Luxor4u

Egypt drafts bill to ban burqa and Islamic veils in public places.

Legislators have argued that full face veils are un-Islamic and that the Quran only requires women to dress modestly and cover their hair

The Egyptian parliament is drafting a law banning women from wearing the niqab veil. The ban will apply to wearing the clothing in public places and government institutions, it has been reported.

The full-face veil is worn by some followers of Islam and typically covers all of the wearer’s face other than their eyes. The clothing is common in Egypt which is a predominantly Muslim country.

MP Amna Nosseir, professor of comparative jurisprudence at Al-Azhar University, who has backed the ban, said that wearing the veil is not a requirement of Islam and in fact has non-Islamic origins. She has argued that it is a Jewish tradition which appeared in the Arabian Peninsula prior to Islam and that a variety of Quran passages contradict its use. Instead, she has advocated that the Quran calls for modest clothing and covered hair, but does not require facial covering

A number of restrictions have been placed on wearing the niqab in Egypt in recent years. In February, Cairo University banned nurses and doctors from wearing it in medical schools and in teaching hospitals, arguing the ban would: “protect patients’ rights and interests.”

In September of last year, the university also banned academic staff from wearing the niqab in classrooms in response to complaints from students that it was too difficult for niqab wearers to communicate effectively with students.

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 20701.html

The lady M.P. is correct, and the term 'tradition' can so easily be used for many Jewish women, that is seen up Stamford Hill, London, who shave their heads and wear those dodgy black wigs. This 'tradition' has nothing what so ever to do with their faith. The idea came about in the 18th century, when wigs in Western society became popular, that is when that became a TRADITION only.

The modern niqab is a fairly recent development in Egypt....possibly linked to Saudi influences post 1970. Face covering before that was unusual. In the Ottoman days, upper class wonen wore no more than a flimsy see- through veil.

Islamic jurisprudence is divided as to whether the face need be covered.

As an aside, I see far more niqabs when I go to the East End of London than I ever do on the streets of Egypt.

I remember being on a train once and saw an Hassidic Jewish man sitting with a fully veiled woman. I went home and told my son about it, saying I thought it strange that this man should be sitting with a Muslim woman. He spent some years living in Israel and said it was quite common for strictly religious Jewish women to wear the veil.
I remember when Morsi came to power there seemed to be a lot more Niqab's worn then.

I can fully understand people wishing to cover their hair and heads to protect themselves from sun, sand, etc. But this has nothing to do with religion.