Word: headscarfs
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...subjugation of women critics ascribe to these symbols - or by the hypocrisy and low-grade xenophobia of those telling Muslim women that this attack on their religious practice is really for their own good? Beneath all the reminders of secularist tradition and progressive discourse cited in Europe's headscarf debate lies the mean, provincial "not in our country, you don't" attitude - even when many of the women at whom it's addressed to were born and raised in "our country". When all is said and done, the headscarf furor reflects a broader sentiment wafting across: it's fine...
...fundamentalists. But it has further strained relations between the wider society and the nation's estimated 6 million Muslims - the vast majority of whom are moderate or non-observant Muslims who nonetheless resent the heavy-handed treatment of the approximately 1,200 female students who previously wore a headscarf to class...
...until one bothers listen to women wearing those same veils, and their earnest explanations that the coverings symbolize modesty, humility, devotion to their faith, and subservience to no one but their god. Unless all these women are self-denying liars manipulated by radical males, shouldn't their interpretation of headscarf symbolism be regarded as at least as legitimate as hijab and niqab opponents? The problem with symbols is they are exactly as potent or weak as the passion invested in them - and both sides of this debate see some powerful symbolism in headscarves...
...nothing more than the clothes I was wearing. But the Egyptian taboo against baring even the smallest bit of skin runs much deeper than mere cultural norms; it is rooted in religion. One does not need to travel to Cairo to witness it—the hijab, or headscarf donned by millions of Muslim women throughout the world, including close family members of mine, is increasingly visible in Western cities, even Cambridge. Scholars, feminists, and Muslims have grappled with the necessity and advantages of veiling, but I had never been forced to truly consider the issue in a personal light...
...None of this is to say that I consider the wearing of the more commonplace form of hijab, a headscarf, objectionable. If people, British or otherwise, feel uncomfortable because a woman has a scarf on her head, that's not a concern to be taken seriously. Men who wear unattractive baseball caps make me uncomfortable, but I've gotten used to the world not being aesthetically designed to my taste. No, the issue is very specifically the niqab, and the obstacle it poses to human interaction and smooth integration. What does seem obvious is that the assimilation of British Muslims...