‘The ones who wear a headscarf are the worst’ - By Alima Ali

Salam. I pray that you are all in the best of health. I would just like to inform you of the new ‘Shout Box’ on my blog. If you visit: http://www.a-muslimahs-blog.blogspot.com you shall find the widget on the left hand side. If you are for whatever reason unable to get in contact with me via email, then you can use the shout box to post your comment/suggestion/question and I’ll get back to you ASAP.

Now, back to the article. To be honest with you, I wasn’t planning on writing an article for another few days but a recent comment promoted me to write. The title for this article is not really a title but merely a comment that really infuriated me.

Just yesterday we had a family gathering and there we were chatting and laughing away. That was until the conversation turned the latest piece of news that just so happened to be about a MUSLIM GIRL who wears A HEADSCARF and her recent marriage proposal. Your probably thinking ‘ok, so what’s wrong with that’ but being the Pakistanis that we are, the ‘Who, What, Where, When and How’ questions were asked and it was soon ‘uncovered’ that this girl had dated him 2 years before the recent proposal.

I was ’twiddling’ away at scoobies strings and so I wasn’t paying much attention to the conversation. That was until i heard someone say ‘The ones who wear a headscarf are the worst’ and that caught my attention. The person continued to go on about what they described as being ‘A Ninja Costume’. (A Niqaab) I’m not here to ‘name and shame’ but i was disgusted. I may not wear a Niqaab but i have been taught by teachers who do. I have friends who do and it is part of our faith so to hear someone say such an insulting comment made me cringe with anger. And the sad fact is, the comment wasn’t made by some random person off the street who is of a different religion – It was made by a family member.

Alhumdilillah i have broken up for summer holidays but on my last day at sixth form, a Non-Muslim approached me and asked whether he could ask me two questions. His questions were:

1. ‘Why do some Muslims wear a headscarf and others don’t?’
2. ‘Why do many Muslim girls who wear the headscarf have boyfriends despite knowing that it is against their religion?’

I was taken off guard and i spent a few minutes planning out my response which was not easy. I mean, what do you say in response to something like that? I tried my best to explain to him that not all Muslims ‘agree’ on the concept of wearing the headscarf and that just like Christians, not all Muslims are practising. In regard to his second question, i felt quite embarrassed and uncomfortable, mainly because i didn’t know what to say. All i could was say that peer pressure affects some more than others and that was it. I could tell that he was even more confused but nevertheless, he left it at that which brings me onto my next point. If you are going to wear the headscarf, then please where it for the right reasons. Don’t wear it for attention or because your parents are forcing you to wear it because that makes you rebel even more.

The media love to target the Muslim population and they would go to extreme lengths just to give Islam a bad name but why do we insist on making it so much easier for them by degrading our own religion? Do you know how we do this? Let me tell you how. What many of us fail to remember is that as soon as we walk out of our front door, we are automatically representing the hundreds and thousands of Muslims. The way we dress, the way we act and the way that we present ourselves to others is judged by those around us and if we are wearing a headscarf that is highly symbolic and then meeting some guy supposedly in secret, then what impression are we giving to non-Muslims?

Unfortunately, it is the minority who falsely represent the majority and so, we all end up having to suffer from the consequences. If you want to go and commit haram, then could you please not drag Islam down with it because it is not fair on those Muslims who end up being falsely labelled as being ‘the ones who are the worst’ when they are in actual fact doing nothing but practising their religion

And another thing. This question is to those parents who force their daughters to wear the headscarf. How do you expect you daughter to wear and respect the headscarf their mother who is meant to be their role model is neglecting the headscarf herself and only decides to wear a flimsy see through one during Ramadan – And even so, what is the point of that?

I have reached the end of this article but i would like to leave you with an inspirational quote from the book ‘Don’t be Sad’. Until next time, stay safe, remember me in you duas and keep smiling!

Asalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu.

“To the degree that you remember Allah, your heart will be calm and cheerful. His remembrance carries with it the meaning of total dependence upon Him, of turning to Him for aid, of having good thoughts about Him, and of waiting for victory from Him. He is near when supplicated: He hears when He is called and He answers when He is invoked, so humble yourself before Him and ask of Him sincerely’ (P.51 – Don’t be Sad’)