Respect for Niqab
As for the question of non-Muslims being "turned off" by Islam upon seeing fully-veiled Muslim women, Muslims should not waste time and energy worrying about such matters. To the contrary, some non-Muslims are not critical of the face-veil at all and are so intrigued by it that they actually become interested in Islam as a direct result of seeing fully covered Muslim women.
One non-Muslim woman wrote about her impressions of the face-veil in our local newspaper after crossing paths with a veiled woman on a busy city street. The writer was struck by the confidence with which the Muslim woman walked, seeing all that was around her, but not being seen by others, secure in the knowledge that no man could make a lewd comment to her about her shapeless body and invisible face. She confessed a twinge of jealousy as she contemplated her own short skirt and tight blouse, realizing in a split second that, no matter how much she tried to convince herself otherwise, society's men were probably not judging her solely for her intellectual and professional capabilities. She now felt embarassed in front of the Muslim woman who must've, she imagined, felt somewhat sorry for a "liberated" western woman like herself who could not even make it from one end of the street to the other without fear of harassment. (Please note that these were the writer's own sentiments and my intention is not to put her down but to show that there is more to equal rights than rules and regulations: it also has to do with belief, mindset and the reality of how men and women interact with one another as opposed to how we think they should in a perfect world.)
Contrast this powerful piece of writing to an article authored by a Muslim woman in another newspaper. In it, the woman practically begged non-Muslims not to judge Islam by the face-veil, which, she claimed, is a mere cultural tradition having nothing to do with Islam. This article served to divide local Muslims into two camps, understandably upsetting veiled women and their families. Even if one wanted to take the "least-least conservative" point of view and say that the veil is nothing more than a cultural tradition, it should not be forgotten that such a tradition has sprung forth from a culture of Muslims who are seeking the reward and pleasure of Allah, Most High. We
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