ABSTRACT
The subject of the Islamic hijab, or veiling, is not a new topic, having a long history that pre-dates the religion of Islam. 1 As a semantically versatile object, its topics of discussion include feminism, politics, emancipation, religion, socioeconomics and, more recently, as a fashion and marketing entity. The Muslim defensive attitudes toward Europeans on the subject of the hijab date back to the era of the Western colonialization of countries with Muslim majorities. Pious, practicing Muslims consider the hijab an expression of modesty and take it as a religious and Muslim duty to wear it. Many studies point at Western attitudes that view the veiling of Muslim women as backward, oppressive, and dominating over women’s body and mind in Muslim patriarchal societies. Researchers such as Leila Ahmed (1992), Fatima Mernissi (1994), and Homa Hoodfar (2003) have addressed the complexities of the role of veiling in Muslim women’s lives and its power that can maintain its stronghold on women.
