: Eyes Without A Face: The Politics Of Niqab

For most non-Muslims, the advent of the Taliban in Afghanistan was their first introduction to the concept of face-veiling for women, which draws much attention despite being the accessory of choice for a minority of Muslim women, mainly in Saudi Arabia. There are many names for it – burqa, niqab, purdah, abaya – but the gist of it is that the modesty called for in the Qur’an is best enforced by not being seen. Driven in modern times mainly by the Wahabbi/Salafi strain of Islam, the woman shoulders the burden of modesty through face-veiling, rather than having the man do their part by “lowering their gaze” as the Qur’an commands. Rare in the West, the practice has gained some exposure through the court case of Sultaana Freeman, a Florida niqabi who is suing for her right to a photo-less drivers licence (and really, who wouldn’t want their photo left off their license?) Even Muslims who otherwise tolerated the practice are complaining that Freeman’s insistence is making the Muslim community look bad, and belittling the real civil rights abuses Muslims face. “This is a very frivolous case,” said local Muslim leader Omar Dajani. “If the law says you have to have your picture on your driver’s license, you show your face. I’m not even sure what version of Islamic law she’s using – certainly not the version that the Muslim world uses.” The prosecution isn’t helping the Muslim image, as it brings up the handy terrorist card to force Freeman’s hand. “The sad fact is our country,” said the aptly-named Assistant Attorney General Jason Vail, “is under assault by puritanical religious zealots.” Even Islamic scholars such as UCLA Professor Khaled Abou El Fadl got involved, stating that even the strictest applications of niqab allow for revealing the face for identification purposes. While Florida courts possibly find themselves in the position of religious interpretation, the debate over niqab is cracking open even in Saudi Arabia, where Saudi filmmaker Haifaa al-Mansour has just put out a film criticizing face-veiling as a security risk, showing an opportunistic murderer using it to commit his crimes.

Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.