Beginning of intro and body

              Veiling amongst the Muslim community is a very common practice around the nation and the world today. Despite its large reach of active users, it has become a spiraling debate to inactive members of the veiling trend whether the veil is oppressive or if it is modest.  To get a better look at the Muslim side of this debate we can look at Maysan Haydar and Lila Abu-Lughod. It is pointed out by both of these authors that there are many misinterpretations, stereotypes, and wrongs about what one may perceive as a bystander looking from the outside in. The works by Maysan Haydar and Lila Abu-Lughod are titled, “Veiled Intentions: Don’t Judge a Muslim Girl by Her Covering” and “The Muslim Woman: The Power of Images and the Danger of Pity”, respectively. Maysan Haydar is a young woman from the Midwestern United States, and a respected copy editor for the magazine “In these Times” based in Chicago, Illinois. In her article she writes in a casual way to speak to readers in a sort of conversation, mainly directing her points at an all female audience. Haydar’s main argument regarding the Muslim veiling tradition is blatantly the title of her article as well. The veil is not what you see in cartoons, or news, or whatever other assumption one may have; it has hidden meaning and that meaning varies upon the wearer. In her own words she explains her experiences as to why Muslim women veil. The heart of veiling is personal freedom; that is of course according to Haydar. The second author is Lila Abu-Lughod; an Anthropology as well as a Women’s and Gender Studies professor at Columbia University of New York City who follows the same general subject but just sheds a different light onto the situation than Haydar does. This article is more of a scholarly piece aimed to speak to feminists everywhere in the veiling debate. Abu-Lughod argues that images of Middle Eastern women have been problematic simply because they are inaccurate and plain wrong representations. The veil must be “redefined”, to reflect what the veil truly represents to a Muslim woman, and should not be mistaken for what it is not. In order to better understand both of these articles, I will discuss the analyzation I have done of them and the claims and strategies that are provided in each.

            The first that I will discuss will be the article, “Veiled Intentions: Don’t Judge a Muslim Girl by her Covering” by Maysan Haydar. As briefly addressed in the introductory of this paper Haydar’s main argument is that the veil is a complete choice for all Muslims, and reasons to wear the veil greatly vary amongst wearers. The basis for majority of Haydars article is convincing readers by use of many personal anecdotes and life experience, personal connections. In these efforts it was clear that she tried to connect with the audience on a level where we are all familiar, emotionally; otherwise known as pathos. Based on her experiences with veiling she claims that the veil can help women avoid “damaging” experiences and express values such as modesty. To better portray this point she states, “[the veil] allows me to be seen as a whole person instead of a twenty piece chicken dinner” (Haydar, 259). Through this claim, Haydar suggests that women not veiling are not whole, that they are prancing around in fact for attention of their bodies. A claim that can be warped so easily, and a cause of offence to readers just contribute to less willingness to hear her story. Haydar also points to how veiling can lead to less harassment although she still gets the typical, “I like your skirt!”, or “Girl I would marry you!” (Haydar, 260), from construction workers that are attracted to her. However, through this point does she really convince readers that whoever walks through construction will be harassed in some way? Does she actually convince people that all men are unrespectable creatures? This evidence that she tries to use here is just weak because of its unrealistic qualities. Further into the paper readers notice her claim that, “Western priorities are out of line: American women spend hours getting ready for strangers to see them but don’t give the same effort to those who see them in intimate settings” (Haydar, 263).