By Cyril Anderson

 Much controversy has been made in recent times about the issue of the niqab, the veil worn by a small minority of Muslim women, which almost completely covers the face.  This is to be distinguished from the hijab, the cloth worn by a much larger percentage of Muslim women, which covers the hair, but leaves the face exposed.

 The general understanding of the vast majority of Muslim scholars across all sectarian divisions is that the hijab is a religious obligation for women. 

A tiny minority believes that the niqab is actually obligatory.  This opinion tends to be supported by the Saudi inspired schools of thought, but is not shared by the vast majority of Muslim scholars.

 Now it must be said that the niqab does exist as a tradition going back to the very earliest days of Islam.  It is said that Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad, observed the niqab, as did her daughter, Zainab, whenever they went outside of the home.  However, these were very special women, and one cannot take a general rule from this.  Niqab was also already a normal part of women’s dress in medieval Arabia.

 This issue of niqab is a divisive one amongst the community, and the attention stirred over this issue has had a tendency to damage the relations of Muslims to the population as a whole.  It is too extreme for the Western society, and is totally impractical.

 Non-Muslims here in the West, including Canada, have enough misgivings about hijab, though overall, they are starting to come around to it, because they see that a hijab-wearing woman can interact within society in a relatively normal way.  Niqab, on the other hand is a terrifying, incomprehensible mystery to almost all non-Muslims here.  It is seen, along with a number of other trends amongst the more extreme elements of the Muslim community, of people seemingly obsessed with separating from the world at large through superficial details of appearance.  Certain elements of the Muslim community give the impression almost that wearing shalwar-kameez and having a huge fistful of beard is a requirement of Islam, when in reality, the truth is far from this.

 There is no obligation in Islam to distance oneself so based on superficial external details of appearance.  Indeed, a reasonable extrapolation of the behavior of the Prophet, who dressed, not in some distinctive way, but in the normal way of his society, is that we are expected to distinguish ourselves by the quality of our words and actions, not external superficiality.  This is not to say that Muslim women and men should abandon Islamic principles of modesty and dress in the skimpiest fashions of the day; rather, my point is that one can satisfy the agreed criteria of the Islamic dress code, and still blend in relatively well with existing ways of dress in the society, without sticking out like a sore thumb.

 Creative Muslim women, through experimentation have figured out a way to maintain the strictest Islamic standards of modesty in dress and behavior in a way that fits in.  This is what we should aim for.

 I do not favor any sort of ban on niqab through the force of law; I think our government has more pressing issues to tackle such as poverty, crime, education, economic development, healthcare, and many other things to be wasting time acting as the dress police.  Indeed, such actions are clearly at odds with our claims to value freedom.  (There are some reasonable exceptions, however; it is reasonable to expect someone to have a recognizable picture on their drivers’ license, and it is reasonable to expect Muslim women who want to work with the public to show their face as a respect of this culture’s norms.)  However, we should use our freedom as a community in more intelligent ways than we do now.

Some of the more extreme elements of the Muslim community try to spin the gut resistance by most in the West to the niqab as bigotry or racism, but this is in my opinion a great mistake.  There are a great many people, non-Muslim and Muslim alike, who feel great unease about the niqab here in Canada.  I am an example.  I am a Muslim, I fully practice the required rituals of the religion.  I eat halal.  My wife is a Muslim and practices hijab.  I support hijab fully, and if I have any daughters, will encourage her to practice it.  But even I think niqab is simply too much for this culture, at least at this time. 

 I realize that the tiny minority of Muslim women who practice this consider this an important part of their faith, but I think they should ask themselves whether they are doing more harm in the end for Muslims than good.  One of the problems with niqab is that it divides Muslims.  Don’t take me wrong, sometimes it is necessary on important matters to take a principled stand, even at the risk of division, but such risks must not be taken on minor issues.  The vast majority of Muslims, including even many of the most liberal Muslims, support the right of Muslim women to wear hijab.  This is a line in the sand that Muslims of all sectarian persuasions, of all streams of thought can unite behind.  But energy expended calling most of one’s fellow countrymen and women on a fringe issue with limited support within the Muslim community is energy wasted on efforts that paint all Muslims as bad citizens who want to sow divisions instead of build bridges.

 On the other hand, those Western politicians who wish to raise this issue would do well to be more precise in their language.  When they speak about “the veil,” there is ambiguity as to whether they are talking about the hijab or the niqab.  This ambiguity only fuels controversy within the Muslim community, with those wishing to stir up strife and controversy taking advantage by accusing Western governments of trying to ban the hijab.  If they are more clear, then this possibility of confusion can be greatly reduced, and the possibility of more constructive dialogue across cultures is greatly increased.