Today, the niqab is most often worn in its region of origin: the Arab countries of the Arabian Peninsula – Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. However, even in these countries, the niqab is neither a universal cultural custom nor is it culturally compulsory. In other parts of the Muslim world outside of the Arabian Peninsula, where the niqab has slowly spread to a much smaller extent, it is regarded warily by Sunni and non-Sunni Muslims alike "as a symbol of encroaching fundamentalism." Nevertheless, the niqab is worn by a small minority of Muslims in not only Muslim-majority regions such as Somalia, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Palestinian territories, but also among a minority of Muslims in regions where Muslims are themselves a minority, like India and Europe.