Amina G.

on: The Niqab Debate in Egypt: Divided Scholars, by Alfred Hackensberger

True, the niqab is an old tradition and is not a coranique prescription but the hijab is mentioned in the sourat al nour (the light), verse no 31 which clearly calls for the covering of the head but not the face. And this is not only an Islamic teaching as the religious Jewish women cover their heads as well as the Christian nuns, so it has its origins in Christianity, too. Why do Westerners concentrate so much on the hijab and why do they not try to look into the mind of Muslim women who wear the hijab and how they live. Muslim women attend schools and universities and at the same time they work in professional jobs and get married and are, in many cases, financially independent from their husbands and fathers. They also get an the same salary as men, so in fact they are more emancipated than some western women.