Before I start - let me clear some things first. I'am not angry. Just mostly mildly annoyed.
People are of course given to misconceptions. I've dealt with it through school, college and now at work. Its just sometimes I wished that people would stop associating the hijab with being Malay or rural or backward or oppressive.
And it is not something that is forced upon you but a choice. The hijab is something that is practiced by people of the Muslim faith and not just Malays. And if you wear it does not make you deaf or restrict airflow to your brains. So you're allowed to be smart and to express your opinion, and no it does not cekik (strangle) you either!
Mama told me of a conversation she had with my sister who is currently studying in Wales. She told me of the questions my sister gets from her classmates who are curious about the veil that covers her head. Questions most often asked are “ What’s that on your head?” “Why do you wear it”? ‘Is it religious or custom?” these questions can be interpreted in many ways.., but shows how the younger generation halfway across the world can sometimes be oblivious to Muslim beliefs and culture.
The scary thing is because of this, they might believe certain things that are really not true about my beliefs and my religion.People are usually scared of things that they are not used to, things that are different. I can't really put into words to describe the enormity of the situation.
Sometimes even the best of us stumble to describe something so large, that has been discussed in various forms, by highly religious scholars, by university professors.
( this is an article I found on the internet, as I hope for better things, for a better view of my beautiful religion and I think it best describes what I’am trying to convey)
Amid the current political turmoil in Pakistan, I came across this moving image in the Chicago Tribune today of a vigil by lawyers in the country’s capital Islamabad. I am reminded of the cliché that a picture speaks a thousand words. If the image of a Muslim woman in Hijab brings to mind female illiteracy and oppression, then this photo, buried on page 26 of the paper, speaks volumes.
For starters, the woman in Hijab is, at least according to the caption, a lawyer. Not only is she literate, she is a highly educated professional.
Second, she is not accepting the imposition of martial law on her country and is expressing her protest by courageously attending a vigil opposing this at a time when thousands have been arrested across the country. Hardly doormat material.
This activist in Hijab is the kind of Muslim woman we in North America hardly ever read about or see in newspapers and other forms of media. Perhaps because she flies in the face of everything that is considered “typical” of Islam and Muslims?
