One of the biggest misunderstandings of contemporary Muslim practice is undoubtedly that of Muslim women's dress. Politicians in Muslim-minority societies, like a large number of feminists and liberals around the world, berate the increased adoption of conservative Muslim women attire. Laws have been passed in France, Belgium, Germany, and across Europe over the past ten years legislating what Muslim women can wear and where. Behind these laws often loom the fear of Islamism, the threat of ISIS, and the alarm over the radicalization of Muslim youth, all camouflaged in a feminist rhetoric of women's and human rights.

In Europe, the anxiety over Muslim women's dress, and the resulting desire to legislate hijab appears systematically in the wake of bombings and terrorist attacks. It had resurfaced following the March 2016 Brussels attacks, the November 2015 Paris killings, and of course the January 2015 Charlie Hebdo massacres. Manuel Valls, France's prime minister at the time, did not hesitate to raise once more the question of veiling in France, calling this time for a ban of the hijab in universities. Ten years after banning hijab in public schools, and five years after banning the burqa in public spaces, Muslim women's dress continues to occupy political platforms in France, to fuel heated debates in the media and to divide citizens.

The political desire to regulate Muslim women's dress in Europe has often been expressed not only through laws and policies, but also through public denunciation of western designers who cater to Muslim women's dress.