Muslim Women in the west, easily targeted and culturally stuck

By Rasha Almaqaleh

  It has become obvious that Muslims living in the West have become a controversial issue. And with the growing anti- Islam wave in the Western societies, the hate incidents against Muslims have clearly increased. The easiest and ‘most convenient’ target of such street based Islamophobic attacks is Muslim women wearing a headscarf, ‘Hijab’. The reason behind that is that Muslim women are easily identified; Hijab determines visibly their Islamic identity in an atmosphere filled with growing fear and hate of anything described ‘Islamic’. 

  Therefore, many Muslim women wearing Hijab are afraid to leave their houses. And when they do, they don’t feel safe out there. So, is there anything those women could do to protect themselves against the nasty attacks, which vary between verbal abuse and physical assaults? Do they really have to go in public wearing Hijab regardless of the consequences?

  Experts always warn us from sharing too much information online because it makes us easily targeted by scammers, burglars, advertisers, and stalkers, but does this only apply to virtual reality or it can also be extended to real life? When Muslim women walk around in western societies wearing headscarves, they give away a very private piece of information about themselves, their religious beliefs, in a secular society that considers asking about one’s religion ‘rude’ or unnecessary. Moreover, when Muslim women walk around with Hijab, they make themselves an easy target to the troubled members of the society who may find it a good opportunity to exercise their abusive behavior such as physical assaults and verbal harassment.

  What really annoys me is that Muslim men who live in the west can simply choose to dress in a ‘religion-free’ way or I may call it a ‘cosmopolitan style’. For example, they can simply wear jeans, T-shirts, jackets, etc. Such way of dressing doesn’t reveal their religious beliefs. Even though Muslim women living in the west can also wear jeans, stylish blouses, jackets etc., once they put on a headscarf, they are immediately categorized and stereotyped! So, why don’t Muslim women have the choice to walk around dressing ‘neutrally’ without declaring their religious identity in such an alarming atmosphere?

  As a Muslim woman who lives in the west, I find that Hijab is ‘overrated’ by Muslims and non-Muslims. Both sides have given too much meaning to a mere piece of cloth. On one hand, Muslims consider Hijab as a distinguishing mark between Muslim and non- Muslim women.  According to their interpretations, a ‘true’ Muslim woman must cover her hair; this is regarded as a sign of modesty, religious commitment, and authenticity!

  On the other hand, Hijab, from a Western perspective, has become a warning sign of terrorism, oppression, ignorance, and sometimes vulnerability. “What is the first thing that comes into your mind when you see a Muslim woman wearing a headscarf?” This is a question I usually ask Western women in friendly occasions in order to get a clear idea of how they feel about this controversial issue. The answer that I usually get is:  “the first thing that pumps into my head is: does she really want to wear it or she is just forced to?”  

  I have to say that many Muslim women choose to wear Hijab because they believe that God instructs them to do so. It is part of their belief-system. Therefore, whether they ‘want’ to wear it or not becomes irrelevant. They do it because they believe it’s a divine instruction and they will follow it even if they don’t ‘want’ to.  I know that because I’ve been there myself, too. But, after I paused and reflected, I now beg to differ! 

  In Quran, there is no such a specific instruction that orders women to strictly cover their hair. Muslims are manipulated to think this way. However, I will assume, as a Muslim and for the sake of the argument, that their claim is true. My question is: do Muslim women have to wear Hijab regardless of how it exposes them to harm, physically, emotionally and socially?

  Some Muslim women argue that they wear hijab to protect themselves from the impolite stares. While this could be true in the Islamic countries, it doesn’t work in Western societies. By wearing Hijab in such societies, not only do Muslim women expose themselves to obtrusive stares but also to acts of hatred such as spitting (which I myself experienced!), verbal insults and physical assaults! What kind of protection they are seeking for by wearing Hijab in a hostile atmosphere like this where the offences against Muslims are increasing day after day?! If they want to talk protection then they should consider taking Hijab off and having a neutral look when they are in public. They would feel a lot safer this way and their safety should always come first. 

  Another negative side of wearing Hijab in western societies is that it mostly exposes Muslim women to bias in job interviews . For example, when an employer interviews a Hijab-wearing Muslim woman, they most probably will not hire her even if she has the necessary qualifications and skills. In addition to that, if she is a new immigrant hunting for an apartment, she in all likelihood won’t easily get one. That’s because once homeowners see Hijab, they feel worried and prefer not to rent their property to someone they are scared of, someone they don’t trust. They wouldn’t say that out loud, of course. Instead, they would come up with  different excuses to reject her application. 

  It’s true that there are laws that clearly and strictly prohibit all types of discrimination. In addition to that, freedom is one of the most important values in Western countries and everyone is free to practice their religion.  However, no laws can control or alter how people ‘feel’ or ‘think’ about each other’s differences. Such feelings and opinions are crucial to coexistence because they matter the most in the daily social interactions. 

  We live in a global world today  where the  social media networks and instant messaging applications make it easier and faster for stereotypes, prejudices, and misleading information to spread around the world with one click! The results are: fears deepen and hatred increases. Consequently, feelings of mistrust and hostility cast a shadow over any real intentions of acceptance and coexistence even in the most civilized societies.

  Therefore, when someone moves to a new society, all what they should focus on is how to live in harmony with their new surroundings and how to break as many barriers as possible, instead of  holding onto the old traditions of their original culture regardless of how their new society receives them. Otherwise, the newcomers will end up being isolated in the new culture or at best isolated as a community.

  Conversely, many well-educated and strong Muslim women living in the West insist on wearing Hijab in hopes of presenting a good image of Islam and defeating the stereotype or at least reducing it.  But what happens in actuality is that they go unnoticed no matter how hard they try. That’s because of two reasons: first, the stereotype is really so big, bigger than their efforts. Second, whenever there is a stereotype, people fail to see beyond it.  That's why some Muslim girls start their own campaigns, websites, etc. to support Hijab-wearing Muslim women. Sadly,their
 efforts do not change that much in reality. 

  Another important thing to remember is that religion is not something we have to defend or make look better; it is not propaganda. Religion is there to give us peace of mind and make us live our lives in the best way. It is not supposed to complicate our lives. So, if we find ourselves struggling and not having an easy life and we are in conflict with the society around us because of our so-called religious practices, it is absolutely time to pause and reflect, it is time to question our way of thinking. 

  For that reason, I don’t believe that anyone should spend much time and energy trying to change what other people think about them. Stereotypes will always be stereotypes and there is not much we can do to change that. In other words, Muslim women should only focus on themselves as persons, not on their general image as Muslims. They cannot control what some Muslims might do. And of course among Muslims, just like any other group, there are good and bad people. As a result, it will be much easier and more effective, if they stop thinking of themselves as members of a community and start looking at themselves as individuals in a society.

 However, this is not an easy task and Western people should understand that Muslim women are under too much cultural pressure. They find themselves stuck between two completely different cultures, the original and the host ones. If they choose to protect themselves and make things a bit easier by ‘culturally’ compromising, they usually face harsh judgments from family, friends or their Muslim communities which most likely wouldn’t consent to such an act.

 On the other hand, if Muslim women decide to hold on to their old traditions regardless of the new society, they will definitely face prejudices, stereotypes , discrimination and sometimes, as in France, ‘official’ intolerance and public humiliation. The weird thing is that many Western people believe that Hijab-wearing Muslim women are oppressed. However, a lot of them don’t do much to help empower those ‘oppressed’ women! Instead, they give them skeptical, and sometimes hostile, stares when they see them on the streets, they don’t hire them even if they are skilled, and they don’t rent their properties to them!

  In the final analysis, we, Muslim women, find ourselves judged by East and West on our appearances and not on who we truly are. However, we need to know that we can, and sometimes we have to, culturally compromise in order to protect ourselves from any possible harm, including sizing us up at first glance and defining us. We should keep in mind that “To define is to limit”, and with limitations it is hard to move on and go further.