| dc.description.abstract | In order to understand Muslim women’s views on veiling in
the West, one must take into account historical and socio-political factors such as
a country’s colonial/national history, the nature of its immigration regime, the
demographic composition of immigrant groups, and how the nation
operationalizes concepts such as secularism and citizenship. While academic
literature and media reports on young Muslim women in Europe indicate that
wearing the niqab or face veil is often viewed as an act of rebellion or a form of
personal/political/religious identity, our in-depth interviews of young Muslim
women in the United States reveal a different story. While half the participants
in this study wore a headscarf or hijab, not one of them said they were
interested in wearing the niqab. Instead, they believed the niqab was
unnecessary in the American context. However, an overwhelming majority
upheld the right of a woman to wear a niqab if she wanted to do so. Two
American Muslim women narrated why they gave up wearing the niqab after
wearing it for a short time | |
