In modern usage, hijab generally refers to customary headcoverings worn by Muslim women. Many Muslims believe it is obligatory for every female Muslim who has reached the age of puberty to wear a head covering. While such headcoverings can come in many forms, hijab often specifically refers to a cloth wrapped around the head, neck and chest, covering the hair and neck but leaving the face visible.
A burqa or a burka is an enveloping outer garment worn by some Muslim women which fully covers the body and the face. Also known as a chadaree or chaadar in Pakistan and Afghanistan, or a paranja in Central Asia, the Arab version of the burqa is called the boshiya and is usually black. The term burqa is sometimes conflated with the niqāb even though, in more precise usage, the niqab is a face veil that leaves the eyes uncovered, while a burqa covers the entire body from the top of the head to the ground, with a mesh screen which only allows the wearer to see in front of her. The burqa should also not be confused with the hijab, a garment which covers the hair, neck and all or part of the chest, but does not cover the face.
The French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools bans wearing conspicuous religious symbols in French public primary and secondary schools. The law is an amendment to the French Code of Education that expands principles founded in existing French law, especially the constitutional requirement of laïcité: the separation of state and religious activities.
A niqāb or niqaab, also called a ruband, is a garment, usually black, that covers the face, worn by some Muslim women as a part of an interpretation of hijab. Muslim women who wear the niqab do so in places where they may encounter non-mahram (un-related) men. Somewhat controversial in some parts of the world, the niqab is most often worn in its region of origin: the Arab countries of the Arabian Peninsula – Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates, where it is common and considered as culturally belonging to the region, though not compulsory.
Mishal Husain is a British newsreader and journalist for BBC Television and BBC Radio. She is the main Sunday presenter of the BBC News at Ten and BBC Weekend News and one of the main presenters of BBC Radio 4's Today. She has hosted The Andrew Marr Show,HARDtalk, Impact and BBC Breakfast. Husain is also a relief presenter of the BBC News at Six, BBC World News and BBC News Channel.
On October 30, 2005, three Christian girls: Theresia Morangke (15), Alfita Poliwo (17), and Yarni Sambue (17), were beheaded by Muslim jihadists in Poso on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, an area plagued by sectarian violence since 2001. The attackers planned the beheadings after visiting the Philippines. In 2006, three men were arrested and in 2007 convicted of the crime, one being sentenced to 20 years in prison and the others to 14 years.
In France, there is an ongoing social, political, and legal debate concerning the wearing of the hijab and other forms of Islamic coverings in public. The cultural framework of the controversy can be traced to France's history of colonization in North Africa, but escalated into a significant public debate in 1989 when three girls were suspended from school for refusing to remove their headscarves. That incident, referred to in France as l'affaire du foulard or l'affaire du voile, initially focused the controversy on the wearing of the hijab in French public schools. Because of the wide-ranging social debates caused by the controversy, l'affaire du foulard has been compared to the Dreyfus affair in its impact on French culture.
Forced conversion is the adoption of a different religion or the adoption of irreligion under duress. Someone who has been forced to convert to a different religion or irreligion may continue, covertly, to adhere to the beliefs and practices which were originally held, while outwardly behaving as a convert. Crypto-Jews, crypto-Christians, crypto-Muslims and crypto-Pagans are historical examples of the latter.
A burkini is a style of swimsuit for women. The suit covers the whole body except the face, the hands and the feet, while being light enough for swimming. The amount of skin covered is about the same as the person wearing a wetsuit and a swimming cap.
Madani Schools Federation is a Muslim secondary school in Leicester, England. Based in the Evington neighbourhood, Madani Schools Federation caters for the city's Muslim population, with 300 places for boys and girls each. The building itself, designed by Leicester firm Pick Everard with an Islamic design including an Arabic-style courtyard. There is also an associated community centre and madrassa.
Rabia School was a private Islamic faith school located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The school was owned and operated by a charitable trust. It was the first Islamic school to offer secondary education in Bedfordshire.
Edge End High School was a secondary school for 11 to 16 year olds, in Nelson, Lancashire. The school closed in June 2006, as part of the project by the UK Government's Building Schools for the Future. Mansfield High School, in neighbouring Brierfield, also closed at the same time. The enrolled students from these two schools were merged into one, and the new Marsden Heights Community College is now the secondary school serving the area.
In modern usage, ḥijāb (hijab) generally refers to the various headcoverings frequently worn by Muslim women. Wearing hijab is mandatory in some Muslim countries, and optional or restricted in other majority Muslim and majority non-Muslim countries. In the Indonesian Aceh province, Muslim women are required to wear the hijab and all women are required to do so regardless of religion in Iran and Afghanistan. In countries such as Saudi Arabia, the hijab is not required. Meanwhile, in Gaza, Palestinian school officials have voted to require young girls to wear hijab, while Palestinian jihadists belonging to the Unified Leadership (UNLU) have rejected a hijab policy for women. They have also targeted those who seek to impose the hijab.
Malala Yousafzai, is a Pakistani female education activist and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Awarded when she was 17, she is the world's youngest Nobel Prize laureate, and the second Pakistani and the first Pashtun to receive a Nobel Prize. She is known for human rights advocacy, especially the education of women and children in her native homeland, Swat, where the Pakistani Taliban have at times banned girls from attending school. Her advocacy has grown into an international movement, and according to former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, she has become Pakistan's "most prominent citizen."
Religious discrimination in Pakistan is a serious issue for the human rights situation in modern-day Pakistan. Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Shias, and Ahmadis among other religious minorities often face discrimination and at times are even subjected to violence. In some cases Christian churches and the worshippers themselves have been attacked. Khawaja Nazimuddin, the 2nd Prime Minister of Pakistan, stated: "I do not agree that religion is a private affair of the individual nor do I agree that in an Islamic state every citizen has identical rights, no matter what his caste, creed or faith be".
The Derby child sex abuse ring was a group of men who sexually abused up to a hundred girls in Derby, England. In 2010, after an undercover investigation by Derbyshire police, members of the ring were charged with 75 offences relating to 26 girls. Nine of the 13 accused were convicted of grooming and raping girls between 12 and 18 years old. The attacks provoked fierce discussion about race and sexual exploitation.
Zaytouna Primary School is a coeducational Muslim faith based free school for pupils aged 4 to 11 located in Derby, Derbyshire, England.
Tauheedul Islam Girls' High School and Sixth Form College (TIGHS) is a secondary school for girls in Beardwood, Blackburn. It was founded by the charitable trust Tauheedul Islam Faith, Education and Community Trust. It serves as the flagship school of the trust.
The Trojan Horse scandal, also known as "Operation Trojan Horse" or the Trojan Horse affair, involves claims of an alleged conspiracy that there was an organised attempt to introduce an "Islamist" or "Salafist" ethos into several schools in Birmingham, England. The name, based on the Greek legend, comes from an anonymous letter sent to Birmingham City Council in late 2013, alleged to be from Birmingham "Islamists" detailing how to wrest control of a school, and speculating about expanding the scheme to other cities. The letter was leaked to the press in March 2014. Around a month later, Birmingham City Council revealed that following the letter release it had received hundreds of allegations of plots similar to those described in the letter, some claims dating back over 20 years.
At the beginning of February 2022, a dispute pertaining to school uniforms was reported in the Indian state of Karnataka, when some Muslim students of a junior college who wanted to wear hijab to classes were denied entry on the grounds that it was a violation of the college's uniform policy which was also followed by the other religion students as well. Over the following weeks, the dispute spread to other schools and colleges across the state, with groups of Hindu students staging counter-protests by demanding to wear saffron scarves. On 5 February, the Karnataka government issued an order stating that uniforms must be worn compulsorily where policies exist and no exception can be made for the wearing of the hijab. Several educational institutions cited this order and denied entry to Muslim girls wearing the hijab.
