AMMAN // Over the past month, Dalal Abbadi, a 30-year-old woman who wears the khimar, an Islamic veil that fully covers the face, has felt uneasy when stepping out to do the shopping or visit a clothes store, following a recent spate of robberies by criminals wearing the garment.
While women who wear the khimar and the niqab - the latter covering the face but leaving the eyes exposed - are highly respected in Jordan as devout Muslims, the recent robberies have subjected them to an unusual level of public and police scrutiny and even distrust.
"Before, the owners of the store didn't look at me or even ask me what I needed, but now when I enter they stand next to me right away," Ms Abbadi said, after attending a religion lesson at an Islamic centre for Quran recitation on the outskirts of Amman.
In the past two years, police have dealt with 170 crimes committed by 50 people who wore concealing Islamic clothing to hide their identities, according to police officials.
Police are still looking for two men who were wearing the niqab when they opened fire on policemen in a western Amman neighbourhood in July and escaped.
It was not clear if they were militants or robbers.
Last year, two niqab-wearing men were arrested after robbing Société Générale Bank in Amman at gunpoint and taking US$37,000 (Dh1360,000).
"Using the niqab as a means of disguise is very harmful to this dress, which is revered in our Islamic society. But it is evident that the number of criminal cases where the niqab is used has increased," Jamal Bdour, the director of the Criminal Investigations Department at the Public Security Department, told a press conference in July.
Public cautions by the police regarding the niqab and khimar have triggered a debate in the country over how to tackle the use of the garments in crimes, with some calling for them to be restricted or even banned.
Mohannad Mubaydeen, a columnist with the daily Alghad, angered religious pundits in a column last month titled Corruption under the niqab.
"The issue is not the philosophy of the niqab nor it's legitimacy, but it lies with how it has become invested in malpractices that lead to disastrous results," he wrote.
"Has it become a safety tool to conceal any act that is above the law and public morality?"
Imad Hajjaj, the country's leading cartoonist, joined in, publishing a controversial cartoon in Alghad depicting Abu Mahjoob, a famous Jordanian cartoon character, and his big-bellied friend, Abu Mohammed.
Both were disguised in niqabs, making a list of the things they can evade, from police and money lenders to swine flu and social kisses from men.
But proponents of the niqab say critics have used the police warning as a pretext to denigrate the Islamic dress.
"Commentators are trying to take their revenge on the niqab," said Hayat Museimi, a shura council member for the Islamic Action Front, the political arm of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood.
Ms Museimi wears a hijab but is frustrated at how the niqab has become associated with criminal acts. Criminals "can disguise in any clothing and take advantage of people. We would have liked commentators to focus on those who deceive people rather than focusing on the niqab."
Ms Abbadi agreed.
"There is nothing wrong with the police issuing warnings and people taking precautions, but one shouldn't think badly of the good [religious] woman," Mrs Abbadi said. "It has really became annoying."
Hardline Islamists have also weighed in to the controversy.
Khaled Hayek, a commentator with the Islamic daily Assabeel, wrote last week: "The niqab is a symbol of purity ? and we will not abandon it. These individual incidents will not affect us, God willing."
There is a perception among the country's Islamists that the niqab is just the latest religious value to be targeted following a decision in February by the government to allow women the freedom of mobility outside of the home and to choose their residence without the consent of their spouses or male family members.
Hamam Saeed, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, told an Islamic weekly, Fact International, last month that the debate over the niqab was part and parcel of the government's attempts to secularise society.
The government "wants to force decently-dressed Arab women to remove their dress of chastity and purity and to [blindly] pursue the latest in fashion and globalisation".
smaayeh@thenational.ae
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Company%20Profile
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Company Profile
Company name: Yeepeey
Started: Soft launch in November, 2020
Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani
Based: Dubai
Industry: E-grocery
Initial investment: $150,000
Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year
Company%20profile
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ASHES FIXTURES
1st Test: Brisbane, Nov 23-27
2nd Test: Adelaide, Dec 2-6
3rd Test: Perth, Dec 14-18
4th Test: Melbourne, Dec 26-30
5th Test: Sydney, Jan 4-8
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Defined benefit and defined contribution schemes explained
Defined Benefit Plan (DB)
A defined benefit plan is where the benefit is defined by a formula, typically length of service to and salary at date of leaving.
Defined Contribution Plan (DC)
A defined contribution plan is where the benefit depends on the amount of money put into the plan for an employee, and how much investment return is earned on those contributions.
UAE gold medallists:
Omar Al Suweidi (46kg), Khaled Al Shehhi (50kg), Khalifa Humaid Al Kaabi (60kg), Omar Al Fadhli (62kg), Mohammed Ali Al Suweidi (66kg), Omar Ahmed Al Hosani (73), all in the U18’s, and Khalid Eskandar Al Blooshi (56kg) in the U21s.
SNAPSHOT
While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
Company profile
Company name: Dharma
Date started: 2018
Founders: Charaf El Mansouri, Nisma Benani, Leah Howe
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: TravelTech
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investors: Convivialite Ventures, BY Partners, Shorooq Partners, L& Ventures, Flat6Labs
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
HEADLINE HERE
- I would recommend writing out the text in the body
- And then copy into this box
- It can be as long as you link
- But I recommend you use the bullet point function (see red square)
- Or try to keep the word count down
- Be wary of other embeds lengthy fact boxes could crash into
- That's about it
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Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5