Terms used:
Hijab: The Veil/ higab
Hijabbed: Wearing a Hijab
Hijabi: a girl wearing a Hijab
:)
Hello!
Today I'll discuss many of my thoughts on Hijab but whether it's an Islamic obligation on women is NOT one of them. Actually i will not be talking about Hijab as a concept but how people view it. I just think that the issue of Hijab is overrated, Yeah..I think people (either supporting or fighting it) are unnecessarily making a big deal out of it. Usually people in our beautiful Arab societies make big deals out of issues that are worth a chewing gum just to appear like they have some points but we seriously need to grow up and stop dividing the community into groups more than it already is because now there's a "Mo7agaba" and a "Mesh Mo7agaba"... I'll get to this division later but let me start the discussion properly.
In the last couple of years, some religious Muslim people started encouraging girls to wear the hijab and thus devoted Muslim girls started wearing it (which is not bad). However, almost all religious discussions were then directed towards the Islamic dress of women and ignored anything else (like the basic principles of the Islamic faith, the behavior of a Muslim, the purpose of our life....and more important issues).
This lead to a huge gap between the people's attention to their appearances and their realization of their spirits, they became separated. That's a huge problem because being disconnected from your true self means that you're unbalanced which means that you're not able to think clearly! With time, people unintentionally began relating the personality of a girl to what she's wearing. They could even judge the strength of her faith and the more covered she is, the more respected she became even if she doesn't even pray, she is to be considered a good Muslim.
Consequently, Hijab became more of a cultural thing ...which is not the point. But group A which i was talking about in my post "Muslims in Egypt" appeared.
As more girls started wearing the hijab, another group of Muslim people (group B) noticed that and were upset, either because they're against the idea of Hijab in general or because of how group A prioritized it over other things. As a result, they considered themselves against the Hijab Movement and started fighting it!
They developed some opinions like: Hijab is a backward step in the society!, Men force women to wear it, it's against women freedom....!
Accordingly girls are being judged again according to their clothes. If she's hijabbed then most probably she was brainwashed by men to do so. She must be uneducated or narrow minded and she can't think on her own. She definitely needs help!
Hundreds if not thousands of groups and events on facebook calling girls to take off their Hijab because they're "free". Many websites and campaigns against wearing the hijab. Slogans, articles and pictures making fun of the Hijabis and offending the hijab calling it things like ignorance and retardation...But they're still calling for the "freedom" of girls. Do i smell contradiction?
Despite the fact that i do wear the hijab, i'm not taking sides here. As a matter of fact i'm against both sides! lol. No really, I totally respect those who support the hijab and those who fight it. But don't you think that there are MUCH MORE important things to talk about? In our society: drugs, sexual harassments, real ignorance, poverty...but we're still discussing whether a girl should cover her hair or not. Why don't we all act upon our beliefs. If you believe in Hijab, just put it on and leave the others alone. If you believe Hijab is pointless, forget about it. It's okay to share your opinions but you guys are spending too much effort and time on something that won't really make a difference!
Actually what's truly and personally pissing me off is not only the way people think of hijab but the pressure both sides of the debate are putting on the girl wearing it. It's like everybody is waiting for the Hijabbed girl to sin...
Hijab-Supporters are criticizing her actions that are not "suitable for a girl who wears hijab"!
Hijab-Fighters are criticizing her actions that "prove that the hijab she's wearing is pointless"!
In the end, you're always going to hear this sentence from both sides:
"Shoof ya akhy mo7agaba we bet3ml eih!"
It's like the day i decided to cover up i announced to the world that i'm perfect...
Everybody is expecting me to dress in the perfect modest way! (I'm not saying i'm not supposed to dress modestly, that's what the concept of Hijab is all about to most people but it still doesn't give you the right to assume i was intentionally wearing my slightly tight jeans to drag attention). Not only that, but i'm expected to ACT in a certain way as well. Come on! I mean it's a piece of cloth not a halo or a sensor that's supposed to electrify me whenever i'm about to commit a sin!
I'm wearing the hijab for my own personal reasons. Girls have brains, remember? I am able to judge for my own self and make my own decisions. I'm not waiting for you to brainwash me about how i've been brainwashed my whole life! You don't even know what i'm thinking. You don't know what Hijab represents for me and how my life is affected by it.
I'm not giving excuses for myself or for any Hijabi who makes mistakes, I know some silly mistakes are sometimes done which contradict the concept of Hijab but so what? You sometimes pray your daily 5 prayers perfectly and sometimes you're mind is thinking about something else, some other day you miss the duhr Prayer but usually you're doing your best to wake up for Fajr. You see...we are all human beings we are all doing our best. And seriously that's the most important thing of all, that we make sure that WE are doing our best and not Others!
Don't you see that Satan himself is satisfied with this division? Can't you see how weaker and weaker we become each day? How we're being humiliated in front of the whole world!? There's incredible technology in the real world but in our world we're still concerned with the hijabbed girl that smokes shisha.
Let's bring back the Glory of our beautiful faith.
Let's learn to love each other and focus on our similarities and forget about our differences. And direct all our energy to something useful.
I hope i was able to deliver my message correctly...
Hey well said nice piece i am personally one of the people that can relate to this article. I personally believe by wearing or dressing in a certain way you are supposed to be classed as a perfect person. Oh i had a father that was obsessed with me dressing in a certain way but then one day i proved to him that i could good be a good person even without all of these things. And seriously there are worst things in this world people should be looking at. The last two things i want to point out is that "people who live in glass houses should not throw stones", and the second being "people should sweep in-front of there own houses, before they sweep in-front of other's................................".
ReplyDeleteThe fact remains - whether we are conscious of it or not (and the West prefers us to live unconsciously - better mindless consumers that way) that what we wear sends a message about ourselves. This is a fact that we cannot escape. If one does not wish to be perceived as a prositiute, then one shouldn't dress as one. Simple. Though fashion houses would go broke in an instant. Young girls emulating porn queens, like Brittny Spears are unwittingly sending a wrong message about themselves, thanks to powerful image-control via Hollywood and advertising and mindless parenting. Dressing simply, modestly and non-egocentrically, with or without hijab is the healthiest message. Some of the nicest people I know are hijjabi. Some of the harshest, most judgmental also hijjabi. And the same stands equally for non-hijabi. The middle-way.
ReplyDeleteTo the second anonymous... It's not a black and white thing. The opposite of hair not being covered is not necessarily just bikini and mini skirts, if you get me. This is one more problem with today's generalisation of women's clothings. There IS such a thing as long sleeve blouses, NON-see through blouses, long loose skirts and long loose pants. But in some "Muslims" minds, not wearing hijab automatically means a woman who goes out wearing singlet and short, almost underwear-like pants. Why the extreme outlook?
ReplyDeleteSeriously, we should all calm down and take a few steps back. And a few more. Start with girls should try to dress modestly. Means, not too much skin or shapes showing. Something like what the ladies would usually wear in the 80s (bell bottoms and long sleeve blouses). Lets go to that for a start. Then we can say, what about the hair? Thing is, nowadays just because a girl covers her hair, doesnt MEAN she is automatically dressing better than the ones who don't cover the hair.
Ive seen too many times where girls with uncovered hair dress more simply and modestly, with very light to almost no makeup. Yet we've seen too much these days (Egypt is a good example) where hijab girls literally look like a walking Christmas tree- full of colors, glittering bling blings, heavy and confusing accessories on the hijabs, body and legs and make up that gives the clown and mascots a run for themselves. As a hijabi, I find that soooooooooooooo embarressing. It just scream, "Look at me! Helwa awi1!" (NOT!)It's too very desperate and that CAN be as bad as the desperate non-hijabi who strut around with almost no cloth left on her body. They are turn offs. Unfortunately, the desperado hijabi types are a steady growing lot now. I've found myself thinking out loud, "Please girl, just take off that hijab already ok! Wear something simple and decent and show off your nice hair already. That looks much better than your deperado startled peacock look!" Really girls. Just try... TRY to be modest yany presentable. Princess DIana was presentable all the time(unless if she has to be at the beach or the pool-we're talking about normal circumstances). She dont need to wear weird contact lenses, fake lashes, extremely tight clothes and what not aka Lady Gaga to be called a beauty. If hijab is toooooo hard for you, just take it off already and be a decent non-hijabi. Otherwise, wear the hijab in a good way. Don't make a fool out of yourself with all kinds of mushrooms and tomato soup cans attached to your hijabs and what not.
I'll stop blabbing now.