Salaams folks, here’s a story I have wanted to write forever, and Slate finally gave me a chance: It’s about loving and leaving Hijab:
Islam News @ NYT- Driving Miss Saudi: Young women in Riyadh try to balance Islam and modernity as the stunted desert kingdom makes progress in “Saudi Time.”
- Women’s Rights in Mideast:
- A Dispute on Using the Koran as a Path to Jesus: “The Camel Method” for preaching to Muslims has prompted controversy among Southern Baptists.
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razib 12:45 pm on May 12, 2008 Permalink |
great peice. sometimes i wish that more american muslim men would have some standard attire so i could be marked as not a muslim to them
(i.e., people assuming i’m muslim because of my name) re: hijab and veil, i think from my non-muslim perspective the two are different. the hijab can obviously be viewed as an accessory in a secular context. the veil is something which covers the face, and that’s a pretty important part of the body through which one uses to communicate a lot of implicit information. the veil’s historical context is one of segregation, isolation and purdah (this predates islam, see athenian women of high social standing). it wasn’t really designed with the assumption of modern professional women (i.e., my family knew a woman who was a banker who wanted to wear a veil as a child, and there were some obvious problems with that when you are a loan officer).
Tariq Nelson 5:56 pm on May 12, 2008 Permalink |
I wonder how many of the 49% who do not wear the hijab, believe that it is an obligation to wear it
aziz 5:57 pm on May 12, 2008 Permalink |
I wonder how many of the 51% who do wear it believe its an obligation
razib 6:05 pm on May 12, 2008 Permalink |
well, if they were it some of the time it isn’t obligate, is it?
muse 1:38 am on May 13, 2008 Permalink |
its a good article, captures a lot of nuance. but the last line seems to be saying that those who’ve chosen to de-hijab have broken through to a more expansive way of thinking thats closed off to hijabis. maybe i’m misunderstanding you.
i’ve gone through my share of ups and downs with wearing hijab in the US, but i dont feel as though i am closed off to a way of thinking thats more accessible to someone who’s chosen to take it off.
ummyasmin 2:44 am on May 13, 2008 Permalink |
Fantastic article (congrats), but it has occurred to me there is a third category of ‘fluid’ hijab. Women who feel comfortable wearing it in some contexts, and not wearing it in others. It seems to me this is more common in places in Pakistan where hijab is part of the dress, more than it is a ‘religious identity’.
Dervish » Blog Archive » The many hijabs 7:48 am on May 13, 2008 Permalink |
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Andrea Useem 7:56 am on May 14, 2008 Permalink |
Good question Tariq — I also wonder if “wearing hijab some or all of the time” includes women who only wear the scarf to pray. Heather Laird has some new research on hijab that will be out soon, hopefully from ISPU. I know so many of us are tired of this issue (hijab), but I would love to see more quantitative opinion data on it among American Muslims.
Adila 10:10 am on November 10, 2008 Permalink |
As a revert, I have been on the receiving end of the patriarchal assumptions that conservative men so arrogantly carry. It is nearly futile to point out that this is a historical/political manifestation of “Islam”. These manifestations, however, are what create cultural barriers that serve to prevent many people in the “West” from considering Islam as a way of life; from looking past the culture-level. So the publicly pious/(self)righteous serve the purpose of destroying the potential of the Ummah from within.
I must also point out that covering my head is something I am blessed with the option of, as it affords me a modesty I never knew possible, as well as the ability to shatter rigid stereotypes. I love being identified as a Muslimah, but I also love knowing I won’t have to deal with being randomly approached by dudes. As a self-described(!) intellectual, I had never been taken as seriously by others as I took myself. Wearing hijab in America is not something that is easy. I have had people try to run me off the road when I was driving (on multiple occassions). I have visited family in parts of this country (Idaho!) where, no doubt in my mind, people would shoot at me were I not to exercise common sense (taking off the hijab). However, I am not wearing to take off my scarf in order that I might live here. It is for these reasons that, as much as I love my country, I cannot live here anymore. Not right now. I deserve to be respected, and deserve to practice my faith.