A couple of very interesting developments were noted among the young at the last Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) convention in Chicago during the Labor Day weekend. One was encouraging especially after the pall of despair that has fallen over Muslims since 9/11, but the other was distinctly disconcerting, at least to me.

The good news first. There was a pride amongst the Muslim youth, an “in your face” attitude that said, “we are here, we are Muslim, deal with it”. An article in the Chicago Tribune interviewed the youth at ISNA and one girl said very appropriately that her parents were of the generation of cultural Muslims and that she herself was of a generation of religious Muslims. This group seems undeterred by the rapidly worsening socio-political climate in the United States, though this is not because of ignorance of the USA Patriot Act and all else that makes being a Muslim a challenge. They appear to have a strength and a sense of purpose that acknowledges the difficulty and puts up an equivalent resolve to deal with it.

Hijab, colloquially translated as head cover, has acquired a universal ambassadorial label for Islam. Amongst Muslims though it has been a cause of debate solely because the words head cover or hair covering have not been used in the Qur’an.

Surah Ahzab, verse 59 speaks of an outer garment being cast over women when they step outdoors so that they are not molested. Surah Noor, verse 31 recommends that a veil be drawn over the bosom when women are in the company of other than immediate male relatives. Although the Qur’an does not specifically prescribe covering of the head, commentators quote from a Hadith by Abu-Dawud narrated by Ayesha, in which when the Prophet (pbuh) saw Asma thinly clothed he said, “O Asma, when a girl reaches menstrual age it is not proper that anything should remain exposed, except this and this, and he pointed to the face and hands.”

The no-head cover group quotes the very beautiful verse 109 of Surah Kahf, which states that if the ocean were ink with which to write the words of the Lord the ocean would be exhausted but His words would not, even after adding another ocean to the first. The premise of this argument is that being the Most Powerful what was there to stop Him from specifically mentioning head covering? The pro-head cover group takes the words of the Abu-Dawud and similar ahadith as definitive, akin to how prayer and fasting were taught to us by the Prophet (pbuh).

The disconcerting part though was how this ambiguity has been extrapolated to epitomize modesty of attire. Modesty of attire is unambiguously mandated in Islam, and there is no argument on that premise. The hierarchy in terms of all issues in Islam is Qur’an, Hadith/Sunnah and then consensus. The Qur’an is specific about covering the bosom with loose clothing.

Female fashion these days has taken to very fitted shirts, and the youth at ISNA did not as a generality feel that this particular fashion needed desertion for the three days of the convention. And certainly there should not be a dichotomy in dressing for the ISNA convention versus any and all other places that one goes to.

Hip-hugger jeans were teamed with elastic shirts that strained at the seams to cover the circumference, some sported well-endowed cleavages and all this was topped with a well-pinned hijab! It was all that I could muster to not sputter when such a young lady would walk into the elevator, and I would find myself almost flush with her finery!

“Say to the believing men to lower their gaze, and guard their modesty” 24:30. But as the man in that cramped elevator would lower his gaze he would find quite the obstacle course as his eyes traveled toward the feet. Good eye contact is an American concept that is taught in management schools taking origin from a principle in psychology that confers upon it a method of engendering credibility. If a Muslim man trained in this perspective converses with a woman attired such, his peripheral vision encompasses what his fancy may well want to embrace.

And what of the typical Pakistani male that has as a generality stared at a woman’s chest as though it were her face? What an amazing treat these hapless women provided!

Modesty is mandated in Islam for both men and women. Surah Ahzab, verse 33 admonishes women against making “ a dazzling display like that in the times of ignorance” alluding to loud make-up. Verse 32 of the same surah prohibits flirtatious conversation.

Another phenomenon that is noted amongst Muslims is the condescension with which hijab-observing women tend to treat those that do not observe hijab. Islam details the life of the ideal Muslim and the concept of intention is deeply ensconced within all its teachings. Additionally, we are admonished not to judge another, and in 7:26 God says that the best garment is the garment of righteousness. We ought to remember that the outward manifestation of faith is not relevant, for human beings are superior to one another only in the level of piety, and that is known only to God.

Modesty in Islam is a multidimensional proposition. Observant Muslims would be well advised to adopt the hierarchy in issues that Islam deals with, first the Qur’an, then the Hadith and then consensus. Covering the head snug with a pinned scarf whilst the bosom is equally snug in a stretchy material is a contradiction in terms and totally defeats the objective of modesty of attire.

Muslim pride and Islamic ambassadorial ambitions notwithstanding, one can accurately represent Islam only if one understands its basic principles correctly. And in this regard, loose clothing especially around the chest area, preferably covered with a scarf/dupatta and muted makeup would be Islamically superior to the moving violations graphed above.

(Mahjabeen Islam is a physician practicing in Toledo Ohio. mahjabeenislam@hotmail.com).