The new fashion of Egyptian women began to give cause for concern: it seems that in Cairo it is registering a strong growth in sales of Saudi niqab.


After the revolution of January 25, 2011, which led to the fall of former President Hosni Mubarak, the current Muslim, more fundamentalist, has acquired a growing force in Egypt, confirmed by the recent elections that saw the Muslim Brotherhood to get 40% of seats in the proportional system, immediately followed by Salafis.

The tendency towards’ Islamisation of the costumes was immediately received by the clothing stores, which are readily adapted to new market demands.

The local daily Al-Masry al-Youm spoke to some dealers out al-Aziz Billah, in the most “Islamic” in the Egyptian capital, not far from the mosque of al-Azhar University: “The request of the Saudi niqab has increased in the last period, as the girls and ladies are more assiduous in attending religious classes, and therefore more careful to wear the full veil, “said Muhammad Naglaa, retailer of apparel.

Naglaa explained also the difference between niqab Egyptian, consisting of one piece.

of cloth with a simple elastic band at eye level, economic and unpopular cairote by women, and Saudi niqab, available in various models. Among these the “shay,” which means “nothing” because it shows nothing of the woman’s body, the “mirwaha”, consists of three pieces of cloth to cover the head, face and neck, and the “Malki” along until the knee , and finally the “tatriz” pattern embroidered discouraged by religion because it attracts attention.

The merchant Asmaa Muhammad confirmed the growing interest of women in Egypt for the niqab, but rejects the classification proposed by my colleague saying: “Names are many, but the niqab is unique. It’s like the names” Muslim Brotherhood “,” Salafis “and” Sufi “in the end we are all Muslims.”

Despite all the Asmaa, some scholars and imams do not consider the niqab a simple expression of the Islamic religion, but “a tribal custom that has nothing to do with Islam” in the opinion of Mohammed Said Tantawi, imam of the famous ‘Egyptian Al Azhar University.