Expert: Le Anne Clausen - 8/12/2009

Question
Hi Le Anne
There seems to be more and more Moslems immigrating to the US, or at least people becoming Moslems.
I see more and more in my occupation as a bus driver.
I have no problem with this,I find them very polite and quiet-unlike a lot of other young people!
As long as they are not terrorists or try to impose religous law on everyone else I say welcome to America.
However, I see many young ladies wearing the head scarf-I believe it is call the hijab?
Is there a reason for this?
Many of these young ladies are wearing tight blue jeans and tops, as well as makeup.
It seems to be important to keep the hair covered however.
Are only their husbands or fathers allowed to see their hair? Does the sight of female hair cause Moslem men to become aroused or something?
Thanks.
I hope I didnt offend, I am just trying to understand.
Yours Truly,
Van

Answer
Greetings Van, and thanks for your question.  The hijab, or headscarf, is an option for many Muslim women, although there are varying interpretations of how to wear it.  Hijab itself also refers to general modesty in public; since you don't know what unsavory characters you might run into that could give you a problem.  It sort of proclaims, 'I am a virtuous woman, so treat me with respect.'

Some women will wear a very large hijab with a loose, flowing robe, so as to conceal all the proportions of her body.  This is one of the more conservative interpretations of hijab.  Other, usually younger women, will wear long sleeved though close-fitting clothing with the headscarf, which is a way of declaring oneself to be modern as well as modest.  

Generally, only the immediate family has the right to look at a woman's hair, arms, and legs; and even then within the family, torsos should be clothed to the knees and elbows.  Only very liberal Muslims would be found wearing tank tops, for example, though probably not with headscarves.  

Some Muslim men would say that they become aroused when looking at an unveiled woman; other men consider such sentiments old-fashioned and kind of backwards.  There's a wide variety of opinion within the Muslim community on these things.   Sometimes this is influenced by a person's family or hometown or particular nationality; but even these things wouldn't necessarily determine an individual's practices or opinions, particularly if they are living in a non-Muslim predominant culture such as Canada.

I hope this helps!

peace,

Le Anne