Muslim nations have spoken out

against terrorism in an attempt to separate terrorism and the Muslim faith; however, most of

these attempts have gone unnoticed and unpublicized by Western media companies and

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consequently members of Western nations usually receive very little education on the traditions

of Muslim culture.

Media’s Role. The media play what is without question the largest role in the persistence

of the incorrect information received by the masses in Western nations. The motives for

spreading incorrect information do vary; however they seem to all be embedded in a quest for

money and power. J. Lynn McBrien, writer of Uninformed in the Information Age: Why Media

Necessitate Critical Thinking Education, explains that most media outlets are owned by nine

major corporations:

AOL-Time Warner, Disney, Bertelsmann, Viacom, News Corporation, TCI,

General Electric (owner of National Broadcasting Company [NBC]), Sony (owner

of Columbia and TriStar Pictures and major recording interests), and Seagram

(owner of Universal film and music interests). Students (and citizens) must learn

to ask what corporate ownership of media outlets has to do with news selection

and positioning. (20)

It is important to read this entire list of corporations if for no other reason than observing

its brevity. It is astounding that so many media outlets could be owned by such a small number

of major companies, and this presents the overwhelming realization that media is loaded. What is

written, printed, spoken, or reported in any other manner is almost always biased, and almost

always has underlying motivations. McBrien goes on to write that “because media messages are

created, they necessarily have a point of view, even when the creators seek objectivity … the

political persuasions of media owners can influence what stories command attention” (30-31).

The influence which the media holds over Western society – particular

the youth of Western society – is overwhelmingly apparent. Media’s presence

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in American households throughout the nation has caused major problems

due to the above-supported claim that media outlets have selfish

motivations which dictate what and how they report information and news.

To specifically address how these actions have an effect on Islamic society,

McBrien’s article applies interesting points and explains tactics used by the

media to subtly express individualized and biased notions into seemingly

neutral storylines, “numerous media sources continue to place the word

‘Muslim’ or ‘Islamic’ before ‘terrorist’ or ‘extremist’ … we must consider

potential heuristic effects of pairing ‘terrorist’ with any large, diverse

population” (28). McBrien’s concept further supports that these word-

pairings can – and already do – detrimentally affect how people think about

the words individually. If people are bombarded by these kinds of tactics

from what are arguably the largest influences on most people’s knowledge

base, how can we expect them to think any differently?

Conclusions

This paper has taken a deeper look into the ideas behind Islamic

society, and specifically into the practice of women wearing a hijab. I have

started by giving background about the veil and Islamic society’s attitudes

toward the veil and its purposes, and I have also identified key reasoning

behind the misconceptions of veil-wearing perceived by members of Western

society. As discussed throughout this paper, the veil is a sign of honor and

pride and is also a mode in which Muslim women can identify themselves

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with their religion and culture. This practice is especially sacred to women

who live outside the confines of their native culture and wear the veil as a

way to free themselves from the pressures of foreign society.

As members of Western society, it is important for us to be educated

and respectful of other cultures and ways of life. This begins by

understanding the reasons for other traditions which may not agree with

what we perceive as normal. It is our duty and privilege to educate ourselves

on the ways of other nations; and, rather than oppress them with demeaning

(and incorrect) opinions and assumptions, we have a responsibility to

understand the customs of Islamic society and appreciate the truths behind

the practice of veil-wearing. If we truly want the world to be a global market

with fair and equal treatment, we must forget the ideas placed upon us of

dominance over less-developed nations. These countries are doing what they

can to strive for modernity and to find a relevant place in the world; it is up

to us to open the door and let them in, rather than limit our own capacities

by ignorantly holding ourselves as superior.

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Works Cited

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McBrien, J. Lynn. "Uninformed in the Information Age: Why Media Necessitate Critical

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