posted
As recently as five years ago, none of the young Egyptian women I knew wore hijabs. Now, suddenly, everybody seems to be covered up. What do you think is the reason for this?
It seems odd to me considering that my grandmother (born in 1910!) refused to be veiled and thought it was...well..kind of low-class, yet now young women are covering up their hair and more.
Do you attribute it to the rise in popularity of the Muslim Brotherhood?
And please, don't give me a bunch of Qu'ranic reasons...I know them all...and I know this shift has little to do with religion and everything to do with shifting climate.
Posts: 38 | From: New York City | Registered: Jan 2006
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posted
I think's it's a "Hijab TREND", now its cool to wear hijab in egypt, then again the reasons they say they got veiled for is all religious, sorry but their cloths dont say that, its completly normal to see a veiled girl wearing like a bimbo.
as i've said in a previous thread egyptians mix between their culture and tehir religion.
Posts: 517 | From: snake city | Registered: Apr 2006
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posted
oh gosh zohny i think there are so many reasons!
firstly, in the 50's and 60's egyptian women used to dress the same way as western ones. then in the 70's egyptian men started going to work in the gulf leaving their wives back in egypt. when they returned they started expecting their wives to dress the same way as gulf women. that's in my opinion how it started, i could be wrong though.
further, i really believe that egyptians are clinging to religion as a result of both internal and external forces. on the outside, there are several muslim countries in war, which created the "us against them" mentality. people are encouraged to dress and act more like muslims as a way of making their "identity" more prominent. whatever that means lol
internally, egypt is going through so many problems. poverty, illiteracy, pollution, rising prcies, poor housing. it's never been so bad, and people are just frustrated, using religion to vent out their anger. unfortunatly though, we are a culture that prefers superficial islam, so you find people praying and wearing the veil, but forgetting other important aspects of islam like being polite, honest etc
finally, i agree with 11:11 the higab is a social trend in egypt. any woman who puts the higab is praised, and in my university they even made parties for any newly veiled women, where everyone gets her presents, mainly scarves. it's becoming like a domino effect, one person starts followed by another and another.
anyway that's what i think, hope i helped Posts: 4446 | From: Egyptian in Sydney | Registered: Mar 2005
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posted
I've been wondering myself why this is happening. People not just going too religious but taking it to the extreme that they end up praciticing the wrong way without knowing it. Boys with beards to their chests and short gowns and veiled girls walking in tents thinking that's the way it should be when it really isn't
Regardless of whether it's the right or wrong practice, I guess the main reason people are turning like that is because of this country's constantly deteriorating situation. Economy has reached rock bottom and no jobs are currently available for the fresh graduates who take alot of time to finally work. The rising prices. Everyone's so desperate to achieve something that they figure if they can't in this life then let it be in the after life where they will go to heaven for being very good and obedient worshipers. They just don't get that being religious isn't just about praying and and fasting and giving to the poor. It's everything you do in life. How you live your life, your work, marriage, raising your kids, it all counts towards your religion too.
Things are so messed up right now no one knows what the right practice is no more.
Posts: 169 | Registered: Apr 2004
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quote:Originally posted by 7ayat- nefsi fe sobya: oh gosh zohny i think there are so many reasons!
firstly, in the 50's and 60's egyptian women used to dress the same way as western ones. then in the 70's egyptian men started going to work in the gulf leaving their wives back in egypt. when they returned they started expecting their wives to dress the same way as gulf women. that's in my opinion how it started, i could be wrong though.
further, i really believe that egyptians are clinging to religion as a result of both internal and external forces. on the outside, there are several muslim countries in war, which created the "us against them" mentality. people are encouraged to dress and act more like muslims as a way of making their "identity" more prominent. whatever that means lol
internally, egypt is going through so many problems. poverty, illiteracy, pollution, rising prcies, poor housing. it's never been so bad, and people are just frustrated, using religion to vent out their anger. unfortunatly though, we are a culture that prefers superficial islam, so you find people praying and wearing the veil, but forgetting other important aspects of islam like being polite, honest etc
finally, i agree with 11:11 the higab is a social trend in egypt. any woman who puts the higab is praised, and in my university they even made parties for any newly veiled women, where everyone gets her presents, mainly scarves. it's becoming like a domino effect, one person starts followed by another and another.
anyway that's what i think, hope i helped
Well said.
Posts: 517 | From: snake city | Registered: Apr 2006
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posted
yes i think it is a trend that is very commonly spread in Egypt.
being veiled for 10 years now, i can simply answer that question.
Nowadays we can wear hijab and still be elegant. There are a large elegant fashion line for veiled women - fashionable colours and fashoinable styles.
I think few years ago, it was very diffecult for any veiled women to find suitable cloths and trendy as well. but now we can. There are different syltes, different colours and yet fashionable.
quote:Originally posted by Ruby25: yes i think it is a trend that is very commonly spread in Egypt.
being veiled for 10 years now, i can simply answer that question.
Nowadays we can wear hijab and still be elegant. There are a large elegant fashion line for veiled women - fashionable colours and fashoinable styles.
I think few years ago, it was very diffecult for any veiled women to find suitable cloths and trendy as well. but now we can. There are different syltes, different colours and yet fashionable.
bas keda
good point
Posts: 517 | From: snake city | Registered: Apr 2006
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posted
Personally, I see this as part of an international change that is happening across the Muslim world. Around the beginning of the last century the Muslim world started waking up and realizing that, despite its former glory, it had fallen back in terms of development compared to the West. It started looking at western models and seeing them as being the way forward, so Muslims were sent to Europe to study and many came back, not only with western knowledge, but also western attitudes to religion.
There was a reaction against religion and religious symbols and practices, and all that was western was seen as desirable. So if you look at most Muslim countries fifty years ago, you would find very few young people wearing hijab, as it was seen as old fashioned and backward, and being religious was looked down on.
But in the wake of this there began to be an alternative reaction, as some people were starting to see the negative sides of westernizaton. There were also those who were looking at Islam with fresh eyes and seeing that it too had been dormant for many centuries and it hadn't been fulfilling its intended role as a guide for Muslims. The Islamic awakening began and Muslims became more active in da’wah (propagation), and this movement has been strengthening over the years.
As Islam has become more obvious, the West has tried to fight against it and suppress it, but this in fact has only led to a further strengthening, and more Islamic activism. Many Muslims are now coming back to their religion and learning more about it and the more the Muslim identity is attacked the more the people are turning to it. New ways of talking about and presenting Islam are developing as Muslims are seeing the potential of modern means of communication and new styles of da’wah are developing that are showing new images of Muslims and Islam that are making it more attractive to younger people. It is becoming more acceptable and desirable amongst large sections of the population to wear the hijab and perform the practices of Islam; this is not scorned and ridiculed now as much as it was, for many it is now seen as a symbol of pride.
Although many of these changes are still quite superficial, I see them as part of a general trend that more sections of the society are moving closer to Islam. There is still a large section of the community that sees all that is western as being desirable, but many others now are now becoming more discriminating and taking only what they want and leaving the rest.
Posts: 4576 | From: Cairo | Registered: Jun 2002
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posted
"its completly normal to see a veiled girl wearing like a bimbo"
Hijab on top......panty lines and dominatrix boots on the bottom, this display of psuedo-religiousness is ridiculous & all too common, because it clashes with a woman's natural instinct to be seen as attractive, and society's expectation on them to appear "religious".
Quite the conundrum.
-------------------- "The true art of a warrior is to balance terror and wonder."
posted
Come to London...... the trendy thing here is niquab!!!! True!!!!! All the girlies at the Central mosque are getting them!!! Posts: 4238 | From: USA | Registered: Jul 2004
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posted
It seems Egypt was more liberal in the '50s and 60's. My hosbond will tease his mother about how she used to walk the streets of Alex wearing a "micro jheep" when she was young.
Posts: 2735 | From: my desk | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
I think that in light of the global economy and the enormous imagery and symbols that each of us has to deal with now as opposed to some decades ago, a certain crisis develops amongst people, especially people who come from the socalled periphery of this global ecomoy. People are constantly given the idea through media and products that their traditional culture is somewhat inferiour than some imagined superior culture that is "out there". Because of this spiriutal and emotional crisis people seek solutions in other ways - to find an identity when faced with so much harrassment of symbols contstantly - and this is where religion comes in. It seems that religious movements, be they Pentecostals or conservative Islam, fulfill some inner need within people that has arisen only in the last decades of the 20th century. Also these movements seem to promise earthly prosperity in addition to sometimes actually fulfilling some basic physical needs of their members (food, jobs etc) This development shows also that religious movement create a sort of immagined community where people are allowed to immagine, if nothing more, that their lives are improving in some way...
Posts: 2184 | Registered: Oct 2005
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quote:Originally posted by 7ayat- nefsi fe sobya: oh gosh zohny i think there are so many reasons!
firstly, in the 50's and 60's egyptian women used to dress the same way as western ones. then in the 70's egyptian men started going to work in the gulf leaving their wives back in egypt. when they returned they started expecting their wives to dress the same way as gulf women. that's in my opinion how it started, i could be wrong though.
further, i really believe that egyptians are clinging to religion as a result of both internal and external forces. on the outside, there are several muslim countries in war, which created the "us against them" mentality. people are encouraged to dress and act more like muslims as a way of making their "identity" more prominent. whatever that means lol
internally, egypt is going through so many problems. poverty, illiteracy, pollution, rising prcies, poor housing. it's never been so bad, and people are just frustrated, using religion to vent out their anger. unfortunatly though, we are a culture that prefers superficial islam, so you find people praying and wearing the veil, but forgetting other important aspects of islam like being polite, honest etc
finally, i agree with 11:11 the higab is a social trend in egypt. any woman who puts the higab is praised, and in my university they even made parties for any newly veiled women, where everyone gets her presents, mainly scarves. it's becoming like a domino effect, one person starts followed by another and another.
anyway that's what i think, hope i helped
i agree.
Posts: 2049 | From: Canada | Registered: Nov 2005
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quote:Originally posted by newcomer: Personally, I see this as part of an international change that is happening across the Muslim world. Around the beginning of the last century the Muslim world started waking up and realizing that, despite its former glory, it had fallen back in terms of development compared to the West. It started looking at western models and seeing them as being the way forward, so Muslims were sent to Europe to study and many came back, not only with western knowledge, but also western attitudes to religion.
There was a reaction against religion and religious symbols and practices, and all that was western was seen as desirable. So if you look at most Muslim countries fifty years ago, you would find very few young people wearing hijab, as it was seen as old fashioned and backward, and being religious was looked down on.
But in the wake of this there began to be an alternative reaction, as some people were starting to see the negative sides of westernizaton. There were also those who were looking at Islam with fresh eyes and seeing that it too had been dormant for many centuries and it hadn't been fulfilling its intended role as a guide for Muslims. The Islamic awakening began and Muslims became more active in da’wah (propagation), and this movement has been strengthening over the years.
As Islam has become more obvious, the West has tried to fight against it and suppress it, but this in fact has only led to a further strengthening, and more Islamic activism. Many Muslims are now coming back to their religion and learning more about it and the more the Muslim identity is attacked the more the people are turning to it. New ways of talking about and presenting Islam are developing as Muslims are seeing the potential of modern means of communication and new styles of da’wah are developing that are showing new images of Muslims and Islam that are making it more attractive to younger people. It is becoming more acceptable and desirable amongst large sections of the population to wear the hijab and perform the practices of Islam; this is not scorned and ridiculed now as much as it was, for many it is now seen as a symbol of pride.
Although many of these changes are still quite superficial, I see them as part of a general trend that more sections of the society are moving closer to Islam. There is still a large section of the community that sees all that is western as being desirable, but many others now are now becoming more discriminating and taking only what they want and leaving the rest.
Well said! You can also see it through the names people pick now for their babies, even those who don't wear hijab are starting to see some "beauty" in the old Islamic names after a period of silly western-like names.
Posts: 1539 | Registered: Apr 2006
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It seems odd to me considering that my grandmother (born in 1910!) refused to be veiled and thought it was...well..kind of low-class, yet now young women are covering up their hair and more.
[/QB]
To the contrary, during that time High class Egyptian women even the liberal between them wore Niqab or Hijab, Hoda Sha'rawi, as an Example:
posted
Can't imagine rural women to be veiled like the current extremes, including gloves. They need to work the land. I bet it is a middle class thing where people can afford to have their women at home and veiled outside. Some very good reasons in this thread. Thanks.
posted
sheesh, I am going home getting Galil Amin's book "What ever happened to the Egyptians." Amin's an Economist and basically whats on this post is a mirror opposite to what he has to say.
An economist in his 70s who has spent 40 years charting the economics of Egypt.
I was floored and heavily annoyed with some of his commentary. But after reading this thread and that other "cripple maker" thread of 7ayat, I am starting to see the reason behind his book.
-------------------- Don't freak out, sonomod, Organized Crime, whatever. If I annoy you its me! Posts: 1765 | Registered: Mar 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Tibe: Moment of thruth: Last summer I had a tatoo done. Right above ehm you know - on my lower stomach. Its a sun with a ying yang inside. Damn that hurt but now my "playmate" can lay under the sun all day long even in the winter........ :oD Anybody else wanna share kinky stories? so that im not the only one being embarassing.
quote:Originally posted by Zohny: As recently as five years ago, none of the young Egyptian women I knew wore hijabs. Now, suddenly, everybody seems to be covered up. What do you think is the reason for this?
It seems odd to me considering that my grandmother (born in 1910!) refused to be veiled and thought it was...well..kind of low-class, yet now young women are covering up their hair and more.
Do you attribute it to the rise in popularity of the Muslim Brotherhood?
And please, don't give me a bunch of Qu'ranic reasons...I know them all...and I know this shift has little to do with religion and everything to do with shifting climate.
I consider the veiling of women more prominent due to the fact that women are finishing their high school educations and going on to college and/or going on to a job to prepare for marriage, even continueing to work after marriage because their husbands expect it.
Now women of all classes didn't go out in public as often as they do now. And there was far more gender segregation at work and school in the past, not so now.
And we understand that only the lower-strata of society harrasses women. (unlike my experience of being on the Alexandria Corniche being harrassed by elites in BMWs and Jaquars)
So to compensate women are veiling more to stave off harrassment.
Its for economic reasons, not religious.
Posts: 1765 | Registered: Mar 2006
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posted
i think its called fashonable to be seen to be different. all ways when i flew to the UAE the young girlswould be western on the plane then cover up when they got over there this i found very strange indeed
Posts: 1344 | From: uk/ | Registered: Mar 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Zohny: As recently as five years ago, none of the young Egyptian women I knew wore hijabs. Now, suddenly, everybody seems to be covered up. What do you think is the reason for this?
It seems odd to me considering that my grandmother (born in 1910!) refused to be veiled and thought it was...well..kind of low-class, yet now young women are covering up their hair and more.
Do you attribute it to the rise in popularity of the Muslim Brotherhood?
And please, don't give me a bunch of Qu'ranic reasons...I know them all...and I know this shift has little to do with religion and everything to do with shifting climate.
yes they are covering their hair, and showing their A$$!!! are you talking about tight jeans hijab!! or tigh tops with these big Boobs!! when i saw such hijab i just want to throw out!!
It is not Hijab It has nothing to do with religion I THINK THIS IS CULTURE!!
YA REET YASM3OW KALEEM " el 2`7OUN"
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