This was on the radio a few months back: the Islamic chappy on there said that the veil was a requirement for the wives of Mohammed, they were the only women required not to show their faces, so therefore using the veil today is not needed - but this was on a debate because a school aide (working with 5 year olds) refused to take her veil off and the children couldn't hear or understand her too well because of it. The lady speaker said that it was modest to wear a veil and to hide your beauty, but sadly they didn't read or answer my question of if you're supposed to look plain and modest, not showing off your features, why the heavy kohl around the eyes?

I would love to hear some more perspectives on this and understand it more, as it has been quite a volatile topic last year in the UK.
Ryn, the idea that only the wives of the Prophet had to cover is a fairly recent one and it isn't really supported by traditional scholarship. Traditionally there are a number of sources of Islamic law. They are the Quran, the Sunnah (the sayings and actions of the Prophet), Ijma (the concensus of the community) and qiyas (analogical reasoning). Some modern groups try to make rulings that are based only on the Quran and the ruling that hijab only applies to the wives of the scholars is one of those rulings. Ironically enough the 2 groups that tend to do this are the most opposed to one another; the radicals (Osama binLaden etc) and the apologists (your chappy and the others who want to bow to the west). Traditional islam is far more multi-faceted than either of these groups choose to believe.