As a headcovering, modest-dressing *Christian*, the description of ‘some sort of headcovering and loose-fitting, modest attire’ basically describes what I wear – my hair in a bun and a hanging veil which covers most of my hair, ankle-length skirt, loose dress, double layer of clothing over the chest area. This is my choice, and I do it for the awesome God, my creator who loves me and who I would do anything to please. Even if it means doing something so socially unacceptable for a Western teenager as wearing a headcovering and modest dress.

So many of us, of all religions, suffer from misrepresentation by the media. According to the media, do any Christians wear modest dress and headcovering? Well… no. And yet, so many do. There are some churches which require it of their women, still. Eastern Orthodox, Amish, Mennonite, Hutterite, Brethren, to name a few. And then there are those who, like me, feel called to wear it anyway.

I think sometimes I envy Muslim girls a little because it is a known thing that their faith requires this standard of them. They’re not looked upon oddly for choosing to honour themselves, their God, and their bodies, by dressing modestly and covering their heads. They’re not from a faith where most people couldn’t care less.

It should also be noted that up until about 100 years ago, headcovering was very common in the West – a woman wouldn’t even think of going out without a covering of some kind on her head, even if it were just a hat! Since women stopped wearing the headcovering, look at how church attendance has dropped! Look at how standards of dress have dropped! We have become a faithless people.

I pray that young women will continue to choose to dress modestly when God desires it and that one day those who choose to do so will be free from oppression and suspicion from the supposedly ‘enlightened’ Western world.

Pseudo-scholars and new converts in the camp of Muslim soldiery, especially those who thrive upon the privileges of the West are busy smoking the reality of “operation” Global Jihad. Can their arguments from the Qur’an and history convince their “believing” brothers – to stop terrorising in the name of Islam? Why do the Jihadis who have killed Anwar Sadat and Benazir Bhutto, link their jihad back to the earliest days of Islam’s struggles? What is the secret behind the durability of Jihadi terrorism? Does the Qur’an oblige Muslims to wage violent war on those who do not share their beliefs? Is Islam inherently intolerant? This torrent of absolutely essential questions is almost never answered with fresh thinking and honest appreciation of the testaments of History.
In every war it bodes only too well to understand one’s enemy and be well-armed. The most effective weapon in our armoury now is “valid” information. We have an obligation to humanity to try to understand the reason behind the murderous hatred in the eyes of our enemies.

Jihad and Terrorism refuses to hide the doctrinal and political roots of Global Jihad in the closet and engages in an honest and un-biased appraisal of the what, who, why, and how of Islamism. Anita Rai has paid particular attention to the historical, jurisprudential and theological grid within which the most sensitive and controversial of the Quranic verses happen to sit. Jihad and Terrorism travells to the roots of Muslim history and provides the essential insight into the times when the dominating directives of the mainstream Islam were instituted which have understandably set the mould for the psyche of generations of Muslims.