Even in the face of adversity Muslim women choose to obey God.
By Aisha Stacey

In recent years, a small piece of cloth has managed to cause quite a stir.  The scarf or hijab that Muslim women wear on their heads is making headlines around the world.  Hijab is bannedin French public schools and other European countries have adopted, or are drafting similar legislation.  In Australia, a radio presenter triggered both debate and outrage when he called for the face veil (niqab) to be banned from banks and post offices.  Even predominantly Muslim countries such as Turkey and Tunisia ban the hijab in certain government buildings.  When a small piece of fabric causes such controversy and conflict, wouldn’t it be easier to remove it?  Why then, under such circumstances, do Muslim women wear scarves?

There are a myriad of reasons why, but the easy, one sentence answer is, because they believe God has made it an obligation for believing women.  In the Quran God tells the believing men and women to lower their gaze and to dress modestly.  He (God) specifically addresses women when He asks them not to show off their adornment, except that which is apparent, and draw their veils over their bodies.  (Quran 24:30-31)

These verses of Quran are known as the verses of hijab and it is the consensus of Islamic scholars that they make the wearing of hijab mandatory.  Some countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar do enforce a dress code.  Women there are expected to cover their hair and wear some sort of loose fitting, full-length garment over their clothes.  However, for the majority of Muslim women around the world, to cover, or not to cover, is a freely made choice. God requires Muslim women to dress modestly and to wear the hijab in public and in the presence of men who are not close relatives. 

Although the English word scarf and the Arabic term hijab have become interchangeable, it is worth noting that hijab is more than just a scarf.  It is a term that covers a variety of clothing including scarves, but also a variety of different dress styles from around the world.  Many have cultural connotations such as the Pakistani shalwar khamis or the Afghani burqa, but whenever a Muslim woman covers “her adornment”, she is said to be wearing hijab.

The literal meaning of hijab is to veil, to cover, or to screen.  Islam is known as a religion concerned with community cohesion and moral boundaries, and therefore hijab is a way of ensuring that the moral boundaries between unrelated men and women are respected.  In this sense, the term hijab encompasses more than a scarf and more then a dress code.  It is a term that denotes modest dressing and modest behaviour.  For instance, if a Muslim woman was wearing a scarf but at the same time using bad language, she would not be fulfilling the requirements of hijab.

The majority of Muslim women wear hijab, to obey God, and to be known as respectable women.  (Quran 33:59)  However, in the last 30 years hijab has emerged as a sign of Islamic consciousness.  Many women see wearing the hijab as indicative of their desire to be part of an Islamic revival, especially in countries where the practice of Islam is discouraged or even forbidden.

While those who seek to ban hijab refer to it as a symbol of gender based repression, the women who choose to don a scarf, or to wear hijab, in the broadest sense of the word, do so by making personal decisions and independent choices.  They view it as a right and not a burden.  Nor do these women regard hijab as a sign of oppression.  Women who wear hijab often describe themselves as being “set free” from society’s unrealistic fashion culture. 

Hijab frees women from being thought of as sexual objects of desire or from being valued for their looks, or body shape rather then their minds and intellect.  No longer slaves to consumerism, hijab liberates women from the need to conform to unrealistic stereotypes and images dictated by the media.  Women wearing hijab have expressed that dressing modestly and covering their hair, minimises sexual harassment in the workplace. The aura of privacy created by hijab is indicative of the great value Islam places upon women.

It is true that in some families and in some cultures women are forced to wear hijab but this is not the norm.  The Quran clearly states that there is no compulsion in religion (2:256).  Women who choose to wear hijab do not make the decision lightly.  In fact many women testify that they faced great animosity from their Muslim or non-Muslim families when they decided to cover.  Across the globe there are numerous instances of women having to defend their right to wear the hijab.

Hijab can be a symbol of piety and it can be a sign of great inner strength and fortitude.  A woman wearing hijab becomes a very visible sign of Islam.  While Muslim men can blend easily into any society, Muslim woman are often put on the line, and forced to defend not only their decision to cover, but also their religion.  Nevertheless, women who wear hijab insist that the advantages far outweigh any disadvantage conjured up by media bias or general ignorance.

~~~~~~There are a myriad of reasons why, but the easy, one sentence answer is, because they believe God has made it an obligation for believing women.  In the Quran God tells the believing men and women to lower their gaze and to dress modestly.  He (God) specifically addresses women when He asks them not to show off their adornment, except that which is apparent, and draw their veils over their bodies.  (Quran 24:30-31)~~~~~

Actually God never told anyone to wear a hijab. Headwear by Arabs and Jews existed long before the 6th century. The verse deals with covering the breast and dressing modestly. 

 That being said, some head scarfs like the pic above are very attractive and look good on women. The problem with some hijab wearers is that they do not conform to the modesty rule. I have actually seen a hijabi in tight spandex tights walking down Liberty Avenue, not that I care!

The Hijaab

Quote "That being said, some head scarfs like the pic above are very attractive and look good on women."unquote

In my conversation with two sisters, I asked the difference between the Hijaab and the Veil and was told that the veil only uncover immediately around the eyes whilst the Hijaab leaves the entire face uncover.

The Veil:

So my next question was "Which is the correct dresswear? " the Hijaab or the Veil, was told that whichever they prefer to wear, it is their choice.

If I have to voice an opinion I would say that both are admirable, depend on the beholder 

1st February has been celebrated as World Hijab day in more than 50 countries of the world. It was founded by a Bangladeshi American woman Nazma Khan. At this day women from both Muslim and Non-Muslim community wears hijab to support the personal freedom to wear of one's own choice.

Younger muslim women are seeking cutting edge hijabs

Hijab is a reflection of Muslim women’s identity and elegance. They are not allowed to reveal their beauty in public places which maintains their grace and respect in the eyes of others. It includes covering your head and hairs along with other body parts with an opaque fabric material. The concept of wearing hijab was introduced by religion Islam but various cultural modifications have affected its use and style over time. While in some countries it is worn as a religious clothing article while in others it has been included in fashion and clothing. Various Muslim scholars have various thoughts regarding covering the body from head to toe or revealing their faces and hands while wearing hijab. However still the Muslim girls are advised to practice hijab right after puberty in places where Na Mahram presence is expected. The style and way of wearing hijab has undergone significant changes depending on the religious and cultural requirements.

'World Hijab Day' observed today

LONDON, Feb 1: World Hijab Day calls on non-Muslim women to try out life under the traditional head scarf. Can it lead to more religious tolerance and understanding?

 

NOW YOU SEE IT... Rhodes trying out the hijab

 

"Because I'm not very skilled I'm wearing what you could call a one-piece hijab - you just pull it over your head. But I've discovered the scope is endless. There are all sorts of options."

So says Jess Rhodes, 21, a student from Norwich in the UK. She had always wanted to try a headscarf but, as a non-Muslim, didn't think it an option. So, when given the opportunity by a friend to try wearing the scarf, she took it.

"She assured me that I didn't need to be Muslim, that it was just about modesty, although obviously linked to Islam, so I thought, 'why not?'"

Rhodes is one of hundreds of non-Muslims who will be wearing the headscarf as part of the first annual World Hijab Day on 1 February.

Originated by New York woman Nazma Khan, the movement has been organised almost solely over social networking sites. It has attracted interest from Muslims and non-Muslims in more than 50 countries across the world.

For many people, the hijab is a symbol of oppression and divisiveness. It's a visible target that often bears the brunt of a larger debate about Islam in the West.

World Hijab Day is designed to counteract these controversies. It encourages non-Muslim women (or even Muslim women who do not ordinarily wear one) to don the hijab and experience what it's like to do so, as part of a bid to foster better understanding.

"Growing up in the Bronx, in NYC, I experienced a great deal of discrimination due to my hijab," says organiser Khan, who moved to New York from Bangladesh aged 11. She was the only "hijabi" (a word for someone who wears the headscarf) in her school.

"In middle school I was 'Batman' or 'ninja,'" she says.

"When I moved on to college it was just after 9/11, so they would call me Osama Bin Laden or terrorist. It was awful.

"I figured the only way to end discrimination is if we ask our fellow sisters to experience hijab themselves."

Khan had no idea the concept would result in support from all over the world. She says she has been contacted by people in dozens of countries, including the UK, Australia, India, Pakistan, France and Germany. The group's literature has been translated into 22 languages.

It was social networking that got Jess Rhodes involved. Her friend Widyan Al Ubudy lives in Australia and asked her Facebook friends to participate.

"My parents, their natural reaction was to wonder if this was a good idea," says Rhodes, who decided to wear her hijab for a month.

"They were worried I would be attacked in the street because of a lack of tolerance."

Sister to sister

Dear sister,

Simple as well as fasionalbe at the same time

Hijab - Latest Hijab Collection

A Pin and Rekha will be in her Hijab

Forget the hijab; show us the women!!!

BRIDAL HIJAAB

Head Scarves and Hijab Fashion for Women

The lessons of World Hijab Day

on January 24, 2014

By Disu Kamor

Thousands of people across the world who would either be non-Muslims or Muslims who   ordinarily do not wear the hijab will be decked in it on the 1st of February, 2014 in solidarity with the “hijabis” world-over.

This annual solidarity event tagged the World Hijab Day (WHD) seeks to create better understanding and awareness of the Muslim head cover at a time when the hijab has seen great assault, and when modesty of covering up  is being ridiculed or associated with oppression and backwardness.

The event will also highlight the fact that the hijab is religiously mandated, and that millions of Muslim women are making the free choice to follow God’s

legislation.

Many Nigerian Muslim women will mark the occasion of the WHD to reflect on the prevailing situation; the unwarranted hostility and discrimination they and their daughters have to suffer for making the free choice to put a piece of cloth on their heads.

The hostility and discrimination that manifest in various places, at workplace, in schools and sadly in the official quarters. Many Nigerian Muslim women endure untold hardship as a price to meet their religious needs concerning the head cover.

On October 28, 2013, the Nigerian embassy in Washington DC denied a Muslim sister in hijab (head cover) who had gone for a biometrics appointment necessary to replace her Nigerian passport any service on the basis that she had to expose her ears.

Even when the victim informed the attendant that she was wearing the hijab for religious purpose and as such could not expose her ears, an immigration attaché at the embassy intervened and insisted that the victim had to “because it is the law of Nigeria that ears must show”.

Interestingly, the way and manner the victim donned her hijab at the Nigerian embassy in Washington was the exact way she looks

every day – commonsense would have made it the best form of identifying her in her hijab whenever she carries the passport. This disturbing example fits into a pattern that is replicated at almost every immigration centre and other government agencies in the country.

Thousands of Muslim applicants of Nigerian passport, the drivers license applicants and other forms of ID cards are being harassed to “show your ears” or to totally remove their hijab by state officials claiming to be enforcing the “law of the land”.

Officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service in Nigeria and their counterparts in several other government agencies remain obstinate and maintain that they are enforcing a “law of the land” none of them has been able to produce for verification. Perhaps some of them assume there is such

a law since no one above them has deemed it fit to clarify the official policy and create a better understanding of the Nigerian law as it pertains to the work they do. On-going request to the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Interior to clarify policies regarding the use of hijab

in passport taken for ID purpose have met with complete silence.

Sadly, heads of the affected government agencies had ignored earlier requests sent directly to them, in a show of lack of sensitivity or sense of responsibility.

Of course, official clarification and pronouncements would have stopped the needless miseries that many Muslim women continue to go through.

The total abandon of responsibility on the part of the senior officials at these services on this issue is clearly responsible for the continued misbehaviour of the officials who are let loose on the hapless Muslim women.

If they are employing world-class standards and best practices to run the services, it will be easier and better to find unambiguous guidelines published on the websites of these services.

The equivalent of our own immigration service in the UK, in the United States and in Australia (all secular democracies) have user-friendly and clear guidelines which show that hijab (with ears covered) is allowed for passport and visa application.  More importantly, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards which the Nigerian machine readable passport

complies to specifically spell out that head covering for religious purpose is acceptable.

As more people step into the shoes of the “hijabis” on the 1 st of February, they will see how securing freedom of religious expression serves compelling national interests.

The goodwill and flexibility in meeting both the religious needs of the Muslim women and the legitimate needs of those service providers cannot be mutually exclusive.

One wonders if Catholic nuns are asked to remove their habit or show their ears when taking pictures for ID purpose at the immigration centres, at the Nigerian Identity Management Commission, the driver licence issuing centres (FRSCN), etc – or is this just a “Muslim thing?”.

The testimonies of many past participants of the World Hijab Day will help us to better understand that it takes more than lectures and reading to share the experience and real commitment of those wearing the shoes in any situation.

Female staff and pupils at Pleckgate High School, Blackburn UK decided to step into the shoe and wore the headscarf last year. A participating teacher of the school had this to say: “A lot of the girls at the school already wear a hijab, and we have one as part of the school uniform.

I asked the head if we could ask all the girls to take part and around a third did. We also had a number of staff take part. I think World Hijab Day helps us to understand how Muslim women feel about their beliefs and faith.

“A lot of the girls were excited about taking part and many saw it as a fashionable thing and quite light hearted, while still getting the message across.” Pleckgate High School is a public funded school, and prides itself on the value  it attaches to diversity.

It will be nice to get our public officials into the same mindset and make our public schools establish and promote a policy that would make every child priceless and valued equally – where every child feels truly included.

As it stands, existing policy in Lagos State for instance effectively bars any Muslim female student wearing the hijab.

Of course, the policy of discrimination sends a strong message of exclusion to all Muslims and non-Muslims of conscience, posterity will surely remember this period as a strange time when a state forbids education to a child unless the child violates the tenet of her faith.

Sadly, Muslim students in public schools of similar ages as those depicted in the Pleckgate High School story above will  finish their education in Lagos State with memories of bias, exclusion and discrimination.

Perhaps the greatest lesson we all can take from event like this is that we actually do not know enough until we take the courage to step into other people’s shoes. As the organizers of the event stated on the need for a day like this: It will be a day for everyone willing to experience what it’s like to step inside the shoes of a Hijabi. Our hopes are no less than that.

World Hijab Day

Posted by: Guests January 20, 2014

World Hijab Day: FEB 1ST 2014

HOW TO USE A HAJAB EASY AND FASHIONABLE

What is Hijab?

The word "hijab" comes from the Arabic "hajaba," which means to conceal or hide from view. In general terms, it refers to Islamic modest dressing for women. But it has come to signify the headscarf, which is the covering many Muslim women use to hide their hair, neck, and often bosom.

Why the Hijab?

What Does It Entail?

Islam has no fixed uniform of dress for Muslim women. But there are two requirements, which come from the Qur’an and hadith (verified sayings of the Prophet Muhammad):

First, a woman’s body should be covered such that only her face, hands, and feet are revealed. Secondly, the clothing must be loose enough so that the shape of a woman’s body is not visible. Other parameters (as stated in hadiths) are that women shouldn’t dress so as to look like men, women shouldn’t dress in a way similar to those who don’t believe in God, and the clothing should be modest, neither ragged nor overly fancy.

It is important to remember that Islam teaches Muslims that the concept of modest dress doesn’t just mean covering the body, but it also has to do with behaviors, manners, speech, and public appearance. Modesty is a total package, with dress being one part of it.

 

Why the Hijab?

Why Is Covering the Head Important?

Strictly speaking, covering the hair is just one part of a Muslim woman’s dress. Covering all other parts of the body (except for the face, hands, and feet) is also important. But as women around the world adapt Islamic dressing to the fashions of their country, more and more it is the hijab that is constant and marks a woman as a Muslim.

Two Muslim students at the Birmingham Metropolitan College campus in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands. The college have banned Muslim girls from wearing a veil. Eyes, nose and mouth all have to be visible

So the veil is banned, but the Hijab is preferable:

*school children in Iran

 
Azadeh Namdari, Iran state TV presenter

Queens Muslim fashion follower — a

hijabista — breaks new modest yet

stylish ground

Queens mom Sana Rashid, 30, discusses life and all things fashionista on her site Modhijabi.com

By Erica Pearson / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Erica Pearson

Fashion blogger Sana Rashid in Bryant Park.

Sana Rashid, wearing houndstooth hijab, blogs about style.

“People just have a negative connotation about Muslim women, that we’re forced to wear hijab — that everything is forced,” she said. “I do whatever I want.”

Pakistani-born and American-raised Rashid, 30, is one of a growing number of modest yet stylish Muslim fashion followers — dubbed hijabistas — joining the blogosphere and gathering dedicated followers.