Concept of hijab and niqab in arab countries Research Paper

Concept of hijab and niqab in arab countries - Research Paper Example The use of the niqab and the hijab in Arab countries may be explainable through delving into the history of their use and the justifications thereof. Of all the types of headscarf won by Muslim girls and women, the hijab is the most common. Its coverage of the body involves the head and neck but excludes the face (Ad-Darsh, and Siddiqi, 2003). The scarf may be of different colors to match the outfit the lady dons. Another headdress in common use among Muslim women is the niqab. The niqab not only covers the head but also covers the whole face, save for the eyes. It covers up to the mid-back and mid-chest. The veil is most common in Arab countries. Of the two, most scholars are in agreement that the hijab is obligatory whereas only a few think that the niqab is obligatory (Ad-Darsh, and Siddiqi, 2003). There are claims that the origin of the niqab may have been the Byzantine Empire where it was a form of dress among women in certain classes. Muslims then adopted it during the Arab conquest in the Middle East (Eltahawy, 2015). Many claim that the rationale of the niqab is within the Quran and Hadith. Hijab refers to the obligation to be modest in dressing. According to many Muslims, the Quran requires modesty by both men and women when in public. Many scholars quote the Quran to draw a justification for the use of both the niqab and hijab as an obligation (Asser, 2006). One such verse is Quran 24:31. In the verse, the faithful women have an obligation to cover their private parts and desist from exposing their beauty unless it is unavoidable. Their scarf should also cover their bosom. However, others claim that the Quran does not make the niqab obligatory. For them, only the hijab is obligatory. Proponents of the niqab as being an obligatory claim that in Quran 33:59, Prophet Muhammad instructs his wives, daughters and believing women that it is necessary for them to cover themselves with outer garments. Scholars, therefore, use the

Can Character and Communities Survive in the Age of Globalization Essay

Can Character and Communities Survive in the Age of Globalization - Essay Example This has made a world a â€Å"global village† where we interact with peoples of different cultures, use their products and services, and also sell them ours. All these have a significant influence on our lives as is discussed in the later part of the essay. Online Oxford Dictionary defines character as â€Å"the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual. Whereas community means â€Å"a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common†. While nations on the whole seem to be benefited from the advantages of globalization which includes economic development, cheap availability of goods and their consumption, high mobility of goods, capital and plentiful labor; the communities within the economy are in fact negatively influenced by the increased globalization. The aforesaid advantages are often associated with globalization but its potential weaknesses are never discussed in great detail, and that is a growing concern t hese days. To show the connection or the relationship between globalization and character/communities let us consider the example of Pak Mun Dam in Thailand. It was constructed with the support of World Bank in 1994 on two rivers flowing in Thailand. Initially the dam was built to meet the power requirements of the country and for the welfare of the people, but it resulted in severe damages to the groups and communities living there. As soon as the dam was built, around 117 square kilometers of land was flooded which caused around 3000 families to move from their living place, fisheries of the Mun River were also adversely affected. Around 25,000 villagers claimed to have been affected by the construction of dam and many protests were also staged, but inadequate compensation was paid to them in return of all they lost. The dam also failed to produce the projected power output and therefore the entire project was unsuccessful. So this was just one of the many examples where economic prosperity and development was exchanged for dislocated people and destroyed communities. Communities play a vital role in any society. Through small groups and communities people find ways to interact with each other, to learn about themselves. Besides, every group or community has its boundaries and its very own identity and culture which gives the people living within it a good sense of belonging and fulfills their social needs as well. At the core of these communities lie the families. The people belonging to different families and the relationships existing among them give any community its true meaning and reason for its existence. Through families people participate in different social activities organized through the community. Hence the family-community exchange is very crucial for the survival of both communities and the character. Communities provide the families with culture, facilities, values and protect it from the measures that could otherwise jeopardize the satisfac tion of wants. And families, then again, protect these cultural values and norms through its social activities and passing these values from one generation to the other (Robertson). With the advent of globalization, the world today exhibits the nature of a global village with everything global, new, different, faster and turbulent. Globalization results in economic development and