The
Hijab: A Label, or a State of Being?
By Danya Akbar
Los Angeles, CA
In America today,
many Muslim teenagers are trying to cope with
the seemingly impossible task of assimilating
into modern culture while remaining true to their
morals and values. Most of them fail to understand
what the Hijab means for Muslims.
Hijab is an Arabic term for “cover,”
and can be used literally, with a scarf, or generally,
as a word, which embodies the wide term of modesty.
Whichever way each Muslim woman chooses to interpret
it, this term has become a label for Islam throughout
the modern world as one of injustice and even
cruelty.
When a non-Muslim (or one ignorant of the religion)
thinks of a woman wearing a hijab or a burqa,
an image usually comes to mind involving a heartless
father trying to tame his wild daughter by preventing
her from exposing herself in order to punish her.
Other images connected to this garment are those
of the Taliban, who forced women to wear full
burqas. This, however, is neither the true meaning
nor purpose of the hijab.
The hijab does not actually have to be a garment,
but, as recent Islamic scholars argue, it can
be an overall understanding of modesty and humility,
which includes the covering of body parts and
limiting exposure in order to minimize problems
with the opposite gender. Many young women are
forced into wearing hijabs, and in this they fail
to see the purpose behind it. I, myself, have
seen a number of girls who completely misinterpret
the meaning of the hijab, even when they wear
it. They constantly contradict themselves by wearing
inappropriate clothing (tight or revealing) along
with the hijab. This is completely hypocritical;
for the hijab is a piece of clothing, which should
add to the already modest woman, and should be
used as a tool to enhance modesty, not contradict
it.
The hijab symbolizes two very important aspects
of Islam, humility and modesty, and thus it is
a label. However, the wearing of the hijab should
not be limited to this, but should also be used
to culminate one’s beliefs in order to allow
others around us to understand the meaning of
it, therefore enabling them to learn more about
our religion, which is so often misconstrued by
others.
Okay, so the hijab is something to enhance modesty,
but do we know why we are modest? Why we need
to cover ourselves, and why we must stay away
from the opposite gender? The understanding of
the reasoning behind modesty will allow us to
further understand a major part of our religion.
Women must be modest in their garb in order to
limit any attraction from the opposite gender.
This can prevent many things, such as kidnapping,
rape, and other sexually related crimes.
In American society, dating is emphasized greatly.
Each and every young Muslim wonders why we are
not allowed to date, and if one is not given the
proper answer, one can deviate onto the wrong
path. Dating and dealings with the opposite gender
are prohibited in our religion because they ruin
our experience of marriage. If you have had thousands
of men in your life, how will your marriage be
special? The Qur’an repeatedly stresses
the need for modesty before marriage in order
to prevent certain problems. However, it also
openly stresses that the union between man and
wife is sacred, and should not have restraints.
Thus, modesty allows women to save something for
their marriage, even though that may seem a long
while away.
Muslims must find a way to incorporate their beliefs
along with the modern society. Modesty is the
key to being a good Muslim, as it enables one
to think with humility as well as act in this
way. By setting a good example for other Muslims
to follow, non-Muslims will also see the true
tenets of Islam through its believers. The question
is: how will we teach our religion if we do not
understand it ourselves? - dsavvy89@hotmail.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
