Now that you
have seen two types of veils, and heard how they are being integrated into
modern day America you might be wondering why are these veils so important? The
veil being a symbol of modesty in Islam to Muslim women everywhere stems from
their holy book the Qur’an. Within this book are the writings of Islam, which
were sent from Allah, or god, to the prophet Muhammad. Most prominent
monotheistic religions have a holy book, which varies in name and content but
all are a collection of writings to teach the disciples of said religion how to
govern their lives in a way in a way pleasing to their god. The Qur’an states, “And say to the believing women that they
should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; and that they should not
display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear thereof;
that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their
beauty except to their husbands..." (Qur'an 24:30-31). It is taught that by covering oneself modestly
you are showing respect for yourself, that you can be admired for your
intellect rather than appearance. Devout
followers of a religion aspire to follow the teachings given to them; this is
very much so true for Muslims. However, with these holy books dating back
centuries not all scripture is directly applicable to modern day life and often
requires some interpretation. This is where controversy arises. The Qur’an is
said to have been finished in 632 C.E, since then humanity has advanced rapidly
leaving a very different world than the one the prophet lived in when writing
the teachings of Allah. This leaves two distinguishable types of Muslims:
traditional, and modern. Many believe that the veil should be worn at all times
when in the presence of those who are not family, for example this belief is
upheld by the country of Iran who have a mandatory compulsory law in place
demanding all women to wear the veil. But there are those who wish to modernize
their beliefs in ways that make them more suiting to their daily lives
including having the choice to wear the veil or not. Whether one is modern or
more traditional it is easily to agree on the message that women should be
valued for more than their looks, which can be interpreted from the scripture
of the Qur’an. The predominate difference between the two groups being the
disagreement between mandatory wearing of the veil and whether or not that is oppressive
or infringing on women’s rights. These differences in interpretation leave a constant stream of controversy that has been happening for quite some time now dating to present. With such differences in beliefs under one religion one can only hope that a middle group can be found that is both suitable to those who wish to keep the old ways and others who seek freedom within the religion they practice.
Works Cited
"Quran." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 03 Sept. 2013. Web. 10 Mar. 2013.
Stacey, Ashia. "Why Muslim Women Wear the Veil." - The Religion of Islam. IslamReligion.com, 28 Sept. 2009. Web. 10 Mar. 2013.
"What Allah States in The Al-Qur'an." What Allah States in The Al-Qur'an. Islamicworld.net, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2013.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1P84ojxFuZGGqFFtffJmq9aARZRNzB-s-ca-pb_qoqr8/edit#slide=id.g196f5967e_20
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