A question or two

r3nu4l

I've worked with Muslims before but always felt wary of asking too many questions. So here goes:

Can somebody please tell me the difference between a burkah and a jilbalb (forgive my spelling)? Also, in general, what are the names of the varying pieces of clothing worn by muslim women?

Why do the men only have to wear traditional garb to the mosque whereas in some sects of Islam the women must wear coverings everywhere?

Is there any theological link to the wearing of headscarves by Muslim women and the wearing of headscarves by Catholic women in the church in days gone past. My Mam used to wear a headscarf to mass.

These are serious questions from someone who is interested. That's all.

blackthorn

Hi,

I'll have a go at your first question anyway.

A jilbab is very much like a long loose coat that covers you from the neck down to the ankles.
A burqa covers all the above plus the head. For example, it's a burqa that you see Afghan women wearing.

Other terms you might hear for Islamic clothing are:

Hijab: includes everything that is meant to be covered per Islamic teaching, but it has come into common usage to mean a headscarf.

Niqab: the face veil. Worn in conjunction with a hijab.

Khimar: A type of head covering (hijab) that is long, reaching down to the elbows or wrists.

Abaya: Rather like a jilbab, it is a long loose overgarment made from lightweight fabric.

the_new_mr

I was just in the middle of writing a reply to this when we got some family visitors with some kids that wanted to play pocket tanks deluxe Anyway, blackthorn has already done more than a good job of answering (with extra terms) so I don't have much to add.

All that is left to say is that the Islamic texts teach women to cover everything except for face and hands so anything that does this without making the figure under the clothes obvious is absolutely fine (figure hugging clothes are not okay for men either by the way). The Burqa is not required Islamic dress and is optional.

r3nu4l wrote:

Why do the men only have to wear traditional garb to the mosque whereas in some sects of Islam the women must wear coverings everywhere?

Men are not required to wear any traditional clothes to the mosque. Neither are women. All that is required of them in the mosque is to wear what they wear outside of the mosque in order to cover up as required.

r3nu4l wrote:

Is there any theological link to the wearing of headscarves by Muslim women and the wearing of headscarves by Catholic women in the church in days gone past. My Mam used to wear a headscarf to mass.

There is no doubt a theological link. Christianity and Islam come from the same origins as they are both Abrahamic religions. Christianity accepts all Prophets up to Jesus (peace be upon him) whereas Islam accepts all Prophets up to Mohamed (peace be upon him) who was the Prophet after Jesus (peace be upon him).

So, you could say that the requirement for women to hear a headscarf in Church is based upon the same origin of Muslim womens' requirement to wear headscarves in public and the same requirement as for Christian Nuns who cover their hair also.

I hope that we have answered your questions as best as possible. It's always an honour for us to answer questions so please feel free to ask again in the future!!

r3nu4l

Thank you both for the answers As I said, I've worked with Muslims from Iraq and Libya before (I'm a scientist) but you never know how a question is going to be received. When does curiosity become rudeness?

When we weren't talking about everyday things I used to ask a couple of questions but shied away from asking about headscarves etc because of all the furore over them being banned from schools in France and then some of the issues in the UK.

the_new_mr

You're totally welcome

As for when does curiosity become rudeness, I think that as long as you ask politely, not debate and put a statement like "I'm just asking and I don't mean to be rude or attacking or anything..." beforehand then you should be grand. People are often afraid to ask but usually that fear is unfounded.

Anyway, you're totally welcome to come by here whenever you have a question