Well boys and girls, today i have 'hijab on the brain'.. or rather around it *groan* bad joke..
I recently found a whole sleuth of mostly Christian hijabis and even niqabis on blogs! Here are some of them:
Heather @ Non-Muslim Niqabi
Amber @ Little Steps Home
Amber @ Little Steps Home
Stacy @ Layla Land
Sanil @ Barei Lev
Wow it really is mind-blowing to think that there are so many! I think of my scarf more as head covering than hijab, partly to differentiate to my muslim friends although i’m sure they all refer to me as “muhajaba” (someone who wears hijab) between themselves.
While covering for the Christian faith has a whole new dimension and is immensely encouraging, I always cheer on the non-Christian hijab/head coverers as well, mostly because I think it takes guts. And I believe it is the height of feminism (although I don’t consider myself a feminist) to wear what you want just because you want to!! Isn’t that freedom ladies?! I really believe even if I didn’t have religious reasons for covering, I should be able to simply because I like it! It makes me happy!
I generally don’t wear a hijab style but sometimes (not when it’s hot!!) I just want to swathe myself in material! Especially soft soft pretty scarves! Sadly, more often than not I don’t, unless i’m chilling at a muslim girlfriends house or at home, in the Middle east or somewhere random.
Maybe I’m too worried about people thinking I’m Muslim or that I’m a half-muslim Christian! The reason is I’m so proud of my faith and I want to be a witness for Christ! I also don’t want people to misunderstand my reasons for covering. . I think I’ve forgotten to mention my other reason, when I explain the biblical and religion reasons: because I just want to!!
I’ve never been able to master the two-minute answer to “why do you wear that on your head?” especially to aetheists/random aussies who I don’t know well. What do you head covering ladies say? What is the “quick answer?” (it’s especially hard for non-muslim coverers!!)
Generally Christian reasons are as follows:
- Head covering in prayer
- Modesty (especially for married women)
- An outer sign of faith and modesty
- Head covering in prayer
- Modesty (especially for married women)
- An outer sign of faith and modesty
Have I missed any? Do any of you ladies have any other reasons??
Of course there are times when I don’t want to, or I feel an urge to dress up sexy with my hair all done and looking great! And it is during these times especially that my religious reasons are important.
I’ll be honest (and a little boastful) - since I was a kid my aunties, and various people would tell me I have nice hair. At the moment its quite long too. Don’t get me wrong there are times when I have horrible hair and I think it’s hideous! But sometimes it looks great and I just wish I could show it off! And yet when women see my hair on the odd occasion and say “oh you have such pretty hair” I feel shy, rather than boastful, and feel more convicted to cover. hmmmm
Sometimes when I’m getting ready, say for a dinner, a wedding etc and I’m already and my head cover is the last thing to go on, I think, “Is this ridiculous?” or “what’s the big deal? It’s just hair, I should leave it off!” More often than not my face will look nicer with my hair out! Or I think, what is the purpose of dressing up, trying to look nice, if I’m covering my hair?
Lately I have relaxed a little- before I would always cover my hair around men. But there are some situations when I felt it was silly to cover.
Like when a family friend would drop by and I would walk into the room unaware. Or to answer the door to a man. Or go out to collect the mail and have a male neighbour strike up a conversation over the fence.
Rushing out of the room to grab a head covering or quickly pulling something over my head just doesn’t work. Where possible I will make sure I am covered, but in this situation worrying that a man had seen my hair seemed over the top. It’s not a sin (as far as I’m concerned) and acting as if he has just seen you starkers only makes the situation tense and uncomfortable! Not to mention many of these people have known me my whole life!
Likewise swimming at the beach with a head cover just didn’t work. I have lost countless bandanas that way. I wear shorts/tshirt and keep it as modest as possible – but I just had to accept that beach dress has to differ due to practicalities.
Also whenever I am in an awkward situation (eg trying to keep all covered up at the beach ) I feel I attract MORE attention. What would be accepted as normal and not given a second glance by friends or family suddenly becomes a big deal when I act as though seeing my hair or knees is like seeing me in a bikini. Do you know what I mean? It reminds me of the ultra-conservative nations like Saudi-arabia cause even hands/ankles to become sexualised.
I have been thinking I will probably become a little bit more steady in covering when I am married – I feel like then it gives more gravity to reasons of modesty, and people seem to understand the concept of modesty better when you are married.
just some thoughts.. what say you ladies (or gents!)
P.S As I was writing this I noticed a post on the Barei Lev blog talking about this very thing, titled "Looking Like a Muslim" - it's a great post with some equally great comments.. and I think is going to inspire me to be more bold in wearing WHAT I want WHERE I want!
I'll let you know how it goes!
Much love, Pamela
13 comments:
Just wanted to say that I enjoyed this, and I'm glad you found some other nonMuslims hijabis. I've "met" all of those online and they all are wonderful ladies. Great post! :)
hello there :)
This is my first visit to your blog and i like it a lot.
And i am really surprised with your post. I mean i have never known of any non-Muslims who in a way cover their hair. I know that nuns do. I know that some women in different cultures do. And it's interesting.
I think whether someone like to cover their hair or face or even their whole body , they should do it whenever they want to. It's a choice.
:)
Susanne - Thanks so much for taking the time to read through my posts and offer insights and comments! It really made me feel very special and appreciated! :)
yes there are some wonderful ladies online! While I covering is a bond with many of my muslim sisters, it's wonderful to be able to fellowship with christian ladies about chrisitan covering!
wafa' - hello and welcome! I actually know a saudi lady called wafa' in my city :)
Many people are suprised to hear there are Christian women who cover- I didn't even know a couple years ago and I was Christian! The types of covering and reasons for covering will vary between women, but no matter what I always find it so encouraging to see that women of all faiths so this! there are also jewish women who do the same thing :)
Thanks for your coomment!
peace xx
And I am so happy I could read them all. It was wonderful learning more about you. I love your fun personality. Hope to read more in the coming days! :)
I am Christian and at least in principle a full-timer - enough so that my ID documents are all done with a head covering on. If someone asks, I tell them it is a prayer garment. Notice I say garment, and not just covering - because to me, the 'garment' is not just what I wear on my head, but the rest as well.
I had wanted to put it on full-time for years, but was afraid of looking like someone I'm not. But then I realized that the New Testament gives a Christian woman the right to wear a full-time covering if she chooses, and so I began... taking advantage of my right :)
I suppose now that I'm on the other side of the fence, I worry a bit that Christians will get the idea that it has something to do with feminine submission which it doesn't. But those who know me well know how I live, and they know therefore that it can't have to do with that.
It does have something to do with modesty, looking like a woman of dignity (not that I believe this is the only way to achieve this effect - there are other ways, but this happens to be the one I have chosen). Probably I would never have come to this kind of a view if it hadn't been for my contacts with Muslims. But maybe I'll comment more about that elsewhere :)
I have been offline for quite awhile and just noticed your comment on my blog. Thanks for commenting and linking me! I'm glad you found me and the others, having the network of others in the same boat has been very encouraging and helpful for me.
Welcome to our little extremely unofficial group! :D
hahah thanks sanil! and what a great group it is :D
This is a fun post. And you are very practical about it. Your way of doing things works great for anyone who covers in a Western environment. Because sometimes, its really hard to stick to the rules.
LK - Thanks, my approach is, at the end of the day i don't believe it is a sin to be uncovered, or to show my arms etc - what is sinful are my intentions and priorities.
For example if I am wearing revealing clothes in order to be enticing or sexy or am uncovered because I am feeling vain about my hair, then it is sinful. If I covered and modestly dressed and judging everyone else that is also sinful. If I put covering ahead of love, faith and my other people etc then my priorities are wrong! :)
Hey, OP...
Great to hear that you're ok with this, AND that you don't see it as a sin to not cover.
I've been thinking of covering for a while now, but I'm not particularly sure that the small Amish and Mennonite coverings work for me. I think a Hijab is the most modest.
I was thinking of Niqab for a while, but then I realized it may just make more of a fuss (Knowing the city I'm in). So I'm going to get a Hijab.
Just a question- do you buy actual Hijabs, meant for Muslims? Like, go to a Hijab shop, and buy them? I feel like that's what I should do, but I also don't know if that's a sin to buy it when it was meant for Islam... So maybe I should just make them out of my own material?
Beatlemania and everyone else:
You can wear the veilstyle called Hijab by muslims with a cross on it if you want to wear that style and want people to know you express your own faith with it. That´s how I do it. (I wear the cross on the forehead.) In that way you kill two birds with one stone. (You can show both these symbols of your faith without having people thinking that you are expressing any Islamic faith by veiling.) Also, when you go to the beach you can buy a burqini- there are loads of differeent sorts now, just google it. Not just from muslim stores, if you don´t feel like buing from them, there are many in regular stores for swim-clothes aswell. That way you will be all covered up and safe from the sun, which is stronger when reflected by water. And the headpiece stays in place, since its fastened in the top-part. If you don´t want to risk becoming vain because people will be looking at you more when you are the only one covered up my tip is not to look at where other people stare, but focus on your closest ones and what you are doing. It works for me. After a little while i totally forget to think about and become unaware that other people are staring at me. Let them stare and pray that more women will start to cover up more.
As for scarves I have bought them both in usual highway stores and online from both usual stores and muslim owned stores. seriously most muslim stores just have the same type of scarves you find elsewhere and not any cheaper. it´s important to look at the material- natural materials like cotton, silk and linen are good to use as headscarves, since they breate better than polyester.
Good luck with the covering:)
I have recently thought of a simple explanation for why I cover. I wear a wedding ring because I am married. It is a symbol of my commitment to my husband. My head covering is a further symbol of my commitment to my husband, and is also a symbol of my commitment to God, which is even more important.
I think it's wonderful that you wear hijab and promote the practice amongst Christians. As a young woman raised in a strictly Muslim country it has been hard to adapt to attending college in USA.
One pleasant thing I have learned is that some Christian woman do practice headcovering! I had no idea. My roommate is Catholic Christian and she owns veils called mantilla's that she wears to pray and to attend public worship!
Now if only I could get her to wear her veil to class with me so I am not the only one wearing headcovering.
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