Some religious scholars have argued that covering is mandatory for all believing Muslim women. Feminist scholars oppose the covering. The hijab is a contested issue among religious scholars. Ordinary Muslim Americans, too, disagree on this issue. Some encourage it and others sarcastically label it the "Sixth Pillar of Islam.
These are just the first stirrings of a new era in the story of Islam in the West. Historically, religions undergo enormous transformations as one strain of belief and practice gains ascendancy over another. Living religions are by definition dynamic: Witness the changes that have occurred in the last decades as women have become pastors and rabbis. A similar process is now under way within Islam, as the veil, once an emblem
These are just the first stirrings of a new era in the story of Islam in the West. Historically, religions undergo enormous transformations as one strain of belief and practice gains ascendancy over another. Living religions are by definition dynamic: Witness the changes that have occurred in the last decades as women have become pastors and rabbis. A similar process is now under way within Islam, as the veil, once an emblem