Today, head coverings hold a place in most religions, not just Islam. The use of veils and other head coverings in cultures across the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East, and Saharan Africa can be dated back to times that pre-exist Islam. As Islam began to spread across the world, local veiling customs began to be incorporated with the religion, and this further influenced other customs and traditions. There are a wide variety of veils and headscarves now incorporated with Islam. The most popular of these in Western society is the hijab. The hijab consists of one or two scarves that cover both the head and the neck. This is considered to be the most traditional veil, with the majority of Muslim women wearing it. Other veils include the niqab and the burqa, and these are the type of veils that are causing the largest amount of controversy across Europe. It is important to highlight that veils can hold meanings that are not religious, with some veils holding political meanings or others being associated with a location. Politicians, especially those on the right wing of the political spectrum, argue that these veils create security concerns whilst also interfering with communication. It is not new for the veiling traditions of Islam to receive some criticism. Many critics of these traditions will argue that Muslim women are somewhat forced to wear the veil. On the other hand, Muslim women in the Western world argue that the
veil is an image of devotion, religious identity, and self-expression. Some Muslim women have even suggested that the banning of the veil in France and other countries across Europe will consequently lead to more women choosing to wear the veil as a symbol of resistance and defiance. The political debates surrounding the veil began well before the ban on full-face veils in France in 20. French and British colonizers would encourage Muslim women to remove the veil in an attempt to force them into the mold of the stereotypical European woman. Because of this, the veil has become a symbol of resistance to the West in countries across Northern Africa and the Middle East.
The French governments obsession with the veil surprisingly exceeds that of the large majority of countries in the Western world. Even in countries such as the United States and England, two countries hit hard by multiple extremist attacks, the veil is not seen politically as an image of uprising and rebellion. As well as this, the need for ethnic, racial, and religious differences to be suppressed to some extent for a person to experience inclusion within a nation is not required in the majority of countries in the Western world. Whilst it is possible to argue that with the rise of populist, right-wing parties across Europe this may become the case sooner or later, currently, it is not the case. So, why is France an outlier in its preoccupation with the veil?