• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

World Non-Muslims Try Hijab For a Day

Peace

Quran & Sunnah
Has anyone noticed the wearing of Hijab by non-Muslims today? :)

World Non-Muslims Try Hijab For a Day

World%20Non-Muslims%20Try%20Hijab%20For%20a%20Day.jpg

LONDON – Scores of non-Muslim women worldwide are planning to don hijab on Friday, February 1, to mark the first annual World Hijab Day, hoping it would lead to more religious tolerance and understanding and stress the value of hijab as a Muslim choice.

"I knew that it's about modesty of behavior, not just clothing, and that it's a faulty assumption that women only wear it if they're forced to - especially in the US," Esther Dale, 28, who lives in the US state of California, told The BBC.

“That's not at all the truth,” the mother-of-three added.

Hijab: What’s It All About?

Hijab Handout Clears US Misconceptions

US Students Don Hijab, Support Muslims

American Team Don Hijab to Support Captain

Dale was one of Muslims worldwide who chose to mark the first annual World Hijab Day, planned today.

The event was first suggested by New York woman Nazma Khan to encourage non-Muslim women to don the hijab and experience it.

It was designed as part of a bid to foster better understanding and counteract controversies surrounding hijab as a Muslim choice.

"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 to become the only one donning hijab in the 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’s suggestion soon found support from all over the world with the group's literature translated into 22 languages.

She has also been contacted by people in dozens of countries, including the UK, Australia, India, Pakistan, France and Germany.

Islam sees hijab as an obligatory code of dress, not a religious symbol displaying one’s affiliations.

Free Choice

Wishing to try hijab, Jess Rhodes, a young British non-Muslim, decided to don headscarf for a month after knowing about the event through the internet.

"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," Jess Rhodes, 21, a student from Norwich in the UK, said.

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

"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 said.

"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."

Rhodes herself was concerned about the reaction.

"I can't explain it really but people have been really very helpful, especially in shops," she says.

Reaching women worldwide, the campaign is a bid to clear image about hijab as a Muslim woman choice.

As a practicing Mormon, Dale, the California resident, understands the importance of faith in daily life.

She says she knows the stigma that surround the headscarf and hopes this is an opportunity to help combat that.

"It's a good chance to educate people that you can't make an accurate judgment about someone based solely on what they're wearing," says Dale.

Showing the world that women can choose the hijab willingly, Rhodes says it's a choice she will continue to make.

"I will wear it from time to time," she says of her hijab.

"I'm saying to the world, my beauty is for my family and my partner. Any woman can wear this."

Source
 

Quintessence

Consults with Trees
Staff member
Premium Member
I've always felt the Hijab is a beautiful piece of fashion-wear. I also thought, however, that non-Muslims wearing one would be accused of disrespectful cultural appropriation. Now that I know about this, I might show support for this day in the future in the spirit of religious tolerance. It'd make me feel less sleazy for wearing one because I think it's beautiful, not for its intended purpose. It's a bit late for this year, as you can't exactly go and buy a Hijab at any old store around here.
 

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
I also thought, however, that non-Muslims wearing one would be accused of disrespectful cultural appropriation.

Tolerance and respect rules the day! ;)

Bouncing off that, I didn't have the stones to wear dhoti and kurta to work on Diwali this year. I thought it might be viewed as an affectation. Half our warehouse employees are Indian; I'd be the only white guy in Indian garb. Hellz, I've only ever seen one Indian woman (from HR) wearing salwar kameez occasionally. All the others wear spandex pants and t shirts. :eek: I think, however, next year for Diwali and Durga Puja I just may dress.
 

Peace

Quran & Sunnah
I also thought, however, that non-Muslims wearing one would be accused of disrespectful cultural appropriation.

We don't feel offended at all by seeing non-Muslims wear the Hijab. Any woman can wear it if she likes it.

Now that I know about this, I might show support for this day in the future in the spirit of religious tolerance.

Thank you :)
 

Breathe

Hostis humani generis
We don't feel offended at all by seeing non-Muslims wear the Hijab. Any woman can wear it if she likes it.
Really? That's pretty cool. :)

But what would be the reaction, if she then replied with "Oh, I'm not a Muslim, I just wear it because I think it's cute" or "because I support its modesty"?
 

Peace

Quran & Sunnah
Really? That's pretty cool. :)

But what would be the reaction, if she then replied with "Oh, I'm not a Muslim, I just wear it because I think it's cute" or "because I support its modesty"?


Believe me I won't feel any kind of direspect to my religion if I meet a non-Muslim wearing the Hijab. On the contrary, I would be glad to see that. It's good to give it a try and see how it would be like to wear a Hijab :)
 

Peace

Quran & Sunnah
Now that I know about this, I might show support for this day in the future in the spirit of religious tolerance.

By the way, if you give it a try, don't forget to take a picture with the Hijab in order to always remember that you wore it once :)
 

Assad91

Shi'ah Ali
Really? That's pretty cool. :)

But what would be the reaction, if she then replied with "Oh, I'm not a Muslim, I just wear it because I think it's cute" or "because I support its modesty"?

SOme women do do that. They wear it for a few weeks, till they have the money to get their hair done, and then take it off.
 

Kerr

Well-Known Member
Interestingly enough I feel reluctance when I read this. When I think of it, there is no rational reason for it. I guess I am not immune to prejudice :facepalm:. That is reason enough for me to think its good that non-Muslims try the hajib.
 
SOme women do do that. They wear it for a few weeks, till they have the money to get their hair done, and then take it off.

That sounds so funny, and about right!

In high school where I went to, over half of the student population were Sikh or Muslim. My Muslimah friend wore hijab all throughout high school... until graduation night. She took off her hijab, got her hair done, got a stylish red dress, and funned the night out.

Suffice to say, she never wore hijab again! ;)
 

Peace

Quran & Sunnah
That sounds so funny, and about right!

In high school where I went to, over half of the student population were Sikh or Muslim. My Muslimah friend wore hijab all throughout high school... until graduation night. She took off her hijab, got her hair done, got a stylish red dress, and funned the night out.

Suffice to say, she never wore hijab again! ;)

I would say that your friend was either wearing the Hijab as a cultural thing or as a fashion. If one wears the Hijab as a religious commitment and as an obedience to God, she would never take it off.
 

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
I'll pull it back and glue it, thank you.

No, I did not just seriously say that, did I!? :eek: :facepalm:
 

illykitty

RF's pet cat
I wore the hijab for a little bit, when I was trying out Islam. I didn't feel any different from it (as in, didn't feel akward or shy) and people are tolerent. You do get a little more conscious of how you act because, if you did something bad it would reflect badly on women who wear it.

Overall, I thought it was a good experience, you feel liberated from western pressures, but it can look really nice. A good co-ordinated outfit with hijab can look really good! Also, pashminas are easy to buy here and I like them. ^_^

Not sure many would agree but there was something special about keeping myself to my husband. I don't like being "on display".
 

Peace

Quran & Sunnah
I wore the hijab for a little bit, when I was trying out Islam. I didn't feel any different from it (as in, didn't feel akward or shy) and people are tolerent. You do get a little more conscious of how you act because, if you did something bad it would reflect badly on women who wear it.

Overall, I thought it was a good experience, you feel liberated from western pressures, but it can look really nice. A good co-ordinated outfit with hijab can look really good! Also, pashminas are easy to buy here and I like them. ^_^

Not sure many would agree but there was something special about keeping myself to my husband. I don't like being "on display".

I like your post! Thank you illykitty :)
 
I would say that your friend was either wearing the Hijab as a cultural thing or as a fashion. If one wears the Hijab as a religious commitment and as an obedience to God, she would never take it off.

Some Muslimahs do not wear hijab for reasons of discrimination, practicality, or difference of opinion, and not just because she chose to not be religious.

I do think though that my friend probably wore it out of cultural pressure. In the city where I grew up in, there are many Sikhs and Muslims! About half of my high school consisted of Sikhs and Muslims!
 
To be honest, I have tried wearing the hijab once just for the sake of it. Because I grew up with a lot of Muslim women in my home community, I thought it would be fun to try it out. I wore a long purple skirt, long-sleeved purple blouse, and a sparkly purple hijab to conform to Islamic standards of feminine piety.

Suffice to say, rather than getting the "I'm the religious girl" feel, I got hit on by some young Muslim guy. >__<

I think it's a comfortable experience wearing hijab. I myself am pondering on trying to be more committed in my religion, and wondering about wearing saris more regularly at home and in public...
 
Top