After a few minutes of walking in the Egyptian capital, a question arises to the observer: Is the head covering called the hijab evidence of religiosity, or has it become so ordinary that any dissenter becomes an exception? "I wear the hijab to obey my religion's teachings. But I know many who wear it for other reasons," said Nada Nady, a 23-year-old pharmacist. Specialists have said that Egypt's economic decline has played a major role in the wide spread of the hijab among Muslim women, since covering one's hair is the least expensive way of dressing it. Others say that Egypt, as a developing country, is full of heavily populated districts and slums where girls who work to earn their living seek to dress modestly since they are sometimes returning home late. "I think social reasons are most likely," Neven Mohamed, a 33-year-old Muslim doctor said. "People look at the unveiled girl as imperfect, which make her feel ashamed of her uncovered hair," she added. Neven said that Islam ordered women to be as modest as they could, and that inward attributes were considered to be more important than the outward. Sociology professors, meanwhile, believe there are more reasons for wearing the hijab than what appears on the surface, and that piety is not always the main reason. "Whatever the reasons for its spread, our numbers [of girls wearing the hijab] increase with every criticism. We won't disobey our Islamic teachings whatever happens," said Rania Adel, a 28-year-old engineer In recent years Islamic dress for women has become a matter of debate between intellectuals and religious authorities in this predominantely Muslim country. Egyptian Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni caused a big stir when he branded the hijab as a retrogressive sign in 2008. He later played down his remark as personal. Still, was not the first but one of the boldest anti-veil announcements. "I feel we have become a fragmented society," said Maria Tawfik, a 24-year-old unveiled teacher. "When I walk in the street I feel like an outsider." Like Maria, many Christians see the hijab as a something incompatible with their beliefs. They see it as a barrier between themselves and the Muslims. "I am a devout Muslim, so I am veiled" Salwa Fathi, a 46-year-old housewife, said. "But it will never be a barrier between me and my Christian neighbours," she emphasised. Copts account for around 10 per cent of Egypt's 80 million. "The hijab has become widely popular as a result of the overwhelming shift, which happened in Egypt between the end of the seventies and early eighties" Farida el-Shobashy, a famous Egyptian lawyer and broadcaster, said. "It is a political rather than a religious movement." Commentators say that during that period the Muslim Brotherhood, an influential banned group, started to promote the wearing of the hijab, triggering a massive response from Muslim women of all different social levels. They believe it was encouraged by the Islamic approach pursued by the late Egyptian president Anwar Al-Sadat, following the socialist one adopted by his predecessor, Gamal Abdel-Naser. Since that time, most Muslim clerics have placed the hijab at the top of religious issues. They consider it obligatory for Muslim women. "This is a superficial vision and a proof of the absence of any other national issue able to unite people for a single aim," el-Shobashy said.
