Answer
Salam Dear Sister,
Thank you for your question and for contacting Ask About Islam.
Your question is in no way insulting; we are all in need of clearing any misconceptions about each other’s religion. This is how we make progress toward understanding each other; this way our differences will no longer become obstacles.
Any law, if fair and human, must protect a person’s life, property, freedom, and dignity as long as no one’s life, property, freedom, and dignity are transgressed.
Since you are specifically wondering about the Hijab or more specifically about the Muslim women dress code, then it is fair to explain its purpose, which is to express modesty so women in the society are protected from men who have ill-intentions.
Modesty implies being less attractive to men, so even if a lady is fully covered but her clothes are somehow revealing then she is not complying with the Islamic dress code. The same applies for men; they must look decent in society according to the rules established by Islamic law.
In general, it is not a problem to undress in the west, but it is in the east. At the beginning of the last century, this was not the case in most western societies, so I would look at it as a step back since the east has been consistent for at least fourteen hundred years.
To state facts as they currently are, the only country that is considered strict in the Muslim world is Saudi Arabia; anywhere else, women dress as they wish, whether they are Muslims or non-Muslims provided their dress is within decency.
However, even Saudi law became more flexible towards westerners; it no longer requires wearing a head cover in most major cities. I have observed that during my recent visit to the eastern province.
Now we need to analyze the situation in the west towards Muslims. In general, the treatment of Muslims has been positive until recent years when Muslims were portrayed as people who are going to invade the west. Forgetting that immigrant Muslims flee their lands because of oppression, wars, or better living conditions; hoping for freedom, dignity, and prosperity which were rightfully found in the west.
In recent years, this is no longer the case in some western countries. There are thousands of unfortunate incidents that took place, from vandalizing mosques to forbidding women from wearing their head cover in certain institutions. The list goes on and on, such as closing doors of many Islamic relief organizations, jailing Muslims, denying boarding on planes, even taking the lives of some Muslims.
Comparing the above to what happened to you in Riyadh; you must agree that your basic human right has not been denied, since you were still able to do all your activities normally whether you wore an abaya or pants and shirt.
In summary, people may not have all the freedom that they ask for if it rises above someone’s dignity; but if it doesn’t then this type of freedom should not be denied.
As a simple example, a beautiful woman may choose to undress in public, but has to bear the consequence of being arrested because her behavior will surely cause a social unrest; men flocking around her, women fighting with their husbands for looking, and so on. On the other hand, if a woman is over dressed as required by Islamic law, how would that cause a social disturbance or offend someone; Muslims sometimes wonder!
As for wearing the cross, I agree with you that they should not forbid it since Islam teaches there is no compulsion in religion.
Finally, religious freedom is everyone’s right, as long as those practices do not take anyone’s right. So you should have the freedom to dress as you wish as long as it is decent and wear a cross in any Muslim country, and Muslim women should have the freedom to dress according to the Islamic dress code in any non-Muslim country. Fairness and tolerance will surely bring us closer together.
If you have any clarification about something I have mentioned, please feel free to inquire and I hope this helps answer your question.
Salam and please keep in touch.