And by the time I graduated, I was continually asked why I didn’t wear it. Yet just five years later, when I entered college in Rabat, the number of my classmates who had begun to wear the hijab had multiplied. After all, we were Muslim girls too, but none of us, regardless of the degree of our piety, thought that our religion required us to cover. Our classmate calmly replied that she had decided to wear the hijab because that was what a “true” Muslim girl should do.

Surprised by her attire, I joined a group of girls who gathered around her, watching them pepper her with questions. When I was 13, one of my classmates came to school one morning wearing a beige head scarf. We are shown how in urban cities, it came to near eradication as it was beginning to be seen by the more Westernized view of oppression and we are then shown a glimpse into how the educated feminine elites of the Muslim world began to reclaim their veiling heritage and rebrand it again as a positive element of their faith.The Veil’s Resurgence From the Middle East to America Looking at her own life, delving deep into her personal experiences, as well as a deep dive into Egyptian history and politics, the veil’s near turn towards obsolescence in the 1950s and ‘60s as many Muslim countries were indoctrinated with European colonialist values, as well as a look at the resurgence of the veil, particularly in the US after 9/11, we get a clear grasp on the history involved. The overturning of many of these one-sided rulings and an increase in professional women wearing this very visible mark of their religion whether to the office, the parliament or beyond, we are given a very thorough look at the often complicated world of veil politics. From the geo-political debates in 1950s Egypt to France’s headscarf ban in the ‘90s and Turkey’s choice to ban facial veiling in school on through to the resurgence of the veil. In her book, A Quiet Revolution, Leila Ahmed, university professor of theology, looks at the history of the veil and attempts to explain these concepts.

But how many westerners really understand all of the politics, theology and ethics wrapped up into those headscarves? What does the hijab really represent? Who is right and who has the right to determine its meaning? To get a better idea about what is really going on, what has gone on, and perhaps what will go on with veiling, a little research can go a long way. These days, everyone seems to have an opinion on Islamic veiling, whether it applies to themselves or not.

A quiet revolution by leila ahmed