A woman wearing hijab enters the 7 train. She glances around and smiles, searching for a friendly face. Heads turn and eyes stare back. A strange silence envelopes the subway car. The woman walks towards an empty seat and sits down, selects a new song on her IPod, sips from her coffee and closes her blue eyes. She pretends she doesn't notice the stares, the tension and the energy in the air. She asks God to surround her with healing energy, love and light. She asks to be able to stand up and speak up for herself when necessary and to respond appropriately from the right place. She asks for patience, guidance and wisdom. She asks for it to all be made easy for her.
That woman used to be me.
It ain't easy being green, especially in this time of heightened Islamophobia. Ignorance begets fear, and fear introduces the concept of the "Other." The anti Islam rhetoric consumes our newspapers and news channels. It fills the heads, homes and hearts of citizens, immigrants and children all over the United States, and it invades the daily lives of many Muslims with harassment and discrimination. It has filled me with a need to speak out through writing.
Let me introduce myself: My name is Kim Joseph, and I am a convert to Islam. I attended church camp, I sold Girl Scout cookies door to door, I went to homecoming and prom and I sang in the school choir. You may now know me as your friendly hijabbi-wearing barista who works at Starbucks. I cannot imagine being without America or Islam, without one or the other I would be incomplete. I simply cannot be the Other.
My past experience wearing a hijab in New York City was full of harassment and discrimination. I've had raw eggs thrown at me. I've been called a traitor and a fucking terrorist bitch. I have been verbally abused publicly on the streets, subway, restaurants and at work. No one assisted me at any time when I was mistreated. Not one single person said anything on the train when a man yelled and screamed at me for being me. For being Muslim. I asked that man if he got some sick sort of pleasure from harassing women on the train. He said he was harassing my religion, not me.
My faith in God flows through and from my very essence. I cannot be separated from it.
Many people told me they didn't like me or my country of origin. I would respond, "Well, you don't like America then because I am from Ohio." That is spelled O-H-I-O, and it is west of Pennsylvania. It's the buckeye state, y'all. Where am I really from? Where are my parents from? If you must know I am German, Croatian, Slovak and Welsh. I am a "typical" American, a zesty and tangy Heinz 57, if you please.
Six years and seven Ramadan's ago, I began my walk with God by way of the religion of Islam. I am finally reaching a place of fluidity and individuality within that path. I have stripped myself of all the societal pressures from the Muslim community to conform, and I am now finding my Islam, my Surrender. I have learned that it is much more important to me to perform my acts of worship from an internal place. Wearing a hijab made me extremely aware of what kind of Muslim I was "supposed" to be, thus making my practice very external. Much of my worship was done from a place of obligation and not from a place of sincerity. Because I had been looking inward in hope of discovering what was truly sincere and from me, about three months ago, while shopping at IKEA, I took off my hijab. I could no longer deny myself the right to be me.
Since that day I have experienced a profound difference in the way people treat me. I am safe. I am white. I am no longer the Other. I am now "passing." Historically within the US, "passing" refers to when a person is not of heterosexual orientation or is of more that one racial heritage. A person might choose to identify with the heritage or sexual orientation that does not give birth to prejudice and discrimination, thus passing from one heritage or sexual orientation to the next. Although I have chosen only to be my truest self, the result is that my choice to unveil has liberated me from prejudice. I now exchange smiles and conversations with neighbors and strangers, but I know now who my real friends are.
Speaking of real friends, some of my Muslim friends avoid me like the Plague. They must think unveiling is contagious. When I'm running around the city it's very common to see Muslims. We're everywhere. I may greet them with the traditional greeting of "Assalam alaykum," but most times the greeting is not returned because I do not wear a hijab. They assume I am not Muslim. They look me up and down or avoid my eyes at all costs. Surely wishing someone, anyone, the peace and blessings of God is a beautiful thing. I now understand that if I am going to find community, I must search for and create that community. My exploration for community has propelled me into the most active career path of my life. For the first time I will be doing work that utilizes my creative talent in writing. I will be teaching a creative writing workshop called "Muslim Like Me" beginning in December at ICCNY. I have joined "Khadijah's Caravan", a community-based organization that connects people, places and communities through spiritually-based activism. I have connected with a progressive Muslim meet-up group. I am also entering the interfaith dialogue in the city.
So, when a woman with chin-length blonde highlighted hair enters the 7 train, know that she is much more than what appears on the surface. She has a past, present and future self. She is constantly growing, learning and trying to become tall and wide in her understanding and compassion of herself and others. She never wanted to be treated differently because of her racial heritage, and she despises this unnecessary human limitation. She wishes the concept of the "Other" wasn't a reality for so many people. She hates that she lives in a world where gender equality will never be a reality. She deeply desires that hypocrisy, racism, sexism, ageism, discrimination, prejudice and superiority didn't run through the veins of society. She has promised to begin with herself.
Follow Kim Joseph on Twitter: www.twitter.com/muslimlikeme
Josh Goodman: What Sharia Law in Democracies Tells Us About Islam
Converting to Islam - How To Convert to Islam
Islam in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Muslim American Congressman Calls for Tolerance | USA | English
Unmasked: the veiled white Muslim convert whose great grandmother ...
Modesty, covering your bossom, and not striking your feet to draw attention. I love my religion and I have found that outside the context of culture it is the most beautiful gift to mankind....yet, mankind has tainted it. I am glad that you have found your way and wish you the best on your journey.
The verse in Surah Al-Noor instructs women to use their headscarf to cover their bosoms; not JUST the bosoms.
The verse says for women to use their Khimar (more commonly referred to as a hijab) to cover their bosoms.
See this picture for a reference:
http://www.simplyislam.com/khimar-long-one-piece-hijab-scarf-black-somali-style-hijab-scarves-one-piece-59734.html
It is also a command of Prophet Muhammad (saws) to Asma' Bint Abu Bakr that once a woman reaches the age of puberty, she should cover everything but her hands and face.
Although I believe in the Prophet, I do not believe in Hadith. I have spent the past few years reading through hadith, most of which I believe goes against the teachings of the Q'uran. Muslims depend more on hadith than the Q'uran and the hadith contains way too many false teachings.
human rights of women an affront to Islam
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ali-a-rizvi/can-arabmuslim-countries_b_337358.html
1. Polygamy (up to 4 women)
2. Can't convert out without facing death threats (HADR ALDAM)
3. 1 whole woman = 0.5 man in court of the law.
4. A man can divorce his wife for any reason, yet the woman can't
and the list goes on and on
Please completely research your subject before making such derogatory comments.
All the subjects you mention have special conditions which you will only learn about if you thoroughly research them. They are not everyday items and don't concern the huge majority of the Muslims in the world.
Just briefly:
1) On the subject of polygamy, the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (May peace and blessings be upon him) was requested by God to take more than one wife for various reasons. This is not an option for everyone. One of the conditions is that all wives are treated equally - how many men can manage that? Is there any need to compare this with the types of selfish "polygamy" which exist in Western society?
2. Please research the conditions under which this would be necessary.
3. There are very valid reasons for this. Why are most of the lawmakers and those running the world men? is the number of women who carry the weight of responsibility equal to that of men? With some rare exceptions it can be clearly seen that men and women are not equal in some respects.
4. Please give examples from Islamic teaching from reliable sources to support your point.
As a "Western" convert to Islam who has experienced life in both societies, I am very happy and proud to be a Muslim. A person can only learn the realities of life when they can compare two systems.
Thank you for your time and patience.
1,2, 3, and 4 are common practices in the Muslim society all over the ME. let me rebuttal them one by one.
1. and it goes for 3 as well. the notion of having the man entitled to something whereas the woman is not, is an unfair concept. simply by saying that women lack the brain and faith doesn't make them so (Nakisat Aklen wa Deen) check it out. I have personally seen so many men from ME having numerous wives and no there are not just with them. It is less common in the more liberal muslim societies though.
Again, if the west in your opinion is lacking a principle (infidelity) doesn't justify legalizing it for Muslims. At least everyone is equal under the eye of the law.
2. it is simply illegal to convert out of Islam in most muslim countries, please study more!
3. I disagree, I believe that women and men are equal and so it should be when taking her as a witness. And women should not get half of what her brother get when the parent die, it is just oppressing women in general.
4. A man can divorce his wife by just saying the words "You are Divorced" three times, the woman has to go through lengthy (catholic like) legal process to get the chance of splitting.
I am not saying Islam is bad, because it is not. It lacks gender equality.
2. Heck, I left Christianity and people hated me for it.
3. No, that is a myth. It's based on a ruling about business transactions, not general court cases. Ask any Muslim scholar..
4. Women can ask for divorces too.
Castellammare di Stabia is trying to be the latest location in Italy to make use of new powers to crack down on what is deemed to be anti-social behaviour.
Mayor Luigi Bobbio said the regulations would help "restore urban decorum and facilitate better civil co-existence".
Offenders would face fines of between 25 ($35) and 500 euros ($696).
'Right decision'
"Nothing too revealing" is the new policy Mayor Bobbio wants to enforce, says the BBC's Duncan Kennedy in Rome.
That means a tough new dress code which would effectively outlaw everything from miniskirts to low-cut jeans when people walk around Castellammare di Stabia, our correspondent adds.
Mr Bobbio, from the centre-right People of Freedom party, says he wants to target people who are "rowdy, unruly or simply badly behaved".
There will also be a ban on sunbathing, playing football in public places, and blasphemy, if the proposals are approved at a council meeting on Monday.
"I think it's the right decision," a local parish priest, Don Paulo Cecere, told the Cronache di Napoli newspaper. "It's also a way of combating the rise in sexual harassment.""
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11617091
When I decided to start wearing it in university in Canada, I felt extremely self conscious. I had always believed in this injunction wholeheartedly, but never had the guts to follow it in high school and my parents never pushed me or even nudged actually.
About 2 decades later it's a part of me I can't imagine life without it.
I have started to feel self conscious again lately...about being identified with monsters and murderers because they also claim to be Muslim, and because my hijab gives away my faith. But, living in the suburbs of Detroit for over a decade, compared to any bad experience, I still notice more decent and kind people--Muslims, non-Muslims, white, black and purple--who would hold open a door or say hello or express appreciation for a kind gesture on my part, that I've started to get comfortable again. I guess I still need to get strong enough on my own, but it helps to have kind spirits around.
[Ch24:v30/31, 31/32] "Say to the believing men that they restrain their eyes and guard their private parts. That is purer for them... And say to the believing women that they restrain their eyes and guard their private parts, and that they disclose not their natural and artificial beauty except that which is apparent thereof, and that they draw their head-coverings over their bosoms..."
[Ch33:v59/60] "...[Muslim women] should draw close to them portions of their loose outer coverings. That is nearer that they may thus be distinguished and not molested. And Allah is Most Forgiving, Merciful".
To my knowledge, the second instruction came after some non-Muslim street thugs started being obscene around Muslim women when they'd pass by and on complaint would say they didn't recognize them from other women whom they thought would not have minded that behavior.
There are Muslims who don't fast or pray as required, and that is between them and God, and so is wearing a hijab. Under early Muslim rule, non Muslim women went about without it. For Muslims it probably became a part of their culture. Even today, in Muslim majority countries like Indonesia and Pakistan, non-Muslim and many Muslim women freely go out without one, unless in less educated and/or rural areas that are traditionally repressive.
And your first quote would seem to indicate that men and women should be equally modest, which in most western societies would immediately relieve the women as the men promptly adopt western dress upon immigration if not before.
Individuals have human rights, NOT religions.
Nothing in Quran 24:31 or 33:59 calls for any form of head covering, and neither verse uses the word "hijab." The claim that these verses require the head to be covered is popular, but also false.
And while women may perceive themselves 'free' of anyone determining what they wear, inevidably, they fall under the powers of men regardless. The fashion world is dominated by men who invented most of the clothes in the West, such as the bikini.
And the marketting, advertising, and media culture shapes the ideas of fashion and apparel that people adopt as their choice. Blue Jeans being a signature American apparel for men and women were invented by Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss in 1873.
As for Ms Joseph, she will likely wear clothes and adhere to fashions dominated by men in a culture directed for profit by men. And she will follow men of America. Whereas if she was French and in France, she would follow men of France. And so on.
And this is very much a microClash of Civilizations using Ms Joseph as the battlefield. And its no surprise that many American men are the most adamant and confrontational towards Islam and hijab because they see them as resisting Western, American imperial hegemony.
I think it was the IKEA influence. Otherwise, you'd probably still be wearing it.
I think everything comes in its time, what you are doing now -seeking knowledge and building a strong foundation are very important. For the first 13 years the followers of Islam were only commanded by God to have a pure and strong faith. To believe that God was unlike anything you could imagine, yet closer to you than your ownself. When their faith was strong, God slowly revealed the rulings-so they would not feel overwhelmed.
One of the grave sins in Islam- is showing off, to do good deeds so people can say you are pious. All God wants from us is to be sincere and truthful with Him. A little with love and devotion is better than a lot with empty motions. There is a hadith from the Prophet (saw), that states that a certain man will see his book of deeds filled with sin, but he will say In the Name of God and his book will be erased- due to the fact that he used to start every action in the Name of God. Although his action seemed small, his sincerity made it great.
You have a good intention and you are full of sincerity inshAllah, and lots of blessings will come to you. Always remember when you mention God's name within you or verbally, He is mentioning you, and thinking about you!
with lots of love
The IKEA environment made her take off the hijab, and she says everything was fine thereafter. There is a lot of good in America, and lots of benefit in being an American. Why deprive yourself of a heritage. Islam has exploded on to the consciousness of the world since the dawn of this century, and along with it the apprehension, fear and hatred of it.
Hijab wearers have their opponents in every country of the world, even the Muslim countries. These are difficult times for the Muslims, more than for the non-Muslims.
Many scholars have said that Hijab signifies modesty, as well as declares to all that the wearer has resolved to be modest in all matters of her life. It serves an identity mark, like the Quran says, "so that they be recognized and not be bothered". Reading the article one gets the impression that she was being bothered because of it.