In honor of World Hijab Day, coming up this February 1st, I thought it might be fun to list a few reasons why someone might want to participate in this event. (click the link to read all about it and read the experiences of others who have participated in the past.)
Hijab is a word many Muslims (people who follow the Islamic religion) use when referring the scarf and modest clothing Muslim women wear in religious observance. The goal of hijab is to achieve a modest appearance and let any potential hungry eyes that like to scan the female form know “that this … ain’t happening”.
Actually, there are many reasons Muslim women might wear the hijab, and whether cultural or spiritual, World Hijab Day is a nice opportunity to show a little solidarity with your neighborhood Muslim female who sometimes has to go through a great number of obstacles to continue wearing a symbol she sees as important to herself, to her religion and to her identity.
For a more in depth review on hijab see Hijabology.
Now … introducing … the top 5 reasons to wear a scarf on February 1st: World Hijab Day!
If you were tuned in last week for the Talking in Memphis post, you might be wondering where the video of my talk “An Open Invitation to Understanding Islam and the Muslims” is. It is not ready yet, but will be soon, inshaAllah.
This week I want invite you to my reading nook. It is a special place where I spend most of my days, chillin out, maxin’ … oh, er, sorry. I fell into a Fresh Prince reference. Eh hem. In my reading nook, I recently devoured a very important book called Exploring Prejudice by Amy Guimond.
On July the fourth of this year, I had the honor and pleasure of Skyping (Or maybe it was on Google Hangout. Can’t remember.) with an amazing woman named Amy Guimond. Even though we were miles apart, of different faiths, and she’s a runner (ewWWWwww), we came to realize we have so, so much in common.
We came to know of each other through Amy’s research. She was, at the time, working toward a PhD in Conflict Resolution, specifically exploring the topic: Understanding the Experiences of Caucasian, Female Americans Who Have Converted to Islam in Post-9/11 America. She’s, like, super smart.
I, fitting nicely into her demographic, agreed to share my experience with her. How could I not!? It’s what I do. Today, Amy goes by the title Doctor, and I could not be more proud of her. Nor could I be more touched by her work that exposes the injustices and hardship that people like me face in this society.
As we chatted on that day in July, Amy told me about how she, as a Jewish women, came to this field of study. She said that as a Master’s student she conducted a social experiment where she put on a hijab for one month (and niqab for a hot minute) to experience what life is like for Muslim woman who choose to cover in America.
She suffered, struggled, was bullied and abused (emotionally and sexually) to show the world what it is like to experience prejudice. Her book, Exploring Prejudice, is the detailed account of that experiment. And her YouTube channel, exploringprejudice, chronicles her experiences day by day.
After our first encounter where she told me about her book, I went straight to Amazon.com to purchase it. It came in the mail and then started collecting dust on my bookshelf.
I had fallen into a deep depression after reading the rough draft of her dissertation. In her research, she discusses the steps societies take from hate to genocide and how far along the path the U.S. is in their anti-Muslim hate.
I couldn’t handle it. Every fear I had was realized in her dissertation. And so her book about the hijab experiment collected dust.
I didn’t feel like I could handle looking at the ugliness in the world any more, especially if it was happening to someone I couldn’t protect (in this case, her in the past, and other hijabi women presently).
When it happens to me, I can squash it in my mind vice. When I hear of injustice happening to others, I lose it. And I didn’t feel like I had enough of “it” to spare losing any more. And so the dust collected.
I brought the book with me to coffee shops, intending to read it after I met deadlines. I packed it on trips across country with intentions to pour over the pages in transit. It moved from purse to bag in a seemingly endless cycle of good intentions and despair.
That was until I sat down and had a good talking to myself about not being a cry baby and throwing pity parties. I kicked myself in the pants, decided to stop being pathetic, to keep on trying to build bridges, and to trust in God to take care of the situation.
And I finally read Amy’s book.
I was shocked by how familiar I was with her experiences. I knew her encounters would be similar to mine, but I had no idea that people would say, verbatim, to her what they say/have said to me.
I didn’t realize she would describe in so much detail the frustration and heartache I feel when encountering ignorance. I recognized the language of hate perfect strangers spewed at her. And wondered if these same strangers had copied and pasted their words into messages sent to me.
I felt the same liberation and femininity when wearing hijab for the first time. I made all the same realizations she made as people actually looked her in the eyes as she spoke while wearing hijab.
I am amazed by all that Amy went through and learned just to stand up for women with whom she doesn’t even share a faith. Just to understand life from someone else’s perspective. All people who feel othered, oppressed, or profiled owe a debt of gratitude to this amazing women for exposing social evils that exist to this day in our “post racist” (rolls eyes) society.
Amy says time and time again in her book and on her vlog that she feels like she is just preaching to the choir. I often find myself feeling the same way. I wonder if people who feel hatred toward Muslims will even come to my blog, leaving confirmation bias behind, and take to heart what I say. I wonder if my words will ever reach people who need them the most. Who knows? We can only do our part and leave the rest to God.
But YOU can do something to get the word outside of the choir. Buy Amy’s book, read it, gift it to someone you know who harbours hatred in their hearts. Forward her vlog posts to someone who might be touched by them. If she can be brave enough to stand up for others, we can be brave enough to pass it on.
Amy’s work is the religious version of “Black Like Me”– another MUST read. And like John Howard Griffin’s work, it can have an amazing impact on our culture … if it gets the attention it deserves.
Follow us (upper right of the page), email us (islamwich@yahoo.com), like our face with your face on Facebook, like the post, share it, pin it, comment on it, and/or do whatever social media magic it is that you prefer. Find out more about us in the understandably named “About Us” page and browse other posts in our “Table of Contents”.
If you haven’t heard of this international collaboration of women, let me introduce you. It is called World Hijab Day. Since 2013, women from all races, countries, and faiths have shown their support for Muslim women who choose to wear hijab by donning their own scarves. As the slogan states: Before you Judge, Cover Up for a Day.
The initiative was the brain child of Nazma Khan who, after emigrating from Bangladesh to the U.S., suffered isolation, discrimination, and harassment because she wore hijab. Her story here:
As a non-Muslim in 1999, I myself wore hijab for a weekend to an ISNA convention. I was learning about Islam at the time, and what I found was that there was nothing oppressive about the scarf covering my hair or the loose clothes on my body.
I was surprised that I felt less self-conscious about my appearance and more self-possessed in my thoughts and actions. It was an impactful experience. In January of 2001 (two months after I converted to Islam), I decided to make hijab a permanent part of my life.
A few days ago, I stumbled upon an amazing lady who participated in this year’s World Hijab Day. And she has been gracious enough to take time out of her week to write about her experience for islamwich. Here is her coverage of World Hijab Day.
Evelyn Ambriz writes:
Throughout my childhood, I was raised Catholic, but as the years progressed, I began to question what the church I attended inculcated in me-I was particularly discontent with the idea of confession, feeling that I didn’t need a mediator to pursue a relationship with my creator.
I began searching for something different and attended Lutheran, Baptist, Non Denominational Christian, Southern Baptist, and Methodist services, but found no home in spite of my involvement within youth groups and even worship bands.
During college, I was able to explore beyond Christianity, which had been so integral for interactions with family, friends, and schoolmates in a very religious and conservative state.
Eventually, I came to feel that kindness towards, compassion for, and acceptance of my human brothers and sisters was more important to me than organized religion; at that point, I decided to just live a life I would look back on and be happy with, with the mantra that “people will remember (above all else) how you made them feel” and believing that we’re all interconnected and should exhibit compassion and love towards one another.
I can say that I believe that there is something greater than any of us out there-I’m just not sure what to call it or what it is.
In spite of my lack of participation within any organized religion, I felt compelled to participate in World Hijab Day for a variety or reasons. As a proud feminist, I firmly believe that EVERY WOMYN (I use “womyn” because I feel that patriarchy is embedded in our language including with the word “wo-men”) has the right to choose their own path, regardless of what others would choose.
I also feel that no one should be judged or persecuted for their beliefs-part of what makes humanity beautiful is our diversity. However, many of us only support others through anonymous words, rarely with action, where we can truly be vulnerable. So, when my good friend from high school, a Muslim convert, posted something about World Hijab Day on Facebook, I knew I had to participate.
I never thought that I would wear the hijab, but I am SO glad I did.
Throughout the day, friends of mine were confused by me wearing the hijab since I’m not Muslim, but were very supportive once I told them what World Hijab Day is all about: giving non-Muslim womyn the opportunity to see what it’s like to be on the other side of the veil.
My Muslim friends were excited to see me experience wearing the hijab, even if only for a day, and support poured in on Facebook. My neighbors were very pleasant, and I felt comfortable within all of my interactions through the day.
I do acknowledge, however, that I live in a very small and accepting community with a lot of diversity; therefore, my experiences may not be representative of others’.
More than anything, however, it gave me an immense opportunity for self-reflection and self-awareness. I realized how, um, colorful I can be when I speak, since as I wore the hijab, I was very conscious of my words since I wanted respect the sanctity of the hijab and not misrepresent Muslim womyn.
I, without really thinking about it, wore clothes that were looser than usual in order to complement, and again, respect, the hijab–although I did not expect it, throughout the day, I felt feminine and beautiful, and I realized that I didn’t need to wear something form fitting to feel that way.
I loved people focusing on my face, on my eyes, not below my neck or on my usually (distractingly) voluminous and curly hair during interactions; as a bonus, my hair wasn’t all over the place or in front of my face making getting work done much easier. Overall, I felt incredibly empowered.
I did, however, feel somewhat guilty because I received so many benefits of wearing the hijab without the backlash that my Muslim sisters may face; however, when I mentioned this sentiment a particular Muslim womyn, I had the opportunity to hear her tell me that she’s had nothing but positive experiences wearing the hijab and that she too receives support and compliments, reminding me that often times, we hear about the negative much more than the positive, restoring some of my faith in humanity, and frankly, easing some of my guilt.
I was given the opportunities to reflect on the social construction of femininity as inherently sexual and to support the rights of womyn, a small gesture instead of only anonymous words. I am grateful to have experienced a day from the other side of the veil.
It reinforced my support for my Muslim sisters’ choice to wear the hijab and my assertion that the ban in some places and negative view of the hijab is more than a religious issue; it is a feminist issue, it is a human issue-I will always defend my sisters’ right to wear the hijab and will always be grateful for the empowerment I felt wearing it.
-Evelyn Ambriz
We, at islamwich, are so grateful to Evelyn for her love, support, and courage. She is truly our sister in humanity!
Follow us (upper right of the page), email us (islamwich@yahoo.com), like our face with your face on Facebook, like the post, share it, pin it, comment on it, and/or do whatever social media magic it is that you prefer. Find out more about us in the understandably named “About Us” page and browse other posts in our “Table of Contents”.
dust collected.
to the choir. I often find myself feeling the same way. I wonder if people who feel hatred toward Muslims will even come to my blog, leaving confirmation bias behind, and take to heart what I say. I wonder if my words will ever reach people who need them the most. Who knows? We can only do our part and leave the rest to God.
(distractingly) voluminous and curly hair during interactions; as a bonus, my hair wasn’t all over the place or in front of my face making getting work done much easier. Overall, I felt incredibly empowered.
