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I don't think this is purely cultural. It ended up in the Koran, therefore, it is a religious practice for the people of Muslim faith. This is also the case with Christianity. Religion, by nature, absorbs customs from each of the places it has a foothold. And in that process the practice becomes religious, because it is now imposed by the religion, no longer by the local culture. As such, you will never see a christian with a niqab and you won't see a muslim with a miter.
That aside, religion is culture and will have to be incorporated into and changed by the new society, just like the veil was incorporated into the islam. And bans are one way of doing it...
I agree that its part of Islam now, but I reject the claim that God has commanded women, through the Koran, to be modest and cover themselves, mainly because it is not in the Koran (well, and that I think its pure bullshit to begin with, but that's not the point here). They are kidding themselves like Catholics kid themselves into believing that the Church hierarchy has anything whatsoever to do with the Bible. Here is a nice discussion about Islam and the veil. I don't know how authoritative it is, but it seems insightful.
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speeding_snail · 4388 days ago · link ·
If this article is representative, then the whole issue is a non-issue. It is in no real sense commanded via the Koran, thus no religious thing at all. Still part of the Islamic culture, but not religiously mandated.
Edit: Afterthought