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REVISTA IEEE 11

329 Alexandra Ainz Galende A closer study of the discourse of niqabi women… hadith that underpins this principle, among many others, is the following: «Hold fast to the Quran, whatever you find in it that is halal (lawful), declare it legal and whatever you find haram (unlawful), declare it illegal. What the Messenger of Allah has declared haram, Allah has declared haram». On this point, we saw how the women interviewed look to the Sunna (religious dimension) for guidance on how to behave both in public and in private (political dimension): «I practise niqab because I am Muslim, that’s all. Why do you wear a ring in your nose? My imam, my faith, must be visible. Allah asks this of me, I’m simply fulfilling my obligation as a Muslim. Look, it’s not just the niqab, I pray, I want to go to hajj, I try to be a good person every day and always follow the Sunna of the Prophet. The example I gave you earlier, I don’t leave my money in a bank that would be usury, it is haram, the interest, that’s what the Jews do» (Zyneb). http://revista.ieee.es The meaning of the niqab If we look at the reasons the women give for practising niqab, we can see that they are varied and not mutually exclusive. Some of the women interviewed spoke of the obligation to practise niqab while others said its use was optional, but highly recommended. In any event, they all agreed that the reason for and the meaning of the niqab was religious and that the ultimate goal was to please Allah. On this point, and because the issue had not been raised up to now, we thought it appropriate to ask whether their husbands or partners had influenced their decision to wear the niqab. However, they all said that the niqab was a personal choice; some pointed out that they were neither married, engaged or in a relationship (five, to be precise) and that the niqab is a matter between Allah and them, and that there should be no middleman dictating or influencing their decisions in this regard, nor indeed in any other Islam-related matter. Only one of them said that her husband was very supportive of her decision and that, being the good Muslim he is, is very proud to have «a wife with a niqab». On this point, we would like to share the following statement: «I’ve been wearing a niqab for years. When I arrived from Morocco, I didn’t even wear a hijab. But after much research and thought, I made up my mind. The niqab is my choice, nobody forces me to wear it, I’m happy that Allah is pleased with me for wearing it. A lot of people think my husband is forcing me or something; but I’m single (laughs). And it isn’t my family either, they’re dead against it... they don’t like this niqab business, they think someone has brainwashed me (laughs)» (Farida). On this point, below is a summary table setting out the answers to this question in as quantifiable a way as possible.

REVISTA IEEE 11
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