NIQAB, A LIFE PRINCIPLE OFTEN MISUNDERSTOOD IN INDONESIA

In the middle of the world spotlight on the lives of Muslims in Indonesia, the phenomenon of niqab, the veil that cover almost all the face, in the largest Muslim populated country in the world, Indonesia, colored various media. The views and treatment of these niqab users increasingly diverse, some people support but not a few are against due to some reasons.

The wearing of Niqab, picture by: www.inilah.com

From the religious teachings of Islam, there are two Mullahs’ (leaders in Islam) opinions related to the wearing of niqab for Muslim women. Some of them claim that wearing such a kind of veil for Muslim women is an obligatory, while others claim that the rule is just optional and permissible, and not an obligation. Both opinions are based on the interpretation of strong and legal laws in the teaching of Islam.

picture taken from: www.hizbut.tahrir.co.id

Significantly, amid increasing the number of Muslim women who wear niqab in Indonesia, a lot of responses in the community, both from his fellow Muslims as well as society in general emerged. Once the wearing of niqab is often identified with high adherence to the religion, but  now it is regarded as a form of exclusivist since in some cases, women who wear niqab are less likely to socialize with people. They looked only focus on specific groups that share similar principles and less open to wide community.

Moreover, while some terrorists in Indonesia were caught and some of their female family wearing the niqab in daily life, attitudes toward Muslim women wearing niqab is gradually changed. Many people began misunderstand. Even when one of the terrorists caught recently wearing a niqab as a camouflage, much worse opinion towards them emerged. The niqab is no longer widely regarded as part of the principle of religious belief but as a form of hypocrisy. This is a phenomenon of the application of principles and beliefs that sometimes misunderstood by people from Indonesia caused only by a few elements.