The hijab is a headscarf worn by many Muslim women, and it is viewed by many Muslims as expressing modesty and faith. However, not all Muslim women wear the hijab, and it is a matter of personal choice in most places. The hijab is not mentioned in the Quran as a head-covering, but rather as a "curtain" or "barrier" intended to separate the wives of the Prophet Muhammad from visitors. The practice of head covering has been common in Jewish, Christian, and Hindu communities, but it never attracted as much attention in relation to those faiths as it has done in the Muslim context since the 19th century. The hijab is also a common cultural practice for Muslims in the West, and many Canadian Muslim women reported wearing some sort of head-covering in public.