Abstract :
The present investigation aimed at uncovering the similarities and differences between the dress code policy texts mandated by the universities of Muslim and non-Muslim nations. Given the controversial nature of the issue, investigations into it remain few and far between. To address the gap, the investigation has comparatively probed into the texts of Muslim countries’ university dress code policy and those of non-Muslim ones using documentary research. The first twenty dress codes of both contexts, rendered through a Web key-word search, underwent a thematic analysis to arrive at themes pointing to the (dis)similarities of attire policies. The findings revealed policy documents in both contexts had strategically deployed linguistic resources to make them come across as normative, homogenizing, and consensus-building so that they would be taken more seriously by those addressed. Non-Muslim university dress codes appeared to have more of a justificatory power, thereby seemingly making them better suited to sell their ideas. Unlike the dress policies in place in the Muslim context, which were aimed mostly at students, those mandated in non-Muslim countries addressed a wider range of stakeholders including the staff and faculty, and they were occasionally subsumed under a general code of conduct and appearance. The policies promoted in Muslim nations were more particular about enforcing the rules and taking disciplinary action in the event of their breach. In order for such policies to achieve maximal efficiency and effectiveness, Muslim countries’ policy-makers, especially those operating in Iran, are recommended to make them more justificatory to the audience targeted.
