Islamic clothing

Muslims wear a wide variety of clothing, which is influenced not only by religious considerations, but also by practical, cultural, social, and political factors.

Besides its practical advantages in the climate of the Middle East, loose-fitting clothing is also generally regarded as conforming to Islamic teachings, which stipulate that body areas which are sexual in nature must be hidden from public view.

The Quran provides guiding principles believed to have come from God, while the body of hadith describes a human role model attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Adherents of Islam believe that it is the religious duty of adult Muslim men and women to dress modestly, as an obligatory ruling agreed upon by community consensus.

[14] The veil re-emerged as a topic of conversation in the 1990s when there was concern regarding potential western infiltration of Muslim practices in Islamic countries.

In several countries the adherence to hijab (an Arabic noun meaning "to cover") has led to political controversies and proposals for a legal ban.

Islamic dress is also seen as a symbol of the existence of parallel societies, and the failure of integration: in 2006 British Prime Minister Tony Blair described it as a "mark of separation".

An apparently less politicized argument is that in specific professions (teaching), a ban on "veils" (niqab) is justified since face-to-face communication and eye contact are required.

This argument has featured prominently in judgements in Britain and the Netherlands after students or teachers were banned from wearing face-covering clothing.

The public and political response to such prohibition proposals is complex, since by definition they mean that the government decides on individual clothing.

Some non-Muslims, who would not be affected by a ban, see it as an issue of civil liberties, as a slippery slope leading to further restrictions on private life.

Some have banned the wearing of all overt religious symbols, including the hijab (a Muslim headscarf, from the Arabic "to cover"), in public schools or universities or government buildings.

In 2017, a legal ban on covering one's face in public (primarily targeting Islamic clothing such as burqa and niqab) was adopted by the Austrian parliament.

[27] Additionally, on 16 May 2019, the Austrian parliament placed a ban on "ideologically or religiously influenced clothing which is associated with the covering of the head" in primary schools.

On 31 March 2010 the Belgian Chamber Committee on the Interior unanimously approved legislation instating a nationwide ban on wearing the burqa in public.

The law was passed unanimously asserting that face-covering, including Muslim veils are contrary to the principles of security on which France is founded.

[44] The new rules, which do not apply to workers in the military or judiciary, came into effect in 2013, and were put into place to address concerns that the restrictions on hijab were discouraging women from conservative backgrounds from seeking government jobs or higher education.

Syria was the latest in a string of nations from Europe to the Middle East to weigh in on the niqab, perhaps the most visible symbol of fundamentalist Sunni Islam.

The Pew Research Center gathered information on several countries, including Pakistan, and came back with results on how people's perceptions of the veil differ across the world.

[47] During regular, day-to-day activities, Somali women usually wear the guntiino, a long stretch of cloth tied over the shoulder and draped around the waist.

In more formal settings such as weddings or religious celebrations like Eid, women wear the dirac, which is a long, light, diaphanous voile dress made of cotton or polyester that is worn over a full-length half-slip and a brassiere.

[52] There are no legal restrictions on Islamic modesty garb in the United States, due to universal religious freedom protections in American law.

In 2011, the Canadian government made it illegal for women to wear face-covering garments at citizenship ceremonies, because the judge must be able to see each person's face reciting their oath.

The Act prohibits certain public servants from wearing religious regalia – including Muslim scarves and veils, turbans, Jewish skullcaps and Christian crucifixes.

[55] In 2011 Argentinian President Cristina Fernández pushed for legislation which allowed for Muslim women to wear hijab in public places.

The law was created in order to help promote freedom of religion and expression in the country, and help the Muslim population, which is estimated to be between 450,000 and one million, feel more integrated into society.