The Never-Ending and Quite Exasperating Debate We All Know of

[Leonardo17]

I’m not really an expert on the subject. I’ve only had one semester of Cultural Anthropology back in my college years.
  But there is this well known phenomenon. Ancient societies have established some rules or taboo’s on some issues to help regulate some practical issues; like the restriction of sex in order to promote matrimony.

  The “Namos” (honor / chastity) issue in middle-eastern societies is something like that.

  The part that is of interest to us is the enmeshment of these traditional / cultural / tribal values with religious values. Religious values are actually much more modern than these traditional behavioral codes. One very strong possibility is that early missionaries chose not to mess with these values while promoting their own theology in an attempt to not anger those primitive populations.

  One thing is for sure: The word “Namos” is not mentioned in the Quran. And technically, the hijab is mainly a tool to reinforce this “namos” ideology or tribal value.

  And I’m sure there are many parallel to that in all other religions.