modesty

The Islamic sensibility of considering the human body of a very personal realm is connected to the concept of honor, dignity and privacy. Haya, Satr, Nikah, and Hijab are four important concepts that help explain Islamic modesty.

Being shy or bashful, modest in dress, speech, and behavior is considered something archaic, even prehistoric today. Yet, this is a key virtue of Islam. It’s what distinguishes a person of faith and God-consciousness. 

The photos of American soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners have stunned and disgusted the world. But it is their sexual humiliation that is garnering much of the attention. Most Americans may not be able to comprehend what type of cultural threshold has been crossed in terms of dealing with Islam and Muslims. 

Literally, Hijab is an Arabic word which means curtain. In the context of Islam, it is used to describe the general rules of dress and modesty for both men and women. In the West, it is often used by Muslims to describe the headscarf that Muslim women wear.

I walked down the street in my long white dress and inch-long, black hair one afternoon, and truck drivers whistled and shouted obscenities at me.

I felt defeated. I had just stepped out of a hair salon. I had cut my hair short, telling the hairdresser to trim it as she would a guy's.

It had been ten years since she had set foot in a mosque. Being at university had broadened her mind in many ways, one of them being her reconnecting with Islam.

She had begun praying five times a day a month ago, and now felt ready to pray in public, at the university's Juma prayer.