hijab, which is considered as a part of muslim women's cloths, is normally translated as veil in english. but hijab and veil are not always same in their meanings and functions. hijab in arabic has its root in arab-islamic culture; meanwhile the term of veil is considered as an orientalistic term, which has been used in the western world. 'veil' has been a target of ignorance, attack, and banishment and considered as a symbol of backwardness in the western media. and it has often understood as an anti-bumanistic and anti-feministic habit. but 'hijab' has been a kind of social practices, which is oriented from the religious source to cover not only socio-cultural relations but also political meanings in each period of time. so, this paper will study on 'veil' which is recognized as a mechanism of 'oppression' in the western world, and 'hijab' which is considered as a symbol of 'resistance and identity' in the islamic movement' to take an objective view of muslim women's hijab. as a preveiw study, it will also discuss about how veil or 'hijab' had been introduced and prevailed in islamic history and religion, and what is the islamic position on it. this objective study on muslim women's veil, which became a symbol of islam, could help to correct general misunderstandings and distortions of the islamic world.