Paraphrase Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Paraphrase - Essay Example One form hijab is the niqab, which cover the whole person and leaves only a small gap intended for the eyes. The aim of this dressing is to maintain social order and familial peace therefore the Islamic religion requires the female Muslims to cover themselves fully especially in their interactions with men whom they are not related to since the Muslim religion considers a woman’s hair as half her overall beauty. There are two types of niqabs that are used by the Muslim women, one is the half niqab, which consist of a headscarf and a face veil, the facial fail veil covers part of the face leaving the eyes and the forehead uncovered. The other type of niqab is the full or Gulf niqab that covers the entire face leaving a very narrow space for the eyes, this type of niqab is common in the Muslim countries especially the Gulf States where it is widely worn. The other type of hijab is the burqa, this veil usually has no space for the eyes and the wearer sees through a special mesh s creen. The veil is part of the Islamic religion especially among the women who are required to wear it always especially when going out of their residences. Since the seventh century, Islam has grown to be a major religion in the world having followers in almost all the countries in the world. As the religion spread across the globe especially in the Middle East, Saharan and the sub-Saharan Africa, central Asia and to other communities and tribes within the Arabian Sea, it adopted the cultures and traditions of those communities regarding the veil while in other instances it influenced the practising of veiling in the communities in the region. However, in the recent past some countries, which are governed by the sharia law such as Iran, have made it mandatory for the women to wear the veil, which they call ‘Chador’ and it covers the entire body. The niqab originated in Greece from the Byzantine Christian world in the Persia, and Muslims, especially in the first century of the religion were not much concerned with the way women dressed and the introduction of the veil came only in the second century. In the first century, the women who were veiled were mainly those in the urban regions and the nomadic and village women were not required to wear the veil. Wearing of veil especially among urban women and women of the higher social classes was considered as a sign that the families the women came from could be able to sustain her. This was based on the interpretation of the quaranic message ‘draw their veils over their bosom’ which was considered to mean that women should cover their breasts with a veil to avoid attracting men with their physical beauty. With the growth of the Islamic religion, a lot of rules were made that curtailed the freedom of women in public, for instance during the period of mamluks in Egypt, strict rules were made that required the women in the country to observe the strict dress code of the veil and not to parti cipate in public activities. Shopkeepers were even urged by the authorities not to carry out any business transactions with women who had not observed the guidelines in wearing of the veil and were requested to turn their backs towards them when such women approached their stores until they left. With time reformers and liberals started opposing