Due to my current state of confusion I'm feeling really self conscious when I wear a scarf in an obviously Muslim way. I do so because frankly its the easiest way to fulfill the requirements needed for me to enter a mosque. However, it is making me uncomfortable because I don't feel very Muslim right now; I feel like a poser.
Anyone have a suggestion on what I can do? I know I can do a spanish wrap but then I have to wear a turtleneck and its getting awfully hot. Or I can wear 2 scarves, one on my head one around my neck.
Eh, its just so much easier to throw on a square scarf and be done. Maybe I can just deal with being uncomfortable.
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what about a triangle shape (i.e square scarf) knotted under the chin or behind the neck - this is also a classic western look, and worn all around the world.
ReplyDeleteOr a rectangle scarf but with the two ends thrown back (also very western.)
I'm actually going to do a post on different styles right now! So stop on by and take a peek! Hopefully it helps!
Btw just an aside note (sory if i'm being nosy!) I was under the impression you WERE muslim? And if you are attending mosque isn't looking Muslim the general idea? Not that you have to be, I have been to mosque more times than I can count: sometimes I wear 'muslim' styles and sometimes more western 'non-muslim' looking head coverings.
If it's an ethnic things I get that too - western Muslim converts often feel pressures to 'choose' another ethnicity: from clothes (salwar kameez or abaya), scarf style (turkish, malay, pakistani, arab etc) and even food!
If you are Muslim (or even if you are not!) don't feel afraid to explore 'western style' covering and dress! :)
MissChatterbox: Oh I'll stop by thanks. These are very good suggestions :)
ReplyDeleteNope not Muslim, never converted. Still somewhat on the fence. Both classes I go to are in mosques so I have to wear proper attire to attend.
They really need to stop putting these classes in mosques. It keeps a lot of women from attending both Muslim and non Muslim. They are shy about putting a scarf on in public. I had a couple friends who wanted to go until they found out they had to wear a scarf and long sleeves when it was warm out to attend. It made them uncomfortable.
I don't really have any suggestions, other than to avoid both the Spanish wrap and the two scarves ideas because they will be way too hot. Maybe just wearing a scarf you think is pretty and that you feel comfortable in will make a difference.
ReplyDeleteI can understand holding the classes in a mosque (since mosques often serve as community centers for Muslims in the USA), but forcing a dress code on visitors seems very off-putting. Wearing a headscarf could be recommended, but not required. As long as the person is dressed respectfully (nothing too outrageous or way too sexual like micromini skirts and tube tops) there shouldn't be a problem.
I agree! To be honest I am really shocked that they would require those clothing standards! I know many MUSLIM women who go to mosque/mosullah not wearing hijab, and then put on a scarf/sarong/chador to pray. At all the religious classes or lectures I have been to non-muslims are not expected to wear hijab, although modest dress is expected (no low tops, short skirts). There are also muslim girls who are not wearing hijab too.
ReplyDeleteThere are divided opnions as to whether a woman is obliged to observe hijab in a mosque (they don't have to in a musollah or prayer room.)
Some mosques I have seen require visiting women to wear hijab (e.g in Emirates) and some do not (e.g in Cairo.) On the other hand there is also the opinion that non-Muslims are not permitted to enter a mosque at all.
I would be interested to know the hadith/tafsir these rulings are based on, and which are generally considered 'correct' if anyone can help me out???
If the aim of these classes is dawa/outreach then holding it in a mosque where either non-mulsims are not allowed to be, nor where they are required to wear hijab seems ridiculous. If they do believe these things, they should hold the meetings in a musollah or community hall!
Maybe you should discuss this with some women at the mosque and see if the people there really do hold the opinion that women (and especially non-muslim women) must wear hijab in a mosque.
I wonder if its because the classes are mixed gender (we sit on the men's side for circle, the school I go to is mixed gender in an Islamic school). But they see uncovered women all the time so its hard to understand...I think its because these classes aren't really meant for non muslims
ReplyDeleteDo they actually require a certain dress code or is that just how you feel compelled to dress to go there?
ReplyDeleteIts required. They wont let you in. Especially at the school. They will ask you to go home and change.
ReplyDeleteI remember a grown woman, probably in her early 20s, came in to the school without a scarf for our bowling trip. The women teachers ran around like mad looking for anyone who had an extra scarf. You would have thought she had come in with no shirt on or something the way they were panicking.
They do the same thing with the little girls, as young as 5. They make them wear scarves. The girls have absolutely no idea why they have them on and constantly try to take them off...but their moms have them too well pinned. I saw one girl crying once when her mom tried to put it back on b/c she didnt want to wear it...she had to be 5 or 6 years old.
ReplyDeleteSubhanallah, that is really sad. Forcing little girls to wear hijab when they don't understand it is unnecessary, wrong, and will only make them not want to wear it when they're older. It all goes back to the verse "There is no compulsion in religion"; forcing people, especially children, to do things is never a good idea since it only brings about insincerity and resentment. If the girls want to wear a hijab for whatever reason while at school (practice for when they're older, because they like wearing it, because they want to "look like mommy" and other female role models, etc.), by all means they should. But since they are still so young, it should definitely not be required of them. I believe that hijab should be a pleasure and a conscious decision made by the wearer, not an unreasonable burden or something to be resented.
ReplyDeleteI've said this many times before, and I'll say it again. I definitely believe that hijab (the whole concept, including behavior and dress) is important, but it seems like people put waaaaay too much emphasis on the physical aspects of hijab (i.e. the headscarf) rather than the hijab of the heart. I know I am sometimes guilty of this, Astaghfirullah, and I need to change this. Outward hijab can hide the body and imply piety, but ALLAH knows when our hearts are lacking hijab.
Anne: I found it really weird that the little girls wear it. I got it that they might require the teens and adults to do so but the little ones I dont get. Like they have nothing to hide LOL
ReplyDeletei just wear a shall and drap the two ends over my shoulders. my bangs usually show but the general hair is covered and my neck. and it lets air pass through. I feel muslim and geniune to my un orthodox self. :-) good luck
ReplyDeleteirani style is what i mean.
ReplyDeleteYeah it's strange, at the one of the only Islamic schools up here they say it's compulsory for girls to wear from, get this, year 3!!
ReplyDeleteI understand the value of teaching young girls about hijab but come on, a girl in year 3 (so what is that, maybe 7 years old) is NOT going to get it.
Anya: thanks I'll try that
ReplyDeleteEllen: Yeah thats the thing. I asked one of my girlfriends one day who has worn it since she was 7 or 8 and she said it took her till she was 17 to understand why she had this thing on her head. She doesn;t think you have to wear it at all but she cant take it off, shes is use to it.
So yes you are most likely going to end up with a daughter who wears it if you start really young...but is she going to really understand why since she didn't choose it? Or can you choose it later in life even if you were made to wear it young?
Dunno. I'm not Muslim :)
What kind of school do you go to? Is this to learn about Islam or is there more than that that is being taught?
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like so much to have to wear hijab whether you're Muslim or not! And for children to have to too!
its a Muslim Sunday school to learn about Islam. I'm the only non Muslim so I guess it would be odd if I didnt wear it. Yeah the children thing confuses me.
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