The terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the subsequent U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq have highlighted the inherent danger of religious fanaticism.  The issue of mandatory veiling or unveiling of Muslim women has become an ideological battlefield between governments and the families of these women who are caught in the crossfire.  This lecture and extensive slide presentation will demonstrate that veiling is a practice that originates in ancient polytheistic religions, predating Islam.  Applying Jung’s symbolic and psychological method, we will analyze three verses in the Koran that discuss veiling and the attempt to uncover their symbolic meaning.  Finally, we will trace the practice of veiling to an instinct in nature and the collective unconscious, illustrating that symbolic alchemy holds the answer to the ultimate riddle plaguing mankind for centuries.