History of the Veil in Islam

For centuries, women across many cultures have covered their heads for a variety of reasons: to make a fashion statement, to register a protest, to display modesty … or because they are required to.

Images range from Elizabeth Taylor sporting a headscarf, to Orthodox Palestinian Christians worshipping or a Catholic nun teaching at a girl’s school, to Nigerian royalty displaying a gele and Afghan women encased in a blue burqa. 

In Europe in the Middle Ages, “a woman’s head covering was a symbol of her morality, but also indicated her role within the community,” according to one source.

But what is it about the veil worn specifically by Muslim women that seems so mysterious or even threatening to those in the West? 

The Qur’an and the veil

As many experts point out, no verses in the Qur’an mandate the practice. Most of the Qur’an’s references are to modest dress only, not to veils. In fact, passage 24:30 talks about men guarding their modesty and lowering their gaze before it mentions the same for women. 

The word hijab means “barrier” or “partition” and has grown into the current principle of modesty — an overarching term for all forms of veiling. The principle of hijab differs from country to country, and even among women in the same country.  

And Islam did not initiate the wearing of the veil. According to Sahar Amer, author of What Is Veiling? “Islam took on veiling practices already in place at the dawn of the seventh century around the Mediterranean Basin. Islam inherited them from the major empires and societies of the time.”

In the years since, some women wore veils for religious purposes; others insisted on them as visible signs of opposition — such as in Iran under the rule of the Shah in the 1970s, when women voluntarily donned the chador to protest his westernization. 

“Mobilisation of the veil against Western systems of thought and values also occurred in the 1970s in Egypt when college-educated women returned to wearing the veil,” adds author Katarzyna Falecka. “Among the reasons cited for their choice was a rejection of Western consumerism and materialism, in favour of modesty and minimalism.

“The veil offers a visible, public marker that can be mobilised to emphasise various political and social agendas,” she continues. “Under colonial rule, the veil became a sign that demarcated those who did not belong to the European system of thought.”

Piety and political statement

According to the website Facing History and Ourselves, “many daughters of Muslim immigrants in the West argue that the veil symbolizes devotion and piety and that veiling is their own choice. To them it is a question of religious identity and self-expression.”

Others agree that the veil is a symbol but point to deeper motivations behind its origins. “I stand among scholars of Arab and Islamic heritage who believe that the headscarf is political,” writes political scientist and human rights advocate Elham Manea. “It is the core of an Islamist political project. With it, Islamists mark their presence.

“When Islamists launch their missionary work anywhere, this is how they start,” she continues. “They start with the woman first, controlling her behaviour and getting her to cover her body. And they play on her religious feelings, guilt and fear.

“If you do not cover up, you will be disobeying God, displeasing him,” they say, “and you do love God, do you not?” ... And, “you will burn in hell, if you do not cover up.”

“Tell me, please, how is choice being exercised here?”

So, while an increase in radical Islam usually leads to restrictions on women’s covering, veiling can encompass many motivations, including an underlying desire to appease Allah, even if his sacred text has never required it.

In Western eyes, the mystery of the veil’s meaning — combined with the foreign-ness of Islam and ever-present news reports on Islamic terror — all contribute to the suspicion that many Westerners express toward veiled women.

Types of veils 

Women wear different types of veils depending upon their culture and personal preference. The primary styles (although all include some variation) are:

• Hijab — This veil includes one or more scarves covering the head and neck and is the type most seen in the West.

• Niqab — Most commonly worn in the Gulf States, this covers all but the eyes and might cover only the head and neck or extend to the entire body as well. In 2010, France became the first European country to ban full-face veils in public places. According to Time magazine, the move “took on a new irony at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 when France mandated mask-wearing in public spaces, while still banning Muslim face coverings.”

• Chador — This full-length shawl covers the head and body, leaving the face visible. The chador is common in many Middle Eastern countries and is often black, held tight around the face.

• Burqa — Fully enveloping the head and body, with only a mesh screen for vision, the burqa is most often worn in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The new Taliban regime again began issuing burqa mandates as cities fell to their control in August 2021. Many women who had never before donned a burqa rushed to purchase one for protection against abuse by the Taliban. As quoted in The Guardian, one former university student bemoaned the choice before her: 

“I am afraid that because I am rejecting the burqa, soon I will have to stay at home and I will lose my independence and freedom. But if I accept the burqa, it will exercise power over me. I am not ready to let that happen.”

Behind each veil — whether covering only the hair or concealing the entire body — stands a woman in need of a relationship with the One who created her. Pray for spiritual openness. Pray also that Christians around her reach beyond the stereotype to pray for and get to know her, in hopes of introducing her to the spiritual freedom available in Christ.

To learn more about the ministry of Arabic Media Ministries and the truth it offers through its teaching to Arabic-speakers worldwide, visit our website.

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Sources:  “The Veil in the Middle Ages” by Yvonne Seale, Oct. 9, 2016; What Is Veiling? by Sahar Amer, Copyright © 2014 by the University of North Carolina Press; “Hijab,” Sept. 3, 2009, bbc.co.uk; “The Hijab and Politics in Iran” by Dr. Mohammed al-Sayed al-Sayyad and Ruba al-Blawi, Rasanah: International Institute for Iranian Studies, Nov. 9, 2020; “From colonial Algeria to modern day Europe, the Muslim veil remains an ideaological battleground” by Katarzyna Falecka, the conversation.com;  “A Brief History of the Veil in Islam” facinghistory.org; “Who Gets to Wear a Headscarf” by Cady Lang, Time magazine, May 19, 2021; “The Veil as a Political Act” by Elham Manea, E-International Relations, Feb. 7, 2018; “Afghan women’s defiance and despair” by Zainab Pirzad and Atefa Alizada, The Guardian, Aug. 15, 2021.