In “Wearing the Muslim veil in America: what it’s like” (Christian Science Monitor, http://bit.ly/6KVV6Y), Husna Haq writes about her experiences wearing the hijab. She leads with a poignant story of how she wordlessly sat down next to an elderly female Asian Christian, who reacted fearfully and quickly moved away. Note the 7 million Muslims in America: are we befriending them and reaching out to them as a Genesis 12 blessing, or are we fearfully isolating ourselves from them?
In a related article, “The Muslim veil: modesty has its own style” (Christian Science Monitor, http://bit.ly/8yf2RK), Carol Huang explores the world of hijab fashions: silk print scarves, scarves from the Gap, and more. JoKima Hamidullah is a New Jersey housewife who runs an Islamic fashion blog: one of hundreds available on the Internet. (Westerners often have the image of the traditional burqa which we envision as a head-to-toe shapeless styleless black robe. Yet if you observe carefully, you’ll see that rarely are two burqas alike, and each has a definite style.)
Stylish as they may be, the veils are a growing issue. In France, the immigration minister said he wanted the wearing of Muslim veils to be grounds for denying citizenship and long-term residence (Associated Press, http://bit.ly/5FVB5E). Perhaps we need to begin by befriending people instead of shoving them away.
See also:
- Behind the veil: why Islam’s most visible symbol is spreading (Christian Science Monitor)
