Over at Muslimah Media Watch, Sara has a review of a play about a teenage girl who decides to start wearing hijab. The play focuses on the response of family and friends, but the young woman herself is never represented/explored. Sara writes, “The voice of the “veiled” woman has been noticeably absent from the discussion, and I had hoped that the play would provide a look from a young Muslim woman’s perspective.”
I occasionally ‘wander’ through individual Muslims’ public personal blogs, and Sara’s comment reminded me of writing at one I visited recently, who explored the dimension of hijab as it relates to conduct toward men. The author ‘hijaabified beauty,’ defines the different categories listed below fully at her blog, but I’m excerpting the last class of hijaabi because as she said in comments on her blog, that’s really who she wrote it for.
The “I don’t talk to or look at boys” hijaabi:…
The “Strictly business” hijaabi:…
The “he’s like my brother” hijaabi:…
The “I’m covered and that’s all that matters” hijaabi: So, I have the HUGEST problem with this hijaabi. Okay, maybe that came out wrong. Let me explain. Non-Muslim men for the most part, don’t understand hijaab. They are men nonetheless, they hiss and howl like dogs in a meat market at the sight of a pretty lady…even when that pretty lady happens to be a Muslim lady in hijaab. I have come across countless occasions where I have been winked at, had kisses blown at and been flirted with (I’m not that pretty). My general response to such inappropriate behavior is to look the other way and keep walking. However, I have seen other sisters laugh, smile back and even wave. They think its funny, but what this sister doesn’t understand is that she just gave Islam a bad name. That man that flirted with her has no idea what Islam is or why we cover and by acting in such a manner you just showed him the Hijaab means nothing. No doubt, you can’t help that you are beautiful…Allah (SWT) made you that way, but its a test…and by acting immature…you’re failing. To me, hijaab is a form of Dawah. I use it explain why I can’t shake a strange man’s hand or why I definitely can’t hug him. I use my Islamic identity to explain why I can’t date, etc. When people mis-portray hijaab it upsets me.
I would remind that though personal blogs are public, they are personal, so keep your adab around you if you have a response.
