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The Hijjab, and other dress accessories worn by various religious minded people, sets the wearer apart from all others. It is my belief that this leads to religious discrimination, and ultimately, for one reason or another, to religious violence.

Many Muslims have a strong belief that the wearing of the Hijjab is necessary to the practice of their faith. However, in some regions of the world, it is all but abandoned. It is possibly one of the most difficult things for a Westerner to understand. I have read extensively on the subject, and still can't come to grips with the full meaning of the Hijjab. From what I can gather though, it seems to be based around the idea that women should "be modest", and not allow any to whom she is not related see her without full covering.

It seems to be imposed by the male dominated Shariat Law. As it was explained to me, a woman should not allow a man to see her without the Hijjab because "he may have feelings of desire, and that ultimately leads to unacceptable behaviour." To me, however, this says more about the weakness of a man than the modesty of the woman. If the man can't controll his desires, then he should do something about that, he shouldn't impose upon the woman to hide herself from the warming rays of the sun.

Children need to be treated as equals in the school environment. Anybody different is treated with many levels of contempt and ridicule by their piers. This is one of the reasons that school uniforms were introduced, and are still used by many schools. It is my belief that if a child is taught by his or her parents to wear something different so as to signify that he or she is of a certain faith, then in one way, those parents are complicit in subjecting the child to the ensuing ridicule. This is child abuse!

It is also my contention that one should not "show off" or display one's faith by means of clothing, or even words. It is actions, and what is in the heart, that is the mark of one's devotion to one's faith. If one has to wear a certain piece of apparel inorder to signify devotion, that is not real faith, it is for "display" purposes only. This is true for Christians, Jews, Hindus and Muslims