~The Veil~...(>,<)...

They say
Oh, poor girl
You're so beautiful you know
It's a shame that you cover up your beauty so
She just smiles graciously and responds reassuringly
This beauty that i have is just one simple part of me
This body that i have, no stranger has the right to see
These long clothes, this shawl i wear, ensures my modesty
Faith is more essential than fashion,wouldn't you agree?
This hijab
This mark of piety
is an act of faith, a symbol
For all the world to see
A simple cloth to protect her dignity
So lift the veil from your heart
To see the world of purity

They tell her
Girl, don't you know this is the West
and you are free,
You don't need to be oppressed,
ashamed of your feminity
She just shakes her head and she speaks so assuredly
See the bill boards and the magazine that line
the check-out isles,
with their phony painted faces and their air-brushed smiles?
Well their sheer clothes and low cut gowns are really not for me
You call it freedom, i call it anarchy
This hijab
This mark of piety
is an act of faith, a symbol for all the world to see
A simple cloth to protect her dignity
So lift the veil from your heart
To see the heart of purity...

~A song by Dawud Wharasby Ali, copyright (1999)~