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Anger my mother expressed at my appearance
World Hijab Day

Anger my mother expressed at my appearance

By Corinne Webb

I strongly recommend this [World Hijab day] experience.  It truly is humbling. One of the greatest experiences I have had is a hijab last February. I wore it to see how my friend Salma Rah and all the other women feel when they wear their hijab. At first, I was nervous about it. What will it feel like? What happens if I get laughed at? But what I did not expect to get was the anger my mother expressed at my appearance. That single emotion proved the experiment worthwhile. “Why would you wear that? You are Christian?” I told my friend had asked me to wear a hijab to support the women who wear it and are getting abused because they do.

Wearing a Hijab is the easy part, being out in the world and seeing the reaction is the hard part. Honestly, I almost took it off when classmates laughed at me. But I persevered and told them I was supporting my friend and women who wear a hijab on a daily basis that suffer abuse from people who don’t understand. It is a great way to walk in my friend’s shoes.

Thank you for asking me to understand.

View Comments (6)
  • I am 12 years old, I love your idea of world hijab day as it brings a load of people together for support.
    I never used to wear a hijab but ever since I started in highschool my parents made me into it . Yes I did get laughed at and mocked at but everyone got used to it. It’s amazing how many people who experience the wearing of the hijaab then start looking deeply in the religion of Islam and even accept it and join Islam.

  • thank you sooo much for sharing. after my reversion to islam, the first time my mother saw me, i was in hijab and she became very angry and tried to pull it off me in the middle of the restaurant, saying it was disrespectful to her to wear it and i needed to take it off. i replied it was disrespectful to Allah swt to remove it. she asserted a mother was more important and did not speak to me for a long time… my wearing hijab separated me from my fathers christian family more than just accepting islam. i also was fired from my job, then rehired but told to only stay in the back room of the shop, not to be seen by customers. one of the most difficult was being removed from a support group by the leader because he felt i was intimidating the other participants by wearing hijab, when nobody had said a word to me but him about my headscarf or my faith. when i had been suicidal over the rejection and troubles with my family, he said something to the effect “well you belong to a religion everyone hates and you advertise it! of course you’re suicidal… that’s why so many of your people are terrorists. try reading the bible! and take off that nonsense.”

    • Subhanallah Muneebah – I can’t say I feel the pain you went through but I can assure you that every insult hurled at you has in sha Allah earned you bounties with your Lord simply because He (SWT) is the reason you endured the torments. May Allah continue to strengthen you and all the Muslims all over the world.

      I love you for the sake of Allah and pray to be united under the shade of Allah in the hereafter, aameen

      Stay firm dear sis

  • Asalamu alikum
    Bieng born Muslim,I started to wear Hijab at young age,but I wore it,because everyone wore Hijab in my family.I knew Muslim women are expected to wear Hijab but,I think,wearing Hijab was more about culture than bieng part of my faith. I had a very basic knowledge about Islam.

    Now, as I am learning Islam,I understand wearning Hijab is the command of Allah swt, how can we denty His command? He is our creator and only He knows what is beneficial for us.

    We should not care how people and the society will judge us but should only please Allah, obey His commands and fulfill our duty.

    Living in the west I myself haven’t experienced any discrimination for wearing my Hijab but I know many our sisters went through it.

    I suggest to my sisters,make your intention pure and do any good deeds, only for the sakeof Allah,stay strong,do not lose your Islamic identity and have good character(I tell myself too).

    And to non Muslims,please do not judge but try to understand . Study Islam.

    May Allah strengthen our Iman.Aameen

  • Thank you sister. Walking in someone shoes truly is worthwhile and very brave. You are a brave one!

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