Why Don't Islamic Men Wear the Hijab?

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PsychoticEpisode

It is very dry in here today
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Just curious. Why are women singled out for veiling their faces. Why not men? Is the answer a sexist edict from Mohammed or Allah?

I think there are plenty of reasons to hide a woman's face but why not the mugs of Islamic men? Are women considered property and the veil a symbol of 'this one's taken'? Is the Hijab some kind of sin prevention measure or do some people wish not to be stared at.
 
PsychoticEpisode said:
Just curious. Why are women singled out for veiling their faces. Why not men? Is the answer a sexist edict from Mohammed or Allah?

I think there are plenty of reasons to hide a woman's face but why not the mugs of Islamic men? Are women considered property and the veil a symbol of 'this one's taken'? Is the Hijab some kind of sin prevention measure or do some people wish not to be stared at.
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This is the rule of hijab in the Quran

[7:26] "O children of Adam, we have provided you with garments to cover your bodies, as well as for luxury. But the best garment is the garment of righteousness. These are some of GOD's signs, that they may take heed."
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Everything else is cultural
 
If it is not really designated as to who should wear what, is it unlawful for a woman not to wear the hijab? Is it personal choice? Could a man wear one if he wanted too?
 
PsychoticEpisode said:
If it is not really designated as to who should wear what, is it unlawful for a woman not to wear the hijab? Is it personal choice? Could a man wear one if he wanted too?
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It depends on the culture of the country and of course, personal choices made by people. In Turkey e.g. women who wear the hijab are forbidden from entering university and have been campaigning since 1923 for their right to wear it. In India, its driven by family values (even among non-Muslims); people tend to wear hijab or not based on education, social pressure, etc. I only wore a hijab in Saudi Arabia, because there it is illegal to not wear one (btw, hijab for non-Saudis in KSA is only restricted to covering hair). Saudi men also cover their hair and wear a full length garment, in essence I suppose you could call it hijab, if you wanted to think of it that way. I've never seen a Saudi man in shorts.
 
I would have thought it was the womens answer to a beard.
 
Definition of the word hijab:

The term hijab or veil is not used in the Qur'an to refer to an article of clothing for women or men, rather it refers to a spatial curtain that divides or provides privacy. The Qur'an instructs the male believers (Muslims) to talk to wives of Muhammad behind a hijab. This hijab was the responsibility of the men and not the wives of Muhammad. However, in later Muslim societies this instruction specific to the wives of Muhammad was generalized, leading to the segregation of the Muslim men and women. The modesty in Qur'an concerns both men's and women's gaze, gait, garments, and genitalia. The clothing for women involves khumūr over the necklines and jilbab (cloaks) in public so that they may be identified and not harmed. Guidelines for covering of the entire body except for the hands, the feet, and the face, are found in texts of fiqh and hadith that are developed later.
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-Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World by Macmillan Reference
 
Seeing how it covers the faces of many women it appears somewhat hygenic. Could the custom of wearing one come from a situation where veiled people once avoided an airborne disease epidemic?

Anyway, the fact that men as a rule don't wear a veil, mean that is consider feminine?
 
PsychoticEpisode said:
Seeing how it covers the faces of many women it appears somewhat hygenic. Could the custom of wearing one come from a situation where veiled people once avoided an airborne disease epidemic?

Anyway, the fact that men as a rule don't wear a veil, mean that is consider feminine?
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I believe the Arabs adopted it from the Byzantine Christians in whom women of the upper classes were veiled.

But it is really useful in places like Saudi Arabia, for protection from sandstorms, glare and to prevent drying and sunburn. Many Arab women are very fair.

Men also cover their faces by twisting their headcovering (Ghutra, the red/white checkered scarf) over their faces and using the heavy circular Igal to keep it in place, in addition they also wear a Taqiyyah to cover their hair under the Ghutra

Igal
SA-igl-01_dir.jpg


Taqiyah
SA-tqy-01_dir.jpg


Plus most Saudi men also wear a Bisht ( a coat)

SA-bst-01_dir.jpg
 
I think the Koran has line or two about covering breasts, but not the face. So it would a later cultural development in that case...problably designed to hide your wife from the covetous glances of other men.

There is a tribe in North Africa where its the men who wear the veils, not the women. Cant remember their name, but it was in National Geographic years ago.
 
PsychoticEpisode said:
If it is not really designated as to who should wear what, is it unlawful for a woman not to wear the hijab? Is it personal choice? Could a man wear one if he wanted too?
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I had a Saudi friend in college, he said that that was a way to sneak into a womans' house to see their girlsfriends, & have oral sex, technical virgins still
 
Carcano said:
There is a tribe in North Africa where its the men who wear the veils, not the women. Cant remember their name, but it was in National Geographic years ago.
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Berbers from the Sahara
 
WildBlueYonder said:
I had a Saudi friend in college, he said that that was a way to sneak into a womans' house to see their girlsfriends, & have oral sex, technical virgins still
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Got to give those Saudi guys credit. Wonder if the girls remove the hijab for those moments. Sounds kind of sensual. I tell ya, if sex was a religion we'd be at peace.
 
PsychoticEpisode said:
Got to give those Saudi guys credit. Wonder if the girls remove the hijab for those moments. Sounds kind of sensual. I tell ya, if sex was a religion we'd be at peace.
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The girls don't wear the hijab at home; in fact you might be surprised to see what they do wear. Western clothing.:rolleyes:
 
If the hormones are raging they could be wearing a suit of armor and it wouldn't matter. Still it wouldn't cause suspicion if someone arrived at your house wearing a hijab in Saudi Arabia. I'm starting to think that the younger Muslims are beginning to lose some of the tradition and its their parents generation that one has to worry about.
 
PsychoticEpisode said:
If the hormones are raging they could be wearing a suit of armor and it wouldn't matter. Still it wouldn't cause suspicion if someone arrived at your house wearing a hijab in Saudi Arabia. I'm starting to think that the younger Muslims are beginning to lose some of the tradition and its their parents generation that one has to worry about.
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If you think this is something new, you must be new on this planet.
 
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