Kozhikode: Noted Islamic scholar Dr Hussain Madavoor on Friday came out in support of the Muslim Educational Society (MES) banning face-covering dress for female students in its educational institutions.
He said face-covering dresses like burqa or niqab had not been recommended in the Quran.
The MES circular last month banning face-covering dress from 2019-20 academic year had sparked controversy with Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama (SKJU) coming out against it.
“Quran only directs covering the body parts that create sexual urges in men. It can be a sari or a churidar provided it decently covers the female body,” he told DC.
“In schools, there can be law and order issues as even a boy could move around in such a face-covering dress,” he said, adding that religion need not be mixed unnecessarily with all such issues.
He believes that the diktats to cover the face of women came in a later period through the interpretations of covering the body by the religious scholars.
Meanwhile, MES president Dr Fasal Gafoor, who issued the circular, said in Mukkam near here that the society was undergoing fast changes which the communities also should adopt.
"Those who believe that another should not see one’s face should remain at their homes. It is time we gave ear to the changing times,” he said.
Many scholars think that the veil is the dress in the deserts, not Islamic. Among the over 150-crore Muslims living all over the world, Arabs are only around ten crores.
In that too, hijab covering the face is used only by a few such as Yemenis and Saudis which is not limited to women as they protect them from sandstorms.
