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In Indonesia, the term jilbab is used without exception to refer to the hijab.Under Indonesian National and Regional Law, female head-covering is entirely optional and not obligatory.
The hijab is a relatively new phenomenon in Indonesia. Even before Western influence, most Indonesian women (especially Javanese) rarely covered their hair except when praying, and even then the hair was only loosely covered by a transparent cloth.
However, male and female head-dress is a near universal Indonesian cultural and status-marking accoutrement, including areas devoutly Hindu, Protestant and even animist- which may be mistaken by the uninformed observer as the Muslim hijab.
Indonesia had, as of 2008, the largest single global population of Muslims, yet the Indonesian Constitution of Pancasila provides equal State protection for five state-sanctioned religions (namely Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism and Hinduism), without any one supreme or official state religion, despite continuing Islamic fundamentalists' Saudi-funded campaigns to impose Islam as the official State religion, such as the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah and the formerly eradicated Darul Islam.
In daily practice, the jilbab is more of a fashion accessory and status symbol. Wealthy women use the hijab as an excuse to wear their latest prêt-à-porter designer label scarves.
Some women may elect to wear a headscarf to be more "formal" or "religious", such as the jilbab or kerudung (a native tailored veil with a small, stiff visor), especially for formal or cultural events especially such where the Muslim religion may be involved – such as official governmental events, funerals, circumcision (sunatan) ceremonies or weddings – although wearing this "Muslim" attire to Christian relatives' funerals and weddings and entering the church is quite uncommon.
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In Indonesia, the term jilbab is used without exception to refer to the hijab.Under Indonesian National and Regional Law, female head-covering is entirely optional and not obligatory.
The hijab is a relatively new phenomenon in Indonesia. Even before Western influence, most Indonesian women (especially Javanese) rarely covered their hair except when praying, and even then the hair was only loosely covered by a transparent cloth.
However, male and female head-dress is a near universal Indonesian cultural and status-marking accoutrement, including areas devoutly Hindu, Protestant and even animist- which may be mistaken by the uninformed observer as the Muslim hijab.
Indonesia had, as of 2008, the largest single global population of Muslims, yet the Indonesian Constitution of Pancasila provides equal State protection for five state-sanctioned religions (namely Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism and Hinduism), without any one supreme or official state religion, despite continuing Islamic fundamentalists' Saudi-funded campaigns to impose Islam as the official State religion, such as the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah and the formerly eradicated Darul Islam.
In daily practice, the jilbab is more of a fashion accessory and status symbol. Wealthy women use the hijab as an excuse to wear their latest prêt-à-porter designer label scarves.
Some women may elect to wear a headscarf to be more "formal" or "religious", such as the jilbab or kerudung (a native tailored veil with a small, stiff visor), especially for formal or cultural events especially such where the Muslim religion may be involved – such as official governmental events, funerals, circumcision (sunatan) ceremonies or weddings – although wearing this "Muslim" attire to Christian relatives' funerals and weddings and entering the church is quite uncommon.
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