Drawing on the existent literature in the field and on in-depth interviews, we aim to examine here the practice and the meaning of wearing hijab by Romanian-born Muslim women. In our attempt to show the particularities of veiling among young Romanian-born Muslim women, we take into account the social and cultural context, the meanings and the values that these women convey to wearing the hijab and the consequences that such a practice has for their lives in the community and in (...) the Romanian society at large. We hope that the findings presented and discussed in this paper will enrich the research on this topic and will add a new perspective on the status of Muslim women in Eastern Europe. (shrink)

The paper begins from the idea that an image is being shaped in the communication process and depends for this shaping on social interaction. The unhistorical elements of the image (archetype, myths and symbols), together with the historical ones (representation and stereotype), are transmitted through communication processes that depend of the ways that individuals and groups relate. Considering this, the paper argues that we may discuss a certain historicity of myths and symbols if we approach a communication point of view, (...) as they are forms of interpreting and decoding reality. (shrink)