Men and Burqas?

missusblagh

As a matter of interest, what is the general opinion of Muslim men towards burqas and hijabs?

irishconvert

missusblagh wrote: »

As a matter of interest, what is the general opinion of Muslim men towards burqas and hijabs?

To be totally honest I don't like Burqas, although I do respect the right of a woman to wear one if she wants to. However from my understanding of the Qur'an and Sunnah they are not necessary. Only the Hijab is necessary.

hivizman

There is a very long thread on this board discussing veiling, which ia worth checking out.

The BBC Website provides a useful description and illustration of various styles of female head-covering.

The term "hijab" literally means a screen, curtain or partition. It appears in the Qur'an in Surat al-Ahzab (33:53), a long verse about social relations between Muslims and the Prophet and his family. Men are instructed that, if they need to ask the wives of the Prophet anything, they should do so "min warai hijabin" - from behind a screen.

The word "burqa" is ambivalent, since it can refer to the so-called Omani burqa, a mask worn by women that covers the upper part of the face (see third photo on this webpage for an illustration) or the Afghan burqa, the garment that covers the head and body and allows vision only through a mesh at the front of the head.

As a non-Muslim, it doesn't worry me what people wear so long as it's their own free choice. As irishconvert points out, the Qur'an and Sunnah provide fairly conclusive support for the view that Muslim women should cover their hair and their bodies (only the face and hands should be visible), though that still leaves a lot of flexibility, and I am not convinced by the arguments put forward that Muslim women should avoid brightly coloured and patterned clothes, sticking to black or other dark colours.

If a woman believes that she should cover her face as well, then I can understand the positive arguments for this (modesty, wanting to be judged in terms of personality rather than appearance), though I am more worried by some of the patriarchal aspects (women should not display their beauty because it could tempt men, women's beauty is the "property" of the father or husband and not to be shared with un-related men), and by the signal that the face veil (niqab) gives of a desire to be somewhat separated from society.

irishconvert

hivizman wrote: »

I am not convinced by the arguments put forward that Muslim women should avoid brightly coloured and patterned clothes, sticking to black or other dark colours.

I asked an Islamic scholar about this and he said it is purely down to cultural reasons why they wear black. There is nothing in Islam specifing they should wear black. It is amazing when you go to Makkah to see the cultural differences. All the arab and asian (pakistani/indian/etc) women wear black, but all the oriental (malaysian) wear white!

missusblagh

there are many reasons to wear it of course, but it seems to me the only reason that suggests oppression is that of husbands wanting to conceal the women from other men, but that's a minority right?

I was just wondering if there were any other reasons why a man might want it.

If not, then i cant see why it would be a symbol of oppression, because it's the woman's choice.

(i know this topic has been talked to death, but i havent really heard many muslim male opinions on it)

oceanclub

irishconvert wrote: »

All the arab and asian (pakistani/indian/etc) women wear black, but all the oriental (malaysian) wear white!

I'm amazed anyone in a hot climate could wear black; it must be absolutely miserable inside there.

P.

goose2005

oceanclub wrote: »

I'm amazed anyone in a hot climate could wear black; it must be absolutely miserable inside there.

P.

Fabric colour actually makes very little difference, or so i've read.

oceanclub

goose2005 wrote: »

Fabric colour actually makes very little difference, or so i've read.

It seems the answer is: it depends:

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1886/does-black-clothing-keep-you-cooler

To sum up, if it's loose-fitting and there's a wind, yes.

P.

missusblagh

discussing fabric colour, texture etc was really not what this was supposed to be about....
bit off topic

irishconvert

missusblagh wrote: »

discussing fabric colour, texture etc was really not what this was supposed to be about....
bit off topic

Yes, please can we keep it on topic. The OP's original question was:

missusblagh wrote: »

As a matter of interest, what is the general opinion of Muslim men towards burqas and hijabs?