Muslim Veiling

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METHODS

Overview of Study In this research proposal, religious groups (Christianity, Buddhism, and Judaism) and non-religious groups (atheism and secularist organizations) were recruited through a battery of questionnaires distributed to prominent churches, synagogues, temples, and secular groups within the Tri-Cities area of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. The aim of our research was to assess perceptions on Muslim veiling held by various faiths and non-religious members, in a rural area, outside of the Islam religion. Due to lack of secularism within the area, a limitation to the study was a higher response rate from religious groups as opposed to secularist organizations.

Participants A quantitative study was conducted in …show more content…

To circumvent confusion, definitions and pictures of various Islamic veils (hijab, chador, niqab, and burqa) were included with the questionnaire. The items listed were meant to discover feelings of discomfort and distrust toward veils, as well as the inclination to ban it from public areas. A 5-point Likert scale was used to score the items (1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree). The listed items: (1) “Generally, it upsets me to see the Muslim veil in certain places”; (2) “I find the fact that Muslim women wear a veil as acceptable”; (3) “It upsets me more to see a Muslim veil in public places such as schools, hospitals, or on the street”; (4) “Muslim women have the right to wear their veil anywhere they want”; (5) “When I see a Muslim veil I get nervous and/or anxious”; (6) “Muslim veils should be prohibited in certain places”. A three-item measure was created to examine Western ethnocentrism, modern racism, and consideration that Arab-Muslims are inferior. A 5-point Likert scale was used (1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree). The items included were: (1) “Western nations afford citizens with advantages that are not offered in Arab-Muslim nations”; (2) “Western nations have evolved more than Arab-Muslim nations”; (3) “Western nations and Arab-Muslim nations are similar in certain

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