what's an Islamic dress?

Does dress matter?

20 December 2007

REF. the letter, ‘Musharraf’s address’ (KT, December 17). The writer has decried the recitation of the Holy Quran by the Qari who was attired in European outfit, which, according to him, is not an Islamic tradition. The question arises, what is an Islamic dress? Is it the national dress of Pakistan, which is worn by most Imams in the country’s mosques (and which is of Indo-Persian origin)? Or, is it the robe worn by the Arabs? The fact is, there is no such thing as an Islamic dress. In Turkey, for instance, even religious scholars wear Western clothes during the prayers.

-Shakir Lakhani, Karachi