Re: Should the Niqab be banned?
Respectfully Saleem saheb, while I am willing to concede that the concept you are trying to convey may be somewhat relevant, I don’t agree with your position when it comes to the sole reason behind the verse that we are discussing.
(And just as an aside…the reason why I posted the link to the Maududi commentary is to illustrate that there was no shortage of non-Muslims in the area and the need to be “recognized” as Muslims remained. But that is a very small point and not necessary to discuss since I don’t agree with your stance on the much larger aspects of the argument.)
(Aside #2 - If we are to use ihram as the “dress code” for Muslims then why do we not see men and women dressed in the ihram all the time? Why just at the time of haj? And if we apply your “molestation deterrent” theory then it could be said that women are told to leave their faces uncovered at the time of haj because it is understood that all those in attendance would be devout and pious momins and they would never consider “molesting” anyone so no need to protect. But this would be conjecture…wouldn’t it?)
PCG…I don’t think that anyone has said that niqabs are mandatory. The position of most in the thread is that mandatory or not, there is not enough evidence/reason to support a ban.
Your position consistently has been two-fold:
- Ban the niqab because it is not a part of Islamic dress code
- Ban the niqab because it is used as a means to hide identity and commit crimes
I don’t see how either of these hold water…