HIJAB DOESN'T STOP ME FROM ANYTHING

HIJAB DOESN'T STOP ME FROM ANYTHING

Hijab doesn't stop me from anything. You do. You people who judge or hate based on how much fabric I am wearing on MY OWN body---or how little.

HIJAB 

HIJAB 

The more I wear (or the less---you dunno because I don't flash it all at you under my robes) gives rise to the guise "extremist". As if you could tailor me into the slim suit of your narrow understanding. Violence for the sake of making one's self heard is extreme. I can be heard without violence. I can speak without words.

When I wear hijab I get that I am wearing a brand that reads "Muslim". One who practices Islam. That's why you stop me in airports. Why you ban me from schools. Hope you will not have to hire me. You who created or were born of the consumer generation, seed of this capitalistic market, the "Muslim" is a brandname that threatens your own innovations. You lack the creativity to compete with Islam. You designs do not have the same quality---they just don't hold up. Atheism, Christianity, Judaism, Budhism, capitalism, communism, liberalism... Whatever brand you apire to...Islam is tailored. Individual, universal truth, beautiful and inspired, between the Creator and the Created, Haute Couture. You're just speaking off-the-rack. I'm not buying.

HIJAB 

And you can't sell it---if you don't own it. Sure, you can buy one or two of "us" off... at the price of this world. But you know you don't have enough assets in all your corporations and banks that exist and have existed and will exist, to buy Islam out. Because every "Muslim" owns a share in Islam. Those who have lived and now do not. Those born, those being born, and those yet to be be born. Don't hire us. Ban us from school. And then go on and talk of "freedom" all you like.

If "Muslim" is my brand to you, know that I wear it prouder, prouder than the flag of any nation, and God-willing will carry it longer...than a Chanel bag.

HIJAB style

No interlocked CCs, no fancy Gs, no LVs, no Nike check, or a crown or a halo or a martyr's wreath are a better logo, give me better status and recognition as a Muslim, than my hijab. It expresses the fact that I believe in One God, la illaha il Allah, and am trying to a better person, humble, always examining myself. It says: "I want to be recognized for that, and not the vogue of my physical appeal or the devices of my worldly station".

If you strip me naked, and prevent me from all clothes or the means to them, I will still be wearing hijab in my heart, but if I have the clothes, and I do not wear them for the fear of being recognized as a Muslim or the wish to please and obey others over what is pleasing and commanded by my Creator, I do not have the hijab in my heart.

HIJAB 1

Hijab is the thread of truth that is wove by our heart's understanding, to the cloth that covers our minds, our ears, our tongues, and our hands, from committing evil actions, out of sincere love for what is good and beautiful beyond us. The cloth that we cover our bodies with is called hijab but it is only the expression of that. The expression I make is the garment that covers the evil actions of others'.

That isn't to say I don't believe the clothing that expresses my beliefs and intentions prevents the evils of others, nor do I believe men are incontrollable beasts who will hump any woman they happen to see uncovered. I mean after all, rapists usually take off some form of clothing in order to be able to rape, so an uncovered woman isn't any superior to a covered woman in my own mind. The expression I make is the garment that covers the evil actions of others isn't meant for prevention, it is deeply personal but at the same time, an example. I deeply believe in street fashion so to speak. I believe simply by living my own life as a good example and striving individually for success in this life and in the next, others will want to do the same: cover themselves from evil. One's sense of style in Islam to continue on this long-winderd metaphor, is indivdual and thought-provoking. I am lowering my gaze from things that might hurt me. Hopefully I am reminding you that you should too, not that I think that you are a rapist, or a hoochie mama if you aren't Muslim or don't cover.

HIJAB 2

HIJAB car style

I can wear a maxi dress over my breasts and my hips and my legs. I can wear a cardigan on my shoulders and over my arms. I can wear a scarf around my neck. And you will call it beautiful. But cover my arms and shoulders, my breasts, and my back, and my legs, and lift that scarf up so it is on my head and covers my hair (or my face) and suddenly I am "forcing my religion on you" or am being an "extremeist". I don't know if you've ever worn a niqab (soft Gulf fabric) but it is more comfy than high heels and skinny jeans (which you sweat in in the heat just the same). You express your feminity in a different way than I do. Does that mean my way is wrong? Or maybe we just cut from a different cloth?

You wear straw hats to protect yourself from the sun--- I in my shayla do the same, and you ask me, if my scarf traps the heat on my head?! My clothing was made of fabric suitable for the desert heat and you in jeans and a t-shirt is gonna ask me if I am hot?! You say you prefer me in colour when I choose to wear black (because I like it not because its Islamic) but I bet you would never have the nerve to go up to Catherine Zeta-Jones or Angelina Jolie in their black evening Oscar dresses and say the same). Who are YOU to tell me what colours to wear? The muttawa?

I can wear yards and yards of fabric in an eveing dress but I wear less fabric than that in my abaya and you think that suddenly, I can't walk? I am suddenly "a safety hazard" and "suppressed" and you even dare to call me an "extremist" when I just say what the Qu'ran says and that is, that an overgarment is fard.

You have no sense of fashion or the sunah, obviously, when you, a brother or sister, begin to label me, your own very sister. I feel the needle prick the skin. Because it is not the kafirun who sew the labels into "Muslimah". They are only misusing the labels YOU are already using, because you do not know or are not practicing your deen. "Extremist" "Niqabi" "Salafi" "Wahabi" "Hojabi" each as innacurate as the next to describe something as beautiful as the Islam that is expressed by a Muslim woman obeying her Creator by wearing hijab. You label those who WEAR labels.

My hijab doesn't stop me from anything. I have seen firefighter and doctor niqabis, karate champ, gold medalist, and politician hijabis. I ski, rock climb, swim, work in the public, horse back ride, skate, and got married all in jilbab and khimar. The only thing that stops me is Muslims who mislabel and the kafirun that don't want to know who really is suppressed.

clothing dress model trend of 2011

clothing dress model trend of 2011

clothing dress model trend of 2011

clothing dress model trend of 2011

clothing dress the trend of 2011

clothing dress the trend of 2011

clothing dress the trend of 2011

clothing dress the trend of 2011

In Canada Honour killing over hijab gets life term

Toronto: Just days after a Punjab man was jailed for life in honour killing of his daughter-in-law, a Pakistani father, along with his son, here too faces life behind bars for honour killing of his young girl for her refusal to wear the hijab.

In what was a first case of honour killing among Pakistanis in North America three yeas ago, 16-year-old Aqsa Parvez was strangulated by her father Muhammad Parvez, 57, in the family home in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga in December 2007. Appearing in a court here on Tuesday, both Parvez and his son Waqas, 29, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder of Aqsa.

Man held for killing daughter for honour

The duo, who were arrested after the sensational murder, admitted before the jude that they killed the grade-11 student by compressing her neck. After strangulating his daughter for bringing shame to his family by refusing to wear the hijab, Parvez had called police to confess his crime. Police found his daughter's blood on his hands. The DNA of his son Waqas was also found the girl's finger nails. The girl was found lying fainted. She was rushed hospital and put on the life support system. But she didn't survive.

The court heard how the young girl ran away twice to avoid living under strict Muslim customs at her home. She was not allowed to wear jeans and hang out with friends or talk to boys on the phone.

When she returned home, her father, a local taxi driver, allowed her to wear jeans and shirts, but forbade her from speaking to boys and hanging out with friends. Just days before she was strangulated, Aqsa had told her school mates that her father had sworn in the Koran to kill her if she ever ran away from home again.

When questioned by police, the girl's mother admitted that her husband thought his daughter's behaviour had brought disgrace to the family. 'This is my insult. My community will say you have not been able to control your daughter. This is my insult. She is making me naked,'' Parvez had told his wife.

Tradition no excuse to back honour killings: NHRC

Shockingly, the court also heard how the girl's brother - who is a tow truck driver - in a electronically-recorded conversation with a fellow driver had admitted choking his sister till she died. The fellow driver named Steve Warda also revealed that the girl's brother had asked him to get a gun to kill his sister.

Muslim woman who hasn't shown her face in public for 18 years ordered to remove veil to give evidence in Australian court

A strict Muslim woman who says she has never shown her face in public, has been ordered by a female judge to remove her veil when she gives evidence in an Australian court. District Court judge Shauna Deane said in the Western Australian Supreme Court today that in the interest of a fair trial against a man accused of fraud, she should not be allowed to wear a niqab, which allows only the eyes to be seen.

The 36-year-old woman, known only as Tasneem, said she was a strict Muslim and it was against her religion to show her face anywhere except in the confines of her home. The defence has argued that her whole face should be seen so the jury could decide on the veracity of her evidence.

But prosecutor Mark Ritter told the court that Tasneem had not shown her face in public in more than 18 years and would find it stressful to reveal her features to strange men. The judge agreed that the jury should have the opportunity to assess the facial expressions of the Islamic Studies teacher to help weigh up her credibility as a witness.

Her decision, she added, was not to set a precedent for other courts - it was up to them to assess similar circumstances on a case-by-case basis. Tasneem worked at a school as a tutor where the accused man, Anwar Sayed, ran the Muslim Ladies College in Perth's southern suburbs. He has been accused of stealing up to £400,000 in public funds by artificially inflating student numbers.

Outside the court Mr Sayed said he was worried about his safety and that of the witness but pointed out that he had no objection to the niqab being worn in court. 'This was a legal matter in which I had no role to play,' he said.

He claimed he had been stabbed the previous week after receiving death threats in hand-written notes and phone calls about the niqab issue. One of his lawyers, Mr Ludher Swaran, said the accused man had become 'quite isolated' within the Muslim community.

'There is quite a bit of pressure on him. He is a Muslim, the witness is a Muslim, the issue of a niqab is very sensitive among Muslims, so he would rather not have had this argument done in court.' Mr Swaran said Mr Sayed had been stabbed with a bottle in the attack. 'His shirt was torn, there were lacerations on his chest, lacerations on his forehead.' A date is to be set for the hearing.

Muslim Disneyland employee outraged after she's told she 'cannot wear her hijab to work'

A Muslim woman has filed a complaint claiming that the Disneyland restaurant where she works would not allow her to wear a hijab. Imane Boudlal, 26, claimed that when she wore the hijab to work Sunday, her supervisors told her to remove it, work where customers couldn't see her, or go home. Boudlal, who wore the scarf in observance of Ramadan, went home. When she showed up for work the next two days, she was told the same thing, she said.

'Miss Boudlal has effectively understood that they're not interested in accommodating her request either in timing or good faith,' said Ameena Qazi, an attorney from the Council on American-Islamic Relations who is consulting with Boudlal. Disneyland spokeswoman Suzi Brown said Disney has a policy not to discriminate.

The resort offered Boudlal a chance to work with the head covering away from customers while Disneyland tries to find a compromise. 'Typically, somebody in an on-stage position like hers wouldn't wear something like that, that's not part of the costume,' Brown said.

'We were trying to accommodate her with a backstage position that would allow her to work.
We gave her a couple of different options and she chose not to take those and to go home.' Boudlal, who is from Morocco, has worked at the Storyteller restaurant at the hotel for two years.

However she only realized she could wear her hijab to work after studying for her U.S. citizenship exam in June, Qazi said. She asked her supervisors if she could wear the scarf and was told they would consult with the corporate office, Qazi said.

Boudlal didn't hear anything for two months and was then told she could wear a head scarf, but it had to be designed by Disneyland's costume department to comply with the Disney look, Qazi said. She was fitted for a Disney-supplied head scarf - but Disney never told her when it would be finished.

Boudlal wore her own hijab to work for the first time Sunday. 'After these two months and this complicated process, she decided to come forward,' Qazi said. 'She really wanted to be able to wear it on Ramadan.'

Disney, Muslim worker agree on hijab substitute

ANAHEIM -- Disney is allowing a Muslim employee at its Orange County park to wear a specially designed headscarf after initially objecting to her religious head covering.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations says Monday that 22-year-old Noor Abdallah was told she couldn't wear the hijab while working as a vacation planner at a Disneyland Resort Esplanade ticket booth. She declined to take another job away from the public.

Disneyland spokeswoman Suzi Brown says the park worked with Abdallah to design a covering to match her costume and meet her religious needs. She's been wearing a blue scarf topped with a beret since early this month.

Brown says the case is separate from that of another Muslim Disney worker who refused to accept a costume headpiece and filed a federal discrimination complaint.

marni soupcoff add some bling to your hijab

People tend to go into serious policy-discussion mode when talk turns to the hijab. As a form of covering for Muslim women, the hijab is seen as an object of subjugation — a way for men to impose a sense of servitude and modesty upon their wives, sisters and daughters.

The trouble is, it’s hard to maintain a sense of either gravitas or moral outrage about the subject when you come across websites like Hijab Style, which features all manner of colorful, flashy and fashion-forward hijabs — and the usual fluffy style/fashion blather you’d find at any mainstream fashion site. There are even the requisite runway shots (attention everyone, MaxMara’s showing maxi skirts this fall!) and over-priced clothing finds (a long-sleeved tunic for $78). The only oppression of women that comes to mind is that imposed by high-end designers and fashion mag editors who make us feel that we must look like garbage if we don’t have a $20,000 clothing budget — which seems a different issue entirely.

No, one website pushing hijab bling does not put to rest all serious concerns about the treatment of women in Muslim cultures; and it’s especially hard to see the niqab — which covers a woman’s entire face with the exception of her eyes — as anything but repressive, no matter how colorful, luxurious and bejeweled it might be.

Still, Hijab Style is a useful reminder that you can’t necessarily judge a woman’s autonomy by her head covering. Clearly, for at least a small number of Muslim women (Hijab Style gets about 2,500 hits a day), the hijab is a form of self-expression and showing off one’s chicness by staying current.

One Hijab Style reader writes, “My style is classic with some trendy items. I always buy trendy items in an accent colour or in a basic neutral, to give it a long life even after the trend is dead and gone. I also like to set trends myself, or at least try to.”

She sounds no more subjugated or dominated than the average woman with a subscription to In Style magazine.

Something to keep in mind the next time a government proposes a hijab ban in public buildings in the name of protecting women.

HIJAB STYLES FOR LESS: HIJAB FASHION TRENDS SPRING 2010

Today’s hijab style set has two purposes. 1. I wanted to demonstrate a more subtle way to mix prints within one outfit. And, 2. I also wanted to do a post (as requested) about Hijab Styles For Less (thanks Mira for the title!).

Mixing prints is a pretty hot fashion trend for Spring, but in my opinion, that look can leave you looking like you got dressed in the dark. Nevertheless, I still love this trend and I think that mixing prints can look more chic than crazy by following a few tips:

1. Keep one of the prints neutral in color.
2. Keep one of the prints simple.
3. Keep the shapes classic.

The long skirt that I’ve used in today’s hijab style set fits those three requirements perfectly. It’s black and white, it has a simple striped print, and it’s a classic a-line shape. The blazer is also classic in shape, but it has a bright pink, floral print which carries this look in to Spring 2010.

I finished the look with neutral pieces: black booties, a black pashmina hijab, and a large mother-of-pearl cocktail ring.

Hijab Styles For Less : Striped Long SkirtHIJAB STYLES FOR LESS

This striped long skirt by Xhilaration costs about $17, so it’s a very affordable alternative to the skirt featured in the hijab style set above. I don’t think it would look good with the floral jacket, but if you want a striped skirt in your wardrobe, this one would be a great choice.

So, what do you think? Would you mix prints? By the way, I’m sure that some of us have mixed prints before by wearing a floral scarf with a pinestriped pant or something similar — even if not on purpose. Have you?

Who’s got a problem with hijab?

A reader on Muslimette.com left an interesting comment today, which reads: “You’re right – non-muslims don’t have much problem with the hijab. It’s muslim girls and women who are ‘ashamed’ of it in a way. To some people, wearing a hijab is akin to slumming it, like not living up to what life is offering. But we have to face it – this life here is just a transition spot for the true believing Muslim. Sad and such a shame they cannot realize that…” -Z.

I have been wearing hijab since I was about 12 or 13 years-old and I can honestly say that I’ve heard more negative comments about it from Muslim women than from non-Muslims. None of these women actually wore the hijab and their reasons for not doing so range from “the hijab makes my hair fall out” to “I will start wearing hijabs once I’m out of college”… I wouldn’t say that I’ve heard a lot of these comments, but I’ve heard enough of them. On the other hand, I’ve only heard one or two negative comments about hijab from non-Muslims in my entire life (not counting the stupid things that a few people have said in my blog comments).

What about you? Do you agree or disagree with Z’s statement? Have you encountered more Muslim women who dislike the hijab or more non-Muslims who have a problem with it? If possible, please let us know what country you live in so that we can get a feel for what it’s like in different parts of the world.