As I stated, it was never a directive to be/remain a Muslim. And, in Mohammad’s case, he had his wives take the veil because they were getting too much attention; he did not, however, dictate that other women had to do this. Extremists (such as the "morality police") HAVE and DO force women to dress a certain way, including wearing the veil, though. You can call it protecting modesty if you like…just like it’s "protecting" a woman’s decency to force her to always be accompanied by a male relative if she goes out, to dictate who she’ll marry, to forbid her to drive a car, to prevent her from life saving treatment if there are no female doctors, etc.

It seems clear to me that it’s not about protecting a woman’s modesty, but about possession and repression. A woman has a certain place, in their warped and closed-minded views, and it is sinful for her to step out of it. She is to be the property of a man, and no one but that man is to see her. It’s a primitive mindset. Unfortunately, people have chosen and continue to choose to enshrine in it in a religion that did not even dictate that they do so (just as they did with Christianity, etc.). It’s never about protecting a woman; it’s about protecting a man’s possession, and keeping the woman in her place.