Wearing the Hijab in America

Muslims girls face many different issues when it comes to wearing the hijab in public. There are many reasons for these issues. Most of the largest issues come from schools where Muslims girls feel it is their right to be able to wear their hijab. Girls that insist on wearing the hijab are told that they are not conforming to the school uniform policy and are forced to take it off.

One of the most documented cases is that of Shabina Begum. Begum was a pupil at Denbigh High School, in Luton, England. In this situation, Begum took her case to the court along with her brother, stating that the school was violating with her rights to manifest her religion and her right to education. The problem was not that she could not wear the hijab, but she could not wear the jilbab, a form of dress that covers the entire body. She first lost the case, but later won it. The school went on to say that by wearing the jilbab, she was indirectly forcing the other girls in the school to wear it as well. The accuracy of this statement is arguable. It may have been a hollow statement offered by the school as a last minute hope to get extra credibility within the case.

The arguments for and against the wearing of the hijab and other religious dress in public are also widespread. There are those that say people should be allowed to follow their religion no matter what it allows in terms of clothing. Others say that it creates unwanted and unneeded tension in society. There are even some Muslim writers say that Begum was overdoing the amount of modesty required, after all the hijab was allowed, why did she have to take it a step further and wear the jilbab.

Sometimes the stereotype is so strong that just by wearing the hijab, women are getting negative images and representations of Arabs thrust upon them. There are may instances of physical abuse when wearing the hijab in public, especially after 9/11. Before the attacks in New York, hijab wearers were always given stares and looks. They were made to feel slightly out of place, but nothing more. After 9/11 occurred, the violence and hatred started to expose itself to these women. Racial slurs were thrown around and physical violence was used, where tearing off the hijab occurred frequently.

There are also many instances of intersectionality between race, religion and gender. African American women Muslims sometimes have to face the racism and anger of not only being black, but also a Muslim who wears the hijab. These problems are widely documented in newspapers and journals. Amina Wadud, Professor of Islamic Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University and author of Qur'an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman's Perspective, said that "When I wear a hijab, I don't look African and my words are measured with politeness; however, when my hijab is not covering my hair, I become Black and my words lose all value." This shows us how race and religion collide.