Queen Rania of Jordan Quotes
For many, the hijab represents modesty, piety and devotion to God, and I truly respect that. But the hijab should not be used as a means of applying social pressure on people.
Rania, Queen of Jordan. Interview with Fareed Zakaria. Fareed Zakaria GPS, CNN, 2010.
He is often referred to as The Reformer as he was a modernist. In particular, the told his people that there was no religious obligation is Islam for wearing a veil or a burka. These are just customs. Yet most Muslims still believe that veils and burkas were required by God. The only Koranic statement on the subject simply says that women should dress modestly. Despite his efforts, veils and burkas are still required by most Afghani families and most people think the requirement is religious.
This is the famous sura that has been interpreted to require women to be covered, wear the chador or burka completely covering them or just a headscarf as other Muslims interpret it. Note that a literal reading does not require complete covering. Fundamentalists in Islam do not only rely on the precise literal statement through they would never dispute it. But many would believe that it is metaphorical for not revealing anything that might be stimulating to men. The sura goes on to list those male relatives who are exempted. These are the same as those where marriage is forbidden.
Rania Al-Abdullah is the queen consort of Jordan. The daughter of a Palestinian couple, her father being from Tulkarm in the West Bank, she was born in Kuwait. She received her bachelor's degree in business at The American University in Cairo. In 1991, following the Gulf War, she and her family fled to Amman, Jordan, where she met the then-prince Abdullah. Before meeting him, she worked at Citibank and then took a job in the marketing department at Apple. Since marrying the now King of Jordan in 1993, she has become known for her advocacy work related to education, health, community empowerment, youth, cross-cultural dialogue and micro-finance.
