Michael Jordan Essays (278 words) - Shooting Guards, Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan Michael Jordan's sublimeness on the basketball court will be forever remembered. He has become a world wide icon to many basketball fans. He showed us his skills of the game he loves. The article mentioned one of his great moments, which was "the jaw-dropping switch-it-from-the- left lay-up against the Los Angels Lakers in the 1991 finals. (pg. 1) Michael Jordan was not always"the great Michael Jordan," we all know and love. He struggled to become the best early in his career. "When the Bull's failed to finish over .500 in Jordan's first three season's and didn't reach the second round of the playoffs until his forth, there was a widely held belief among players and reporters that a Jordan-led team would never win it all. He shot too much. He didn't get his teammates involved." Which is mentioned about his early beginnings. (pg. 2) This was soon proved wrong later in his career. He has shown us that the Bull's can win it all and his teammates are involved in the winning. It was also said in Michael's early career, he failed to get along with his teammates. The article mentioned that he "preferred the company of a collection of close buddies." He has proven us all wrong. He has often said that he liked hanging out with his teammates off the court. It is clearly seen in many pictures of him and his teammates. In conclusion, although Michael Jordan has retired from the game of basketball, he will not be forgotten by many. He has shown the world of basketball that he can play his best and be the best. He might not be making anymore game winning shots but many will still love his ability to play basketball.

Influential Person Essay - What to Write

Influential Person Essay - What to WriteAn influential person essay sample for middle school students would make a great subject for a composition lesson or for a reading journal. What makes it so popular is that it is appropriate for a middle school student to use it as a creative and interactive teaching method. It also addresses the need to be an 'in' crowd.You will find these influential person essay samples on the internet. You can find them in magazines, as well as at your local library. The biggest advantage of using one of these essays is that they are available to you free of charge. It will not cost you any money to obtain one.If you are looking for creative writing skills for middle school students, then you may consider using a persuasive essay or article as a teaching tool. But you may find that such a teacher resource will also come in handy in the future when you need to write an influential person essay for college, work experience, or for your own school presentation .This article will show you how to create a persuasive influence or influential person essay using the influence essay example. These teaching tips will allow you to better connect with your students and give them something to write about which will interest them.First, you need to decide whether you are going to use a person or an idea to illustrate the essence of your influential person essay. You can pick either a person or an idea and combine it to show how this person affects the people around him or her. Remember that ideas are easier to teach and a person more difficult. However, both ways are equally useful to your middle school students.Second, you need to write your influential person essay using a more formal style than you would use for a middle school report. That is, keep your sentences short and to the point while at the same time giving examples from real life.Third, keep in mind that middle school students are not yet familiar with the use of quotations should be us ed with some restraint. A middle school student needs to understand that one is limited in the use of quotes and that one should be careful to include some of his or her own ideas. Finally, you should mention your middle school resource in your Middle School Essay Essay.

7 things to do if you want to work abroad

7 things to do if you want to work abroad There are a number of ways to get a job overseas, but most of them require lots of planning. Before you hop a plane to Bali or Paris to scout local job opportunities on your own, there a few factors and opportunities to consider to help you get the most out of working abroad. 1. Start your job search before you go abroadWhile it may seem adventurous or romantic to go exploring the world, there’s a lot of research that has to go into creating a financially feasible plan. Landing a job is different than bumming around Europe with a backpack. While it can have similar benefits like language and cultural immersion, finding short-term and long-term work is much different than your average vacation. It may be as simple as defining your search delimiters on the right job site, to much more targeted, like seeking out the job ads that are in local news websites from your desired location or networking among friends and alumni organizations. Depending on your financial situation and ult imate goals for working abroad, lining up the job beforehand is almost always better than going broke for a month while you try to find opportunities locally.2. Nail down all paperwork well in advanceThere’s one tricky thing you don’t worry about in your average job search in your home country: work permits. Technically, you can just show up and live for a few weeks in another country, but if you find a job, you’ll need to know how to get a work permit. In many countries the work permit application may need to be approved before you arrive. Oftentimes a company procures a work permit for you for a particular job. You may also need to have a residency permit. Thus, changing jobs while you’re overseas comes with an added complication: new work permit applications. There are also different types of visas, like a working holiday visa (for those between the ages of 18 to 35) and temporary work visas which are offered to American citizens by some countries like Canada and the UK for several months. Whether you’re considering long-term or short-term work, it’s best to set up your work permits before you pack up and move – even before you buy a plane ticket (because your plane ticket can be revoked without the proper documents set in place.)3. Know you might have to deal with low-paid workThe tradeoff, for most overseas opportunities, is of course money. There are countless opportunities for volunteering and internships world-wide with various reputable organizations. Students can often take advantage of internships during study abroad programs. Joining the Peace Corps, an another example, will take you places and use your skills to serve an impoverished community abroad. This is good experience to broaden your horizons and for your resume, but this type of opportunity is one you have to weigh against your current financial stressors. The Peace Corps provides language training, cultural immersion by living with a host f amily, a monthly living allowance and paid airfare. There is also no age limit to joining the Peace Corps, but you must be over 18.4. Brush up on your teaching skillsYou may have hated high school English but being able to teach English is one of those â€Å"needed skills† for many countries when you’re applying for a work visa. If you don’t want to teach long-term but do want to remain in a foreign country, you can consider a teaching job as your foot in the door to find other local job opportunities. There are many teaching placement programs that can get you started, though some require prior experience.5. Consider global company opportunitiesEven applying for a position at a global company could get you to the place you want to be eventually. This is perhaps the lengthiest way to find a job overseas, but also one of the most financially stable. Search for travel opportunities within your current organization. Business trips are a short-term way to get you to feed the travel bug, get paid to do it, and not worry about establishing residency in a foreign country. But you never know when your organization may be opening new positions overseas. Keep an eye out for these internal hiring opportunities.6. Find a job that will always go abroadIf you’re just starting in your career or looking to change careers to one that brings you more travel opportunities, there are a number of fields that offer the travel-driven a regular influx of travel opportunities. Jobs in tourism and leisure, travel writing, and working for an international airline are perhaps the most obvious. But there are other less-obvious choices that require you to work globally like a job in geophysics, archeology, and many government jobs in foreign affairs.7. Study up on your potential new cityDiving into a new culture can be exciting, but you should definitely try to learn a bit before you go. Brush up on local politics, read cultural histories, try to learn from a ph rasebook, and get a sense of the local customs. If you’re looking for a particular metro area, research what potential companies you could work for in the area. Any new job will have its own new â€Å"culture,† but working abroad may bring new facets you haven’t anticipated. If you’re primarily motivated to work abroad by a spirit of learning and adventure, then you’re already in the right spirit.

Signs You Are a Chemistry Major

Signs You Are a Chemistry Major If you are a chemistry major, you already know youre special. Yet, can people sense  you are a chemistry major before you tell them? Yes! Here are the signs that set you apart from other students. You get annoyed when someone tells you they dont want chemicals in their food (shampoo, cleaners, etc.) because you know everything is a chemical.The dark circles under your eyes from lack of sleep are from pulling all-nighters to write up lab reports  and work chemistry problems rather than from partying.You often smell like a signature scent from the lab that no one mistakes for designer perfume. If you work in certain labs, even your breath reeks of  an organic solvent.You not only know what Avogadros number is, but can state it with 5  significant figures. You also realize Avogadro isnt the one who came up with the number that bears his name, although he did describe a gas law. You own a lab coat, wear it even when it isnt necessary, and like the interesting  way it smells. Despite the lab coat, most of your pants have holes in them from acid burns. Your shoes and possibly your lab notebooks also bear these marks.  Theres a good chance you have some scars from chemical burns, too.You make the Best. Coffee. Ever. Every time. Your cupboard contains lab glassware in addition to the usual kitchen utensils. You didnt borrow it from the lab, did you?You know the difference between borosilicate glass, flint glass, and leaded  crystal (and why its not really crystal). You know what color will be produced by burning pretty much  every metal salt  known to mankind. When someone refers to a mole, you think of the unit, not the burrowing mammal.If asked, you could provide detailed instructions for 10 ways to make it go boom. You likely have pictures of key examples on your cell phone. Your lawn may have a few dead spots from outdoor experiments.When asked if something is organic, you consider whether it contains carbon and hydrogen, not whether it was grown without pesticides.You can pronounce the name of every ingredient on product packaging, know its purpose, and may be able to draw its structure.You know, without looking, what color Chemistry Cat is. If you have a cat, you  consider dressing it up like C hemistry Cat for Halloween. You have multiple copies of the periodic table, although you could state the names of at least the first 20 elements in order and possibly their atomic weights. The periodic table may be the wallpaper on your phone and computer.You rarely get to wear sandals or flip flops. When you do wear them, youre conscious of spilling liquids on your feet.If you need vision correction, you wear glasses, because you cant wear contacts in the lab. You may even own a pair of prescription safety glasses.You own or want to wear a bow tie.No matter how well things are going, you can always find some type of  error.You dont sniff perfume or even food the same way as others. You use your ​hand to wave a small amount of the odor toward your nose. Its a dead giveaway you took a chemistry lab. You May Also Like College  Chemistry Major Courses 10 Careers in ChemistryHigh School Courses To Major in Chemistry

Profile of Offshore Financial Center - Bahamas Term Paper

Profile of Offshore Financial Center - Bahamas - Term Paper Example Particularly for the offshore company, it requires to perform several checks and researches into the preferred offshore financial center to ensure that investing in that market can guarantee fruitful financial returns (Zorome, 2007). It is against this background that periodic environmental assessment analyses are performed for various offshore financial centres to test their financial viability for specific offshore companies and offshore countries. In the current paper, the spotlight is put on Bahamas as an offshore financial center to critically understudy the viability of that financial market as a preferred entity to use to raise capital Intel Corporation prior to doing an initial public offer. The profiling of Bahamas as a viable offshore financial center is done along six major parameters as outlined below. Secrecy and Views In the financial market, such as the offshore financial center, issues of secrecy and views are very important for the determination of financial transpar ency of a given center. It is for this reason that the need to study the secrecy and views that prevails on the Bahamian offshore market, such as financial secrecy is very important for making decision on the selection of the country as an entity for raising capital for an initial public offer. Nyangosi, Arora and Sing (2009) has explained that situations of financial secrecy exists when financial institutions refuse to disclose crucial financial information to the appropriate authorities for tax decision making and other criminal law enforcement policies. In effect, a higher scoring on financial secrecy index is a negative indication for satisfactory financial transparency. Meanwhile according to the Tax Justice Network (2011), the scoring for Bahamas in financial transparency is 83%, indicating an unacceptable level of secrecy and suppression of views. From the graph below, it will be noted that from a 15 financial secrecy indicator, Bahamas scored negative marks for most of the i ndicators. Source: Tax Justice Network (2011) For investors wanting to choose Bahamas as a preferred entity to use to raise capital for Intel Corporation prior to doing an IPO, the risk of not knowing the legitimate financial values and figures for most indicators that will be necessary for taking stock market decisions prevails (Breiman et al, 2009). Having stated the above however, it is important to stress the point that new policies and reforms have started emerging in Bahamas that make incumbent upon the country to have a free economy and exchange information as specified in Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) guidelines (Riyadh, Akter and Islam, 2009). Proximity to US Proximity has always been said to be an important factor in the determination of an offshore financial center destination for raising capital for Intel Corporation ahead of an initial public offer. This is because most offshore companies that operate in offshore financial centers do so b y operating parent companies that govern and run the key organizational

Chapter question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Chapter question - Essay Example This is because the different stages of a process involve different scopes that require application of different theories. The transtheoritical theory however offers a framework for application of the different theories, appropriately, at each stage of a process (Butler, p. 43). The key stages in TTM are â€Å"pre-contemplation,† â€Å"contemplation,† â€Å"preparation,† â€Å"action,† â€Å"maintenance,† and â€Å"termination† while the key stages in PAPM are being unaware and unengaged about an issue, â€Å"deciding about acting,† â€Å"acting and maintenance† (p. 45). The two models are similar in a number of common stages such as acting and maintenance. They however also have differences in the stages. Pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, and termination stages in TTM for instance do not exist in PAPM. Similarly, some stages in PAPM such as a person’s preliminary unawareness or un-engagement by the subject matter, the process of deciding to act or deciding not to act do not exist in TTM. The Transtheoritical Model and the Precaution Adoption Process Model therefore have both similarities and differences in their stages of implementation (Butler, p.

Muslim Women: Wearing The Hijab

Muslim Women: Wearing The Hijab Literature on this topic is abundant as research has been conducted globally on the topic of the hijab as to the reasons why women should and should not wear the hijab. The research conducted was made possible through the use of surveys, interviews, questionnaires and observations. Katherine Bullock in particular, a Canadian community activist, author and lecturer did extensive research on the topic of the hijab and published her findings in the form of a book called Rethinking Muslim Women and the Veil which challenges Historical and Modern Stereotypes . She has also published articles on Muslim women and the media, and Islam and political theory. Purposes of the research The objectives of the study are to examine if the dominant negative Western perception affects the reasons why the Muslim community is divided on the subject of hijab. This research addresses the concern for a dialogue that could inform westernised societies about the personal reasons why some female Muslim students wear hijab and why others do not. I want my research to be meaningful, relevant to local communities and to open my mind and that of others by being taught through research and personal interviews about the subject. Scope and limitations The pool of participants is limited to the Muslim students at TSiBA Education. The data set is meaningful, but not representative of the vast range of Muslims in different contexts. It will however show a diversity of views within a common theology and faith. Plan of development METHODOLOGY 2.1 Participation The target group for the research is 20 South African Muslim women between the ages of 18 and 40. This age group is the target of this study because they are the current generation of TSiBA students and are experiencing modern South Africa in a time when it seems there is an ever increasing influx of Western culture. The age group is also likely to include married women who might be inclined to think differently about the hijab as their marriage might have changed the way each looks at the hijab. 2.2 Methods of data collection Two sets of data will be employed: 1) open-ended e-mail questionnaires with 20 Muslim students about the hijab 2) Conduct interviews and observations on the candidates if further data is required. The first data collection method I chose was a simple questionnaire. The research draws on qualitative data from questionnaires and interviews with 20 Muslim female students of varying ages within the TSiBA community. After many different drafts of the questionnaire I went to the Tertiary School in Business Administration (TSiBA) Education to distribute the final version. My questionnaire included the opinions of both young women who wear the hijab and those that do not. I did not ask for names in any section of the survey to ensure the anonymity of all my human subjects. In the end I collected 20 surveys in total. After gathering the questionnaire, I analyzed the results manually. As my second method of data collection, I conducted interviews, each having an approximate duration of between 30 minutes. I used a recording device on all my interviews. LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction Keywords: Islam, Muslim, hijab, veil, female, students, TSIBA Education, reasons, dominiant negative Western perception. The debate regarding the wearing of religious garb in public, specifically coverings worn by Muslim women has increased over the past few years resulting in a lot of controversy among those who agree with the practice and those who do not (iqraonline.net). The French, along with the west expected that the hijab would pass away into history as westernization and secularization took root. However, in the Muslim world, especially among the younger generation, a great wave of returning to hijab was spreading through various countries. This current resurgence is an expression of Islamic revival (Khaula Nakata, A View Through Hijab, 1994, pg 2). Hijab is seen all over the world, especially in places with a high concentration of practicing Muslims. The hijab has been the focus of often fierce media debates and has come to symbolise the clash of cultures supported by links between Islamic extremism and 21st century terrorism. While in several Islamic states such as Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Iran, the full covering, known as the burqa, has been compulsory. A hostile response against Muslim culture has seen such traditional clothing banned, along with the much more common hijab, in the interests of secularism. In this context, Muslim women are portrayed by the Western media either as veiled victims in need of liberation because of a lack of free choice in foreign lands, or a threat to the Western societies in which they reside because of their choice to adopt the hijab which is a traditional Islamic dress. Muslim women are almost consistently portrayed as oppressed and veiled, a terrorist threat or exotic, sexualised beings. This is in line with Saids theory of Orientalism (Said, 1978), which argues that the Muslim world and its inhabitants are considered backward, barbaric and outsiders to Western society. This portrayal of Muslims is notable in the media in terms of the coverage of Muslim women. Most representations of Muslim women involve them wearing traditional Islamic clothing such as the hijab, and their role in the media is generally limited to commentary on issues such as the veil. Western Influences Dominant negative Western perception The Western media and feminists often portray the hijab as a symbol of oppression and slavery of women. (http://www.al-islam.org). Many feminists, both Western and Islamic argue that the hijab is a symbol of gender oppression and that the Islamic veiling of women is an oppressive practice. Fadel Amara, an Islamic feminist and a Muslim female member of French government says The burqa is a prison, a straightjacket. It is not religious. It is the insignia of a totalitarian Political project for sexual inequality. (King,Islam, Women and Terrorism, 299.) Feminists argue that public presence and visibility is important to Western women. It represents their struggle for economic independence, sexual agency and political participation. In the West, celebrity is the peak of cultural legitimacy. The hijab is a challenge to the view of liberated visibility and freedom of self-expression unfettered by the male gaze.( www.theage.com) After a century of struggle for freedom of expression that included discarding the bra, some Western countries have called for banning the hijab in schools. They have developed, it would seem, a rather limited view of what public visibility might mean to different women. Frances 2004 law, known popularly as the law on the headscarf, reveals the difficulty of respecting conflicting ideas between diverse communities, especially when one community, in this case the Muslims of France, is a minority. According to this law, female students are banned from wearing the hijab as well as all other openly religious symbols in public schools. France bans women from wearing the hijab in public schools because many feminists and lawmakers argue that veiling women serves as an oppressing force, a force that silences women. Alia Al- Saji states in her article The Racialization of Muslim Veils: A Philosophical Analysis many feminists see the headscarf As a symbol of Islamic gender oppression that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦should be banned from public schools, a space where gender equality is presumed (or desired). Supporters of the law believe it fights gender oppression and gives equality to women in the school system. Katherine Bullock sheds light on the differences in judgment over hijab by having identified themes from her research on the women and Islam field. She divides these themes into the descriptions of those who are for and those who are against the hijab. According to Katherine Bullock, critics of the veil rely on secular liberal assumptions about society and human nature and therefore the veil is supposed to be and described as a symbol of oppression because it: Covers up (hides), in the sense of smothering, femininity Is apparently linked to the essentialized male and female difference (which is taken to mean that by nature, male is superior, female is inferior); Is linked to a particular view of womans place (subjugated in the home); Is linked to an oppressive (patriarchal) notion of morality and female purity (because of Islams Emphasis on chastity, marriage, and condemnation of pre- and extra-marital sexual relations); Can be imposed; and Is linked to a package of oppressions women in Islam face, such as seclusion, polygamy, easy male divorce, unequal inheritance rights. 3.2.2 Media attitudes to reporting Islam and hijab While the media cannot be held solely responsible for the construction of national identity nor blamed for societal attitudes towards minority cultures and religions, they play a significant role by providing the lens through which reality is perceived (Bullock Jafri, 2000). While the Western media sees itself as a democratic institution, it is often held accountable for legitimising and spreading racism and bias against religious communities such as Muslims (Bullock Jafri, 2000). The media portrays Muslims as tricky, sleazy, sexual and untrustworthy, as uniformly violent, as oppressors of women, and as members of a global conspiracy (Bullock Jafri, 2000). Macmaster and Lewis identify the shift in the European medias portrayal of veiled women from exotic to a danger to society (Macmaster Lewis, 1998, p. 121). They point out the juxtaposition of representations of Muslim women as concurrently oppressed and threatening, while Kolhatkar highlights the depiction of Muslim women as shapeless blue-clad forms of Afghan women (Kolhatkar, 2002, p. 34). The identification of Muslim women in the media by the use of traditional Islamic dress has been noted by Begum, who argues that images of Islamic dress are increasingly used in the media as a visual shorthand for dangerous extremism, and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Muslims all over Europe are suffering from the consequences of such associations (Begum, 2005, p. 1). In France, a breeding ground of media and political debate about the hijab, has had a polarising affect on the Muslim community and a divisive impact on society and feminism. (Begum, 2005, p. 1) The medias portrayal of these women went from sinister symbols of Islamic extremism to brave heroines of the republic overnight (Ezekiel, 2005). But since then, the French media have reported on the suspension of a Muslim meter reader who wore a hijab under her hat, the banning of a fashion show of veiled women, the prevention of hijab-wearing mothers from volunteering in schools; the refusal of service to a student wearing a hijab by a university cafeteria and the banning of a witness to a civil service wedding from signing the documentation because her hijab prevented her from being formally identified According to Ezekiel, sexism and racism intersect in this debate. On one side of the feminist debate about the hijab, there are those who demand veils be banned from French streets as they encourage the harassment of unveiled women. But at the other end of the spectrum, feminists advocating a Muslim womans right to choose to wear or not to wear a hijab have aligned themselves with fundamentalist Islamic leaders, arguing that its a Muslim womans obligation to wear a hijab and demanding the ban be overturned. The authors argue that because of the medias cultural fixation on Muslim womens dress as a symbol of oppression, Muslim women often have to focus on that aspect of their identity as well, even if they would rather discuss something else. They suggest that even responsible journalism about Muslim women tends to demote them to the role of a reactionary source in the hijab debate. In sum, it is clear that Muslim women are predominantly presented to the Canadian public as foreign, exotic, oppressed, or threatening others rather than as ones unexotic, unthreatening next door neighbours. (www.reportingdiversity.org.) Clearly, the hijab story remains newsworthy in Western countries, and Muslim womens identities are inextricably linked to the headscarf as a result. 3.2.2.1 The argument of oppression Although it is true that many women do choose to wear the Hijab, it is not the case for all women. In many Middle Eastern and North African countries women are forced and are persecuted and abused for noncompliance with the hijab. This Hirshmann, Western Feminism, Eastern Veiling, and a Question of Free Agency, was recently demonstrated in Pakistan, where an extremist killed a womens activist and government minister, because she refused to wear the Hijab. King states, From Afghanistan to Algeria to Sudan, Pakistan and Iran- women are systematically brutalized and caught in a deadly crossfire between the secular and fundamentalist forces. Some Islamic feminists argue that although the statement in the Quran about women covering themselves was not meant to oppress women, the interpretation of those verses by Islamic societies does in fact oppress women. Although it can be argued that the hijab is a symbol of the oppression that occurs against women in Islam, many Islamic women dont agree. It is true that under some Islamist rule, specifically in some North African countries, Afghanistan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia women are oppressed and forced to wear the hijab, but in an international context, this is the exception to the rule regarding womens practices of wearing the veil11. Salma Yaqoob, a Muslim woman who chooses to wear the hijab explains the veil is not only an oppressing force in Islamic countries that require the veil, but also in Western countries that ban the veil. Yaqoob adamantly contends that by infringing laws that restricts womens choice on whether or not to wear the veil, they are also being oppressed. I am opposed to the Saudi and Iranian governments imposition of the veil and that of the Taliban previously. But this is also why I oppose the ban on wearing the hijab. In both cases the woman herself is no longer free to make a choice. In both cases her dignity is violated.. Yaqoob explains that more women are currently banned from wearing the hijab, than are required to wear it. The argument of liberation It can be argued that rather than oppressing, the hijab is liberating. The oppressing force behind the veil is when members of the authority, both Islamic and Western, take away a womans right to choose. The veil itself is just a piece of cloth. We interpret the hijab according to our social and religious constructions. Through the Western discussion and banning of the hijab in public schools, the Muslim school girls of France lose their freedom to express their spirituality. This view on the veil serves to continually disable and oppress women by terminating their freedom of spiritual expression. Frances 2004 law on the headscarf disables Islamic females from wearing the veil in places of education. The desired effect of the 2004 law is to fight gender oppression and inequality in the public school system, but as a residual effect, it actually diminishes womens freedoms rather than enhancing them. The law on the headscarf supports the oppressing Western discourses about veiled women and attempts to Westernize French Muslim schoolgirls. Internal debate: Reasons for wearing and not wearing the hijab The opinions of Islamic women vary in their decision whether or not to wear the veil. Some feminists, both Muslim and non-Muslim, defend the veil as a mark of agency, cultural membership, and defiance. Tayyab Bashart, a feminist scholar and Muslim who teaches in France, explains her beliefs, A woman in hijab, who is a functioning member of society, symbolizes an empowered, independent woman, rather than someone who lacks self-determination and is a puppet of society (Tayyab, Basharat.Hijab as an instrument of Taking Women off the Sex Economy.). Muslim women see bans on the veil as creating or perpetuating stereotypes that are becoming harder to fight. Hirshmann states that Western society tends to oversimplify these cultural stereotypes without looking into the women whom they think are being degraded. Reasons for wearing the hijab in Islamic Tradition The most basic debate over the hijab is over the requirement of the hijab. This is an issue that is debated by many Muslim scholars. First in order to understand why there is an issue it is important to understand the power of the Quran. The Quran is the word of God brought by his last messenger the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). Islam is the total submission to Allah (God the Father) and obedience to Allah, as the Quran is Gods word then it also means total submission and obedience to Quran. The first issue with the requirement of the hijab comes from whether the hijab is in the Quran or not. There are two sides to this argument; there are those who say that the hijab is a requirement because it is in the Quran and those who say that it is not because it is not part of the Quran. Amr Khaleds lectures have greatly influenced the Muslim youth, especially Muslim female youth on the topic of the hijab. He represents the school of thought that considers the hijab to be directly in the Quran and thus a requirement for Muslim women. In one of his lectures about the hijab he says Some people argue that this hijab is not obligatory and that it was not mentioned in the Quran. These are the Qurans verses that make the Hijab obligatory to Muslim women. O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veils) all over their bodies. That will be better, that they should be known (as free respectable women) so as not to be annoyed. And ALLAH is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (33:59) ( Amr Khaled). Here in this verse women are told to cover their bodies so that they should be known as modest women and are not harassed. The hijab, according to many Muslims, has multiple uses and meanings. The hijabs symbolism is one of modesty and morality. According to Islam, the hijab functions as a shield for a woman against the lustful gaze of men. The hijab also serves as a cover to preserve the modesty and piety of the woman, as that is her main role as stated in the Quran. Not only is this her role in her faith, but in society as well. The Quran also states that the woman is the familys main preserver of honour, piety, and modesty. Thus, the hijab is an aid in which the woman can successfully carry out this function as demanded by Allah through the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) (Kulenovic 714-715). Amr Khalad, a popular Islamic scholar, layman, and highly influential Muslim speaker, has had a strong influence on Muslim youth in on the issue of the hijab, especially in Jordan (Stratton 98). According to Amr Khalads lecture Al-Hijab, the hijab also serves the purpose of forcing men to not sexually objectify women but to see her as a vessel of intelligence and high moral values. Khalad says that the hijab reinforces the fact that Islamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ made the beauty of women of a higher value in mens eyes by providing protection [in the form of hijab] to that beauty from uncontrolled lusts and desires, and instead ordering men to respect greater the inner beauty of her soul. Thus, the real value of women is associated with the degree of her bashfulness and her abidance by it (Khalad Al-Hijab). This is the tradition Islamic rational for the hijab and why it is important in Islam (Khalad AlHijab). A study about hijab in the West also provides another theory that I believe can also be applied in South Africa because it is a country heavily influenced by the West. The idea of the hijab as a symbol of resistance is explored by Tarik Kulenovic but not necessarily one that is strictly political. Tarik Kulenovics theory suggests that the hijab in the West is a matter of identity, a physical symbol of a womans Muslim identity. This symbol also carries a message of religiosity in a modernizing society which encourages a secular life style and scorns tradition. Kulenovic asserts that the modern identity of Muslim women, which includes the wearing of the veil, is primarily the identity of resistance to the values than individuals find foreign to them and as such imposed on them (Kulenovic, page 717). Thus, in modern society, the hijab can be thought of as a means of retaining a religious life style while assimilating to the demands of the modern world. Another reason women choose to wea r the hijab is that they find that the hijab serves as an empowering factor. Yaqoob states her personal reasons why she wears the veil, For me, the wearing of the hijab denotes that as a woman I expect to be treated as an equal in terms of my intellect and personality and my appearance is relevant only to the degree that I want it to be, when I want it to be. Katherine Bullock addresses dominant western assumptions by proving through her research that the reasons some women wear the hijab are that the hijab: 1. Does not smother femininity; 2. Brings to mind the different-but-equal school of thought, but does not put forward essentalized male-female difference; 3. Is linked to a view that does not limit women to the home, but neither does it consider the role of stay-at-home-mother and homemaker oppressive; 4. Is linked to a view of morality that is oppressive only if one considers the prohibition of sexual relations outside marriage wrong; 5. Is part of Islamic law, though a law that ought to be implemented in a very wise and women-friendly manner, and 6. Can and should be treated separately from other issues of womens rights in Islam. 4.2 Reasons for not wearing the hijab in the Islamic Tradition In the Quranic this verse although it says to draw the cloak all over their bodies, it does not specifically say the hair. In addition, it does not specify in what way, to what extent, and in what manner women should cover themselves. There are many modern alternative views to this idea that the hijab is compulsory because it is in the Quran. For example, Dr.Reza Alsan, an internationally acclaimed writer and scholar of religions,the founder of AslanMedia.com and also one of the leading scholars in the alternative view, considers the hijab not an obligatory aspect of being a Muslim woman. Reza claims, Although long seen as the most distinctive emblem of Islam, the veil is, surprisingly, not enjoined upon Muslim women anywhere in the Quran (Alsan). Instead he claims that the veil was in Arab culture before the arrival of Islam, through contact with Syria and Iran, where the veil was the sign of the upper class women. According to Lelia Ahmed and those who fall in the second school of thought like Reza, the only places that the hijab is applied to women is when it is addressing the wives of Prophet Muhammad. Thus the veil was only associated with the prophets wives and his daughters not all women of Islam. This school of thought does not deny that modesty was expected of all believers. Women should guard their private parts and drape a cover over their breasts when in the presence of strange men (Surah 24:31-32) (Aslan). Here specific parts of the body are named that women should guard and cover including the private parts and the breast but the hair is not mentioned. Thus those in this school of thought like Leila Ahmed and Reza Alsan do not believe that the hijab is mandatory for Muslim women because it is not mentioned in the Quran. According to Bullock, critics of the veil rely on secular liberal assumptions about society and human nature and therefore the veil is supposed to be and described as a symbol of oppression because it: Covers up (hides), in the sense of smothering, femininity Is apparently linked to essentialized male-female difference (which is taken to mean that by nature, male is superior, female is inferior); Is linked to a particular view of womans place (subjugated in the home); Is linked to an oppressive (patriarchal) notion of morality and female purity (because of Islams Emphasis on chastity, marriage, and condemnation of pre- and extra-marital sexual relations); Can be imposed; and Is linked to a package of oppressions women in Islam face, such as seclusion, polygamy, easy male divorce, unequal inheritance rights, and so on. 4.3 Spirituality Some women have a deep spiritual and religious connection to the veil and firmly disagree with the view of it as a sign of oppression. Many Muslim women feel uncomfortable without wearing it because the hijab is deeply-rooted in their personal values and religious tradition. A main reason women choose to wear the hijab, is as expression of spirituality. Bashart states in his book that Muslim women carry with them their sacred private space into the public space by use of the Hijab. (Basharat, Hijab as an Instrument of Taking Women off the Sex Economy). In this view of the hijab, the veil is not simply an article of clothing; or a symbol of oppression it is a tool of spirituality for women. Fadwa El Guindi, author of The Veil: Modesty, Privacy and Resistance, says veiling patterns and veiling behaviour are. about sacred privacy, sanctity and the rhythmic interweaving of patterns of worldly and sacred life, linking women as the guardians of family sanctuaries and the realm of the sacred in this world Conclusion This research investigates the reasons why the Muslim community is divided on the subject of the veil and if the dominant negative perception of hijab (as the hijab being oppressive) has affected, if at all, the wearing of hijab in TSiBA Education. In the attempt to answer this question, the research has presented two hypotheses. Firstly, the divide on the practice of the hijab exists within the Muslim community because there are different interpretations of the verses of the Quran where Allah commands females to over their hair. Secondly, that the dominant negative Western perception causes some Muslim women to fear wearing the hijab and to abandon it all together as wearing the hijab could result in more oppression to females- as portrayed in Western media. Thirdly, Some Muslim women choose to wear the hijab for spirituality reasons despite constant the pressures of the West.