However, conservative Islamic groups in Indonesia have set out to change that. They regularly hold protests against Western issues and values, and have campaigned for years for Indonesia to become a state guided by Shariah law.
These groups have supported hundreds of religiously inspired local bylaws in the past decades, the majority of which single out women — enforcing dress and morality codes — while others target religious minorities and gay, lesbian and transgender people.
In the months leading up to his niqab ban, the university’s rector, Yudian Wahyudi, and members of its staff expressed alarm that more and more students were wearing the niqab in recent years. In announcing the ban, he threatened to expel students who did not honor it. Mr. Yudian did not respond to messages last week seeking comment.
Siti Ruhaini Dzuhayatin, an analyst on Islam and a lecturer at the university, said she regretted that her rector had rescinded the ban. She said it was important to point out that the niqab is not an integral part of either Islam or Indonesian culture.
“It is part of Arab culture,” she said. “If a cleric somewhere says it’s O.K. to wear the niqab, it’s only part of a culture, not Islam. It’s not true that there is this kind of teaching on clothing in Islam.”
That said, far more Indonesian women, in particular those who are younger, wear head scarves today than 10 or 15 years ago, though most mix it with casual clothing.
Ms. Siti called the niqab “a new phenomenon” among some young women, noting that even Indonesia’s most traditional Islamic schools have never required women and girls to fully veil their faces.
Last November, the national government in Jakarta intervened after a picture showing girls wearing niqabs at a private Islamic high school in Central Java Province went viral on social media, warning the school that it violated Indonesian education regulations.
The increased prominence of niqabs has not been limited to schools. Last year, a women’s group named the Niqab Squad was formed at a Jakarta mosque to fight what it calls prejudice against face veils, and it now has chapters across Java.
The group also promotes clothing, including head-to-toe burqas with polka-dot trim, as fashion statements, which doesn’t go over well with everyone.
“The Indonesian masses are like sheep; they follow everything new,” said Ms. Suryakusuma, the author. “The trouble is this trend also has serious social and political consequences that could erode the Indonesian republic.”
Source : Nytimes
