MY BODY IS MY OWN BUSINESS


I often wonder whether people see me as a radical,


fundamentalist Muslim terrorist packing an AK-47 assault rifle


inside my jean jacket. Or maybe they see me as the poster girl


for oppressed womanhood everywhere. I’m not sure which one


it is.


I get the whole range of strange looks, stares, and covert


glances. You see, I wear the hijab, a scarf that covers my head,


neck, and throat. I do this because I am a Muslim woman who


believes her body is her own private affair.


Young Muslim women are reclaiming the hijab, reinterpreting it


in light of its original purpose to give back to women ultimate


control of their own bodies.


The Qur’an teaches us that individuals should not be judged


according to gender, beauty, wealth or privilege.


Nonetheless, people have a difficult time relating to me. After all,


I’m young, Canadian born and raised and university educated,


so why would I do this to myself, they ask?


Strangers speak to me in loud, slow English and often appear


to be playing charades. They politely inquire how I like living in


Canada and whether or not the cold bothers me. If I’m in the


right mood, it can be very amusing.


But, why would I, a woman with all the advantages of a North


American upbringing, suddenly, at 21, want to cover myself so


that with the hijab and the other clothes I choose to wear, only


my face and hands show?


Because it gives me freedom!


hijab


Women are taught from early childhood that their worth is


proportional to their attractiveness. We feel compelled to pursue


abstract notions of beauty, half realizing that such a pursuit is


futile.


When women reject this form of oppression, they face ridicule


and contempt. Whether it’s women who refuse to wear makeup,


shave their legs, or expose their bodies, society-both men and


women-have trouble dealing with them.


In the Western world, the hijab has come to symbolize either


forced silence, or radical, unconscionable militancy. Actually,


it’s neither. It is simply a woman’s assertion that judgment of


her physical person is to play no role whatsoever in social


interaction.


Wearing the hijab has given me freedom from


constant attention to my physical self.


Because my appearance is not subjected to public scrutiny, my


beauty, or perhaps lack of it, has been removed from the realm


of what can legitimately be discussed.


No one knows whether my hair looks as if I just stepped out


of a salon, whether or not I can pinch an inch, or even if I have


unsightly stretch marks. And because no one knows, no one


cares.


Feeling that one has to meet the impossible male standards of


beauty is tiring and often humiliating. I should know, I spent my


entire teenage years trying to do it. I was a borderline bulimic


and spent a lot of money I didn’t have on potions and lotions in


hopes of becoming the next Miss World.


The definition of beauty is ever-changing; waifish is good, waifish


is bad, athletic is good - sorry, athletic is bad. Women are not


going to achieve equality by putting their bodies on display, as


some people would like to have you believe. That would only


make us party to our own objectification. True equality will be


had only when women don’t need to display themselves to get


attention and won’t need to defend their decision to keep their


bodies to themselves.


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Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is


the most righteous of you. (Qur’an 49:13)


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“Allah has promised those who believe and do good deeds that


for them there is forgiveness and a mighty reward.” Qur’an 5:9


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my journey to


It will be three years since I stood before two Muslim sisters and


declared openly my belief in God (Allah) and His Messenger,


peace be upon him, and thus freeing and liberating myself from


my former self-imposed bondage. Stepping out of the darkness


of disbelief into the light of Islam, it’s funny that I found such


freedom in the very thing that was keeping me from Islam in the


first place - the hijab.


Even though I get the wide gamut of strange stares, points and


comments, this covering makes me feel honored, safe and


cherished.


The word hijab comes from the Arabic word “hajaba” meaning


to hide from view or to conceal. Women who don’t reveal their


beauty in this society and give in to this oppressive system, are


looked upon as invisible, without sexuality and backward.


Because I’m often mistaken for a nun, or terrorist, I feel the


reactions to the hijab for many women, is the truest test of being


a Muslim.


But in reality, the hijab is easy!


In instructing us to wear the hijab, Allah has given Muslim


women what they can bear of injunctions and obligations. For


Allah says:


Unfortunately, Satan and his cohorts are calling the Muslim


woman to enslave her to the creation, and to forget about


her servitude to her Creator. Chastity, modesty and piety are


deceptively marked as shackles on personal freedom.


Allah warns the believers that they should not let Satan deceive


them, as he deceived their parents, Adam and Eve. Under


the guises of fashion, culture, and modernism, Satan has


succeeded and is succeeding to lead the Muslim woman –and


all women- into immodesty.


What the Hijab is...


An act of Obedience to The Creator


An Act of Honour & Dignity


An act of Belief & Faith


An act of Modesty


An act of Purity


An act of Bashfulness


An act of Righteousness


A Shield


What the Hijab is NOT...


It is NOT something new. Muslim women follow the example


of righteous women in the past such as Mary, the mother of


Jesus.


It is NOT a symbol of oppression.


It is NOT required in non-public places where there are only


muslim females and close male relatives.


It is NOT a means to restrict a woman’s freedom to express


her views and opinion, or to have an education and a career.


It is NOT an act of defiance, confrontation or protest to non-


Muslims.


It is NOT a portable prison.


Since the heyday of the feminist


movement, there has been an increasing


amount of scrutiny placed on the dress


and status of Muslim women.


According to these “liberated” women, the hijab not only covers


the head, but also covers the mind, will and intellect. They say


that our dress code is outdated and oppressive, and it stops


us from being productive human beings. They speak out of


ignorance when they say that our hijab does not belong in these


modern times, when due to the constant decrease in moral


values in the world today, circumstances make the hijab even


more necessary.


From the dawn of civilization, flowing dresses and headscarves


have always been associated with “Godliness” or “God


consciousness”. Even the Christian pictorial representation of


the earlier prophets and their womenfolk bear familiar likeness to


the dress ordained for Muslim men and women (e.g. Mary). This


tradition of modesty is reflected in the Qur’an (7:26), wherein


Allah says:


Allah enjoined hijab on the Muslim


woman to protect her from harm.


He knows His creation, and knows that when women make


a dazzling display of themselves, with immodest clothes,


perfumed bodies and made-up faces, it serves to increase


the sexual deviance of the overall society. Many of those who


are misguided however, would have us think that the hijab is a


portable prison that restricts our minds, lives and hearts. It is


none of these things, and in order not to fall victim to their plots,


we must begin to understand what the hijab truly is- a source of


liberation, dignity and protection.


freedomBY SUmAYYAH JOAN


And we do not lay on any soul a burden except to the


extent of its ability, and with Us (God) is a Book which


speaks the truth… (Qur’an 23:62)


O Children of Adam! We (God) have bestowed clothing


upon you to cover yourselves and as an adornment (for


beauty); and the clothing of righteousness – that is best.


Indeed, the men who submit and the women who submit,


the believing men and the believing women, the obedient


men and the obedient women, the truthful men and the


truthful women, the patient men and the patient women,


the humble men and the humble women, the charitable


men and the charitable women, the fasting men and the


fasting women, the men who guard their private parts


and the women who do so, and the men who remember


Allah often and the women who remember - Allah has


prepared for them forgiveness and a mighty reward.


(Qur’an 33:35)