Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Jilbab Muslim Part 3

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Are Jilbabs Ideal For School Children?

The vast majority of schools in the Middle Eastern and Asian countries have uniforms for wearing to school. This promotes a sense of unity, belonging as well as teaches young children to follow and obey rules. The type of uniform worn in a school largely depends on the ethnic area that the school is located in. Other factors which also play vital roles in determining the kind of uniforms adhered to include the primary religion of that region as well as the climate.

Numerous Non Muslim Asian schools have their students decked out in pants and shirts for boys and skirts or pinafore dresses for girls. In Middle Eastern Islamic countries though, the uniforms are mostly in alliance with the dress code set forth by Islam. Boys are often times dressed in jubbas whereas the girl's uniforms consist of jilbabs and hijabs. The jilbabs are long, loose fitting over dresses that are commonly referred to the Muslim woman's dress.

The colours of the jilbabs vary from school to school, based on the symbolic colours of the school, but the styles are inevitably very similar to each other as Islam does not approve or allow very stylish clothes to be worn by women when they are outside of the premises of their houses. Whether young or older, all girl students are seen wearing jilbabs in a number of Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Iran, Iraq and Egypt to name a few.

Although the majority of schools in these countries are Muslim owned, however, there is a small minority of Catholic schools available all over. These schools are run by Non Muslim administrations, but the uniforms still consist of jilbabs and jubbas if they are located in a relatively strict Muslim country. This is done in order to show respect towards the governing majority of the country and their religion.

Jilbabs for school children are mostly made of easy to manage fabrics that do not distract or hinder the child's performance in any way. Whether they are a part of a uniform or worn otherwise, these jilbabs also act as a symbol of identity and unity for the entire Muslim women's community. When young girls start wearing them at the early school going age, they later do not have any difficulty in accepting the loose gowns, which might be a subject of disapproval for Non Muslim girls. Therefore wearing these gowns from early childhood prove to be a great way to teach the young ones about modesty and conservatism that is inculcated in the roots of their religion.

Sohail Khan works for Islamic Impressions which specializes in retail and wholesale products for the Islamic market and stock a wide range of jilbabs and abayas for the discerning Muslim woman.