LivingHalal in Action: From Sandra to Salma

CBC broadcasted this story, a good balance to the tragic story of Aqsa Parvez.




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Hijab Stories: Compare and contrast

Story 1: Muslim reverts having problems with their parents because of Hijab.

Below is the email exchange:

assalam alaikum

A sister is having a problem with her mom (and dad
too) for wearing Hijab. First, they said u can't wear
it inside the house, then they said you can't wear it
when going out with us, so she stop going out with
parents, now they are saying you are cutting family
ties.

Their relationship was good before Islam. Now, mom is
crying and dad is arguing and all that.

Any ideas?

Please pray for her.

Email Response:

Wa'alaikum assalaam...

Yeah, I started making dua for her as soon as I read that. SubhanAllah. As if it's not hard enough to start wearing hijab with everyone staring at you and asking questions, when your parents give you a hard time, too, it just wears you down. My mom used to call it my "garb", as in garb meaning a garment, but the way she said it to me it sounded like it was short for "garbage". :P My dad used to joke that people would think he was with a movie star in disguise or a cancer patient covering up her bald head. People would look at me in restaurants and he would keep whispering things like "see, they're all pointing at the poor little cancer girl." He lost his sense of humor over it after a while and won't go out in public with me anymore either. My mom is noticeably embarrassed, but has decided that life goes on and so we go out everywhere together now. All of us reverts get the same problem. My friend Yasmine's mom calls the hijab her "rags". I also got the same line a lot about cutting family ties (usually after THEY had refused to spend time with me, same story), but you have to just keep trying. It is sooooo important in our deen, and you know this already, that we can never break ties with our family, that we have to give them love and respect, and that especially we have to give our mom the highest respect and the best treatment no matter what. Chances are that they will get used to the hijab after a while, or least most of them will. It also helped in my case to try to maintain some of the same sense of style that expresses my personality that they are used to, for their sake and for my own. For example, they tend to freak out way more seeing me in jilbab and a black hijab than to see me wearing long skirts (which I always liked) and a flowery/lacy matching scarf. And when my mom would talk about religion with me and cry, I would just try to give a loving response and explain my reasons for my faith to her, even when I had already explained it again and again. It's not easy. Your family, who loves you more than anybody else, can also make you feel more uncomfortable than anyone else. It's a long process.

Amina

Story 2: According to news reports, a father killed his daughter for not wearing Hijab

Father says killed daughter in Canadian hijab case
Tue Dec 11, 2007 1:50pm EST
TORONTO (Reuters) - A Canadian teenager who was said to have clashed with her father about whether she should wear a traditional Muslim head scarf died of injuries late on Monday, and her father told police he had killed her.

Aqsa Parvez, 16, was found without a pulse in her home in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga earlier on Monday. She was resuscitated by paramedics, treated at two hospitals, and later succumbed to her injuries, police said on Tuesday.

Her father, 57-year-old Muhammad Parvez, has been charged with murder and was remanded back into custody after his first court appearance early on Tuesday.

"There was a 911 call placed by a man who indicated that he had just killed his daughter," Jodi Dawson, a constable with Peel Regional Police, told Reuters. "Everything else is evidentiary in nature and the investigation is in its preliminary stages at this point."

The victim's brother, Waqas Parvez, 26, was arrested and charged with obstructing police.

The story was on the front pages of Canadian newspapers on Tuesday. The newspapers quoted friends and schoolmates of the victim as saying she argued with her father over wearing a hijab, the traditional head scarf worn by Muslim females.

Photos of the teen retrieved from a social networking Web site show her in Western dress with her long dark hair loose.

"She was always scared of her dad, she was always scared of her brother," the Toronto Star quoted a classmate as saying.

Others were quoted as saying the girl wore traditional Muslim dress when leaving the house in the morning, but would change into other clothes in school washrooms.

Dawson said investigators will likely speak to the victim's schoolmates. The father will return for a bail hearing on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Peter Galloway)

Hijab Stories 5: Sister Hiba from Egypt

Tags: Hijab, hijaab, scarf, muslim, moslim, women, stories, documentary, livinghalal.com

More Hijab Stories

Want to participate, click here

Post your comments... so we know you are watching. Jazakum Allahu khairan.

"Islamic-style" Swimsuit

'I felt more welcome in the Bible belt'

Manal Omar had used her five-piece 'Islamic-style' swimsuit for years - in Rio, Washington and Kuala Lumpur - and it had never brought her more than a curious glance. Then she went for a dip in Oxford ...

One Sunday last month I went for my afternoon swim at my local David Lloyd's fitness club wearing the Islamic-style swimsuit I have been wearing for years. The swimsuit has recently been celebrated by media outlets from Newsweek to National Geographic as an innovative way for Muslim women to become more active. As an American-Muslim woman, I have always been determined to be active without compromising my faith. I have been swimming in capital cities across the world from Rio de Janeiro to Washington DC to Kuala Lumpur, and now London. Although I get curious stares, I have never had any awkward moments when I head out for a swim.

Guardian Article

Hijab Story #: Why I Don't Wear Hijab

Tags: Hijab, hijaab, scarf, muslim, moslim, women, stories, documentary, livinghalal.com


More Hijab Stories

Want to participate, click here

Post your comments... so we know you are watching. Jazakum Allahu khairan.

Hijab Stories 4: My Friend's Hijab Story

Tags: Hijab, hijaab, scarf, muslim, moslim, women, stories, documentary, livinghalal.com


More Hijab Stories

Want to participate, click here

Post your comments... so we know you are watching. Jazakum Allahu khairan.

Hijab Story Project Guidelines

Our goal is to present the human side story of Hijab. Basically, the purpose of the "documentary" is to understand why Muslims women wear or NOT wear Hijab.
You need to show the deep inner human reasoning behind this outward choice (wearing or not wearing Hijab).

To produce an audio story, beside the content, sound quality matters GREATLY (read the recording tips).

Everyone has a different story, so tell your story the way you want, but the following are some of the commonly Included Information
-My name is ... (say the name that they want to be known as)
-Age now and age when you practiced Hijab or stop practicing
-Are you a born Muslim and were you or your family practicing Islam?
-Are you are a revert/convert, how long it took you to practice Hijab?
-Do you live in a non-Muslim country, going to public school or Islamic one, working in “corporate America” or Muslim business?
-Born/raise in the west or Muslim country
-Do people wear Hijab in your family?
-How common is Hijab in your country?
-Why I didn’t want to wear it at the beginning, or why I don’t wear it now.
-Why are you wearing Hijab or why not?
-Was it difficult to wear Hijab, how did you start?
-Friends, family, co-workers, … reactions.
-Funny stories: positive or negative
-Any practical tips, like I started wearing Hijab after my sister encouraged me or after going to the Masjid more often...
-Are you going to raise your kids with Hijab? if yes, does that consider forcing them?
-What's your reaction toward media stories that Muslims girls are being forced?

Recording Tips:

When record, don't talk directly to the microphone that may create puffing sounds, talk to the microphone with an angle. But do talk close enough so your volume is loud and clear (best if u can wear a head phone to listen to your own voice while recording) or at least test your recording first.

You can record it using your computer and send the file to us (mp3 format best). Or you can record it on our Web site. http://www.livinghalal.org

WARNING:

Your story will be public, so anything you don’t want to say it, or can’t say it…. THEN DON’T SAY IT.

Legal Note:

By recording and sending your story, you are releasing the copyrights to LivingHalal.com and granting the permission to use it in any current or future work. LivingHalal.com will also have the right to perform any production work that may include but not limited to editing and inclusion of other clips, or transmitting, regenerating the story in any other forms including but not limited to written and electronic formats.

Hijab Story Project

Hijab Story 3: Hijab in American Public School

Asma 10 years old story: Hijab in public school in America



Project details

More Stories

Muslim Kids in America

Our bigger project is exploring the issue of Muslim identity as minority.

This is a good read, a personal experience.

Tags: American Muslim Kids public school minority selfesteem hijab salah peer pressures, صلاة الصلاة مسجد 禮拜 Salat

Hijab Stories 2: East Asian Born Muslim

Umm Abdullah's story: Hijab in East Asia


Project details

More Stories

Hijab Stories Preview #1

assalam alaikum,

We are working on an audio project for hijab stories.

A preview is available below.

If you or someone you know have unique hijab stories to share, please contact us.

In-sha-Allah, we are seeking a wide range of stories. Currently, we are working on these:
-a convert sister, she is a closetted sister and her parents don't know. Everytime she has to pull out her drive way then puts on her hijab.
-one mother inspired to wear hijab after her teenager started to wear hijab in public school
-some muslim countries profile muslims as their race only, like one chinese sister in malaysia was wearing hijab in the majid, but everyone in the masjid was asking her, "Are you Muslim?"

Also non-hijabi stories, why don't they practice hijab? (nothing against them, but we want to understand them). Are they the real oppressed one, because they avoid hijab due to peer pressures?

Hope you can contribute, or at least spread the word.

Jazakum Allahu khairan

LivingHalal.com

PS: To participate, we can send you the questions and you record your answers, or by skype or any IM. So don't worry about your personal phone number being revealed.




More Stories

To participate, click to see the guidelines