Islamic feminist views on dress codes include feminist views on the issues surrounding women's dress codes in Islam, focusing especially on the hijab and niqāb. Islam requires both men and women to dress modestly, a concept known as hijab. Traditionally hijab refers to a range of behaviors and garments, but the term in many western countries now refers solely to a type of veiling in which women cover their hair and neck. There is mixed opinion among Muslim feminists concerning whether hijab should be imposed onto people by external forces. Historical Context The Qur'an states that both men and women should be dressed modestly (33:59-60, 24:30-31; in translation by Ali, 1988, 1126–27). However, it does not use the words veil, hijab, burqa, chador, or abaya. Instead, it uses the words jilbab (cloak) and khumur (shawl). These garments do not cover the face, hands, or feet. Until the third through the ninth centuries (Hijri) women prayed in mosques unveiled. Community Interpretations Sufi groups such as Al-Ahbash do not make it mandatory for women to wear traditional Islamic clothing, even allowing jeans. Views in opposition to the hijab Women in opposition to the hijab claim that whole body covering with the burka, chador, and other items of clothing is a cultural tradition that arose from a conservative reading of the Qur'an by male mullahs, and that the Qur'an itself does not require such covering. A number of Muslim feminists, including Fadela Amara and , support bans on the hijab due to their view that the hijab inherently represents a subjugation of women. Amara supported France's ban of the garment in public buildings, saying "the veil is the visible symbol of the subjugation of women, and therefore has no place in the mixed, secular spaces of France's public school system." She also pointed to the fact that feminists in Algeria fought against wearing the veil, accusing those who criticized the ban as participating in neocolonialism. Mhenni expressed support for Tunisia's ban on the veil on similar grounds, claiming that acceptance of the veil would lead to acceptance of women's rights being limited. Sihem Habchi, director of the French feminist movement Ni Putes Ni Soumises, expressed support for France's ban on the burqa in public places, stating that the ban was a matter of "democratic principle" and protecting French women from the "obscurantist, fascist, right-wing movement" that she said the burqa represented. Views in