[JulietOreira]

'It's only a piece of cloth'

Can a woman in a hijab still get a taxi? asks Yvonne Ridley

Sunday December 12, 2004

The Observer


Wearing a headscarf is no big deal... unless you happen to be a Muslim, in which
case this simple piece of cloth arouses opinions, hostile glances and worse.

When I converted to Islam I knew I would have to embrace the Muslim head-dress.
As for many converts, it was a huge stumbling block and I found all sorts of
excuses not to wear the hijab - basically a symbol of modesty and a very public
statement. When I finally did, the repercussions were enormous. All I did was
put on a headscarf, but from that moment I became a second-class citizen.

The reaction from some people was unbelievable. I knew I would become a target
for abuse from the odd Islamaphobic oik, but I didn't expect so much open
hostility from complete strangers. I can no longer be sure of getting a black
cab in London... something I had taken for granted for many years. Let me give
you some examples from the past two weeks: Edgware Road in London, an area with
a substantial Arab population: three black cabs, orange 'for hire' lights
glowing, drive past one after another. It's about 11.30pm and I'm freezing and
desperate to get home. A fourth taxi stops to discharge a white passenger. I
reach the vehicle and tap the window, beaming from ear-to-ear at my saviour.
The driver turns and stares hard, his face contorted into hatred and rage, and
drives off.

Last month, pre-hijab, he would have returned the smile; now, in his eyes, I
have been transformed into a terrorist. Next day, horrified by the events of
the previous evening, I tell my story to a non-Muslim friend who is not
sympathetic. 'Well if you go around looking like a Chechen Black Widow what do
you expect?' she says. But black is my favourite colour. It's just that my
little black dress has become a big black dress. That afternoon, I change my
black hijab in favour of a paler silk turban-look which still covers my head.
Very Vivienne Westwood, I think. I get my black cab without hassle, just a mere
wave of the arm and I am taken to the West End for lunch with a very close
friend who happens to be Jewish. It was the first time she had seen me in a
hijab but she just laughs and makes some nice compliments. In her eyes I am the
same person she became friends with five years ago. No change. What a relief.

Later that day I meet some Muslim friends who also have not seen me for some
time. They are excited to see me wearing a hijab, but tell me I look like a
cross between a cancer victim and an Israeli settler. I report the unsavoury
incident in the Edgware Road which had reduced me to tears.

'Welcome to the real world. This is what we have to put up with 24/7,' one tells
me. There is more laughter at my apparent naivety, but I am puzzled and peeved
at their acceptance that this is the way of things in Britain today. A couple
of days later I attend Yasser Arafat's memorial at London's Friends' Meeting
House and dress appropriately in black with matching hijab showing a small
sliver of Palestinian kaffiyeh across the forehead.

I may as well be sporting a Hamas-green 'jihad' tattoo across my temple from the
openly hostile glares I receive from some passengers on London's Underground.
Feeling uncomfortable and intimidated I get off at Baker Street and go to a
taxi bay for the shortish journey down Euston Road. 'It's just across the road,
why don't you walk?' barks the cabbie before returning to his newspaper.

There have been other incidents including one taxi driver's, 'Don't leave a bomb
in the back seat,' or, 'Where's bin Laden hiding?' There are also amusing
moments such as being congratulated in Regent's Park mosque for my excellent
grasp of English.

But, in the eyes of many, I no longer am a real person. Waiters talk loudly and
slowly if I am on my own, and if I am with a non-hijabi female, she is asked
what I would like to eat. So, when I see a woman wearing a hijab, regardless of
whether I know her, I smile and say in Arabic, 'As-Salaam-Alaikum,' which means,
'Peace unto you'. I know that the rest of her encounters that day may well be
hostile.

[Tryphadz]

salam alikum,

this phenomena is interesting. When I said to non-muslim from my family here they told me automativally - you will see how fast you will go down in scale of society if you start wearing hijab.
They were partly right and partly not. I also became may be 2nd class citisen because it it reality how society is set up. May be this is place where we really are. It might include two views
First - prejudice and caution, pride, uncertainity...
Second - truth that muslim woman is not encouraged to play prime role outside home, she is discouraged by many muslims not to take leading positions or positions required lot time concentrating to work.

I wish to Yvonne and to all of us lot of patience, opportunity to show who we really are, to stay nice hijabis or niqabis

w alikum assalam

[JulietOreira]

salam alikum,

this phenomena is interesting. When I said to non-muslim from my family here they told me automativally - you will see how fast you will go down in scale of society if you start wearing hijab.
They were partly right and partly not. I also became may be 2nd class citisen because it it reality how society is set up. May be this is place where we really are. It might include two views
First - prejudice and caution, pride, uncertainity...
Second - truth that muslim woman is not encouraged to play prime role outside home, she is discouraged by many muslims not to take leading positions or positions required lot time concentrating to work.

I wish to Yvonne and to all of us lot of patience, opportunity to show who we really are, to stay nice hihabis or niqabis

w alikum assalam

Aamin to your dua' sister.

[Tryphadz]

salam alikum,
thank you brother, inshallah

BTW please do not stop sending your blog entries within threads

w salam

[inchaaruutaa]

i know this is a tad off topic but cud u do a blog entry on the fundraising im doing for the womens refuge?

[Kolokireo]

Thanks for sharing
Being as Muslim i would like to say it is not a big problem you have faced. think about the Holy Prophet (s.w.a) life when he started to give message to the non Muslim and their action were worst.



Umahat tul Mumineen have followed the message of Allah and act upon it and today Muslim women have to study their life how they survive. inshAllah it would help to gain the knowledge about Islam.

JazzakillAllah

[Tryphadz]

salam alikum,
thank you for reminding, you are absolutely right with what you say.
Nowadays situation is different, but we still have big responsibility to pass correct message of islam to west, the problems are sofisticatecd and hidden sometimes. I am afraid sometimes to make more damage then to bring positive view on islam to non-believers.

I think Tunisia needs more of islamic education - even many people there refuse it, as they think their islamic education is most eccelent in the world - and freedom in religion, we will see more after election which are in October. This is anyway sensitive issue- what do you think?

w salam

[ElegeExcest]

Subhanallah. A sister from Tunisia said that it was hard to go to collage, because you could not wear hijab. So many girls didn't go to collage.

She also told me, that if you wore hijaab in the streets, the police would make you tore it off.

[GoodLover]

salam alikum,
thank you for reminding, you are absolutely right with what you say.
Nowadays situation is different, but we still have big responsibility to pass correct message of islam to west, the problems are sofisticatecd and hidden sometimes. I am afraid sometimes to make more damage then to bring positive view on islam to non-believers.

I think Tunisia needs more of islamic education - even many people there refuse it, as they think their islamic education is most eccelent in the world - and freedom in religion, we will see more after election which are in October. This is anyway sensitive issue- what do you think?

w salam

Muslims will win in elections either in October or in the coming years. Whenever there are fair and free elections, the Muslim Brotherhood wins elections both in Arab lands and in North Africa.

[UvgpXK0J]

Assalaamu alaykum,
MashaAllah wa allahu akbar! We´ve seen this trend in many Muslim countries the past 5-10 years mashaAllah. Egypt is another example of a society that went from having quite few hijabis in the street, to a lot of young women putting the hijab on. MashaAllah.

[JulietOreira]

salam alikum,
thank you for reminding, you are absolutely right with what you say.
Nowadays situation is different, but we still have big responsibility to pass correct message of islam to west, the problems are sofisticatecd and hidden sometimes. I am afraid sometimes to make more damage then to bring positive view on islam to non-believers.

I think Tunisia needs more of islamic education - even many people there refuse it, as they think their islamic education is most eccelent in the world - and freedom in religion, we will see more after election which are in October. This is anyway sensitive issue- what do you think?

w salam

I agree with you sister. We need to use wisdom in our da'wah while refusing to compromise in our 'amaal.

[JulietOreira]

Subhanallah. A sister from Tunisia said that it was hard to go to collage, because you could not wear hijab. So many girls didn't go to collage.

She also told me, that if you wore hijaab in the streets, the police would make you tore it off.

That is why this news makes us so happy.

[Thomaswhitee]

After reading the current Occasional Joke, having the Drone attacks in mind, I am feeling like crying-not laughing.
Wassalam

Pathan went for job interview.
Manager: Where is Abu Dhabi?
Pathan: Jis Qabrastan mein hamari Ammi Dabi, bus us se thodi door hi Abu Dabi. The cemetery in which mother is buried father too is buried at a short distance.

Abu Dhabi=the well known city
Ammi Dabi=mother was buried
Abu Dabi=Father was buried.

[Thomaswhitee]

Is the word Pioneer in the latest post correctly linked?
Wassalam

[JulietOreira]

Is the word Pioneer in the latest post correctly linked?
Wassalam

Actually it should not be linked at all. Let me see.

[JulietOreira]

Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) predicted about the later times, times such as the age wherein we find ourselves - that holding onto Deen would be like holding a burning coal in one's hand.

This is what the upholders of the Sunnah, especially those who after realisation turn from error of modernism towards the light of the Sunnah are experiencing today. From all sides they are confronted by the Satanic onslaught of forces aligned against the Sunnah of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) either due to misunderstanding, inadequate Islamic knowledge, un-Islamic upbringing, inferiority complex or the impact of material sciences with their roots anchored in atheistic theories and doctrines or scepticism.


In such barren grounds, such surroundings of hostility, and unfriendliness towards the beloved and sacred practices of our beloved Nabi (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) it becomes of fundamental importance for us to renew doubly our efforts in the noble endeavour to plant the seeds of the forgotten, trampled upon and murdered Sunnah, so that these noble institutions of piety may once again flourish with strength and glitter in the generations to come.


In raising this Torch of the Sunnah, the upholders of the Deen should take reassurance and hope from the following declaration of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), "He who clings to my Sunnah when my Ummah is corrupt, will receive the Reward of a hundred Martyrs." (Mishkat).

Today, in these times of religious turmoil and anti-sunnahism, all lovers of the Sunnah have don the mantle of struggle against the onslaughts of the irreligious. And, the best and the strongest form of struggle in the struggle to revive and preserve the Sunnah of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) is to cloak ourselves with the practices of the Sunnah. It devolves upon us to give practical expression to these Sunnah's, no matter how 'little' or how 'insignificant' they may seem to the man drowned in the deception of this worldly life.

One such Sunnah and requisite of our beautiful Deen is the Islamic headgear and Hijab. The Hijab has elevated women to the peak of respect and has saved a woman from disgrace and humiliation, given her a chance to be treated like an honourable human being and not a mere sex object for the lustful desire of bestial miscreants.
Banning hijab is banning modesty and decency. There is no doubt that those behind it have the fervour of a crusader.

Spiritual Purity

Hijab is a Divine imposition calculated for the maintenance if Islamic human fibre. This fibre remains intact and develops only with spiritual purity. Without Hijab spiritual purity and progress are impossible-unattainable goals.

Thus spiritual and moral purification are the goals of Hijab. When the Qur'anic law of Hijab is abandoned 'ri'jz' (filth and immorality) becomes the order of the day. The catastrophic consequences of immorality, moral filth are too glaring and prevalent to require any elucidation. Every intelligent person will acknowledge that the physical diseases stemming from promiscuity and the ascendance of vices pertaining to sexual misconduct are the direct products of Hijab abandonment.

May Allah Ta'ala make us among those who seek to imitate the sacred life and example of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam). Ameen.

Courtesy of Islamic Tarbiyah Academy

[JulietOreira]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti18I...layer_embedded

[mobbemeatiedy]

^^ this was in france unfortunately. The police even went to palpate the whole body of the sister.

[Thomaswhitee]

Google Translation of the Uploader's Comment
Police arrest a sister with jilbebe There is nothing to faireQUELLE ABOMINATION! Testimony of a Muslim woman aged 32. This Sunday, July 31, 2011 at 18h, my friend and I were walking peacefully toward the station of Aulnay sous Bois. Arrivals near the car park of the station, a police car stops at our level and the officer shouted: "remove me it is forbidden !!!", I replied that one of my rights, I can dress as I see fit. He added, "do you want me to control?", I reply that I did not bother them. Something that he probably did not appreciate. He and his two fellow officers down the vehicle and there begins a dialogue of the deaf. The same officer reminds me that it is forbidden to hide my face and I told him that I have the right to practice my religion as I understand it both in public and private space. Another car arrived and three police officers including a woman, come out. The woman approaches me, pulling on a pair of gloves and tells me she'll feel. To my surprise they did not asked to identify myself, so I decided to call my lawyer. Nowhere in the circular Guéant, it is referred to palpation especially since I agreed to identify myself and to make the identification, I was therefore entitled to refuse to palpation. Astonished at my call to the lawyer, the police get together and pass calls to their superiors for their vehicles. From there begins a great discrepancy between them, namely ... I feel or not?. I decided to accept the conditional palpation to avoid my private parts, something they have refused. They decide to embark on the police station in Sevran, without asking me to identify myself, or make the identification. M'empoignent They put me in handcuffs, after an image ..

[JulietOreira]

Google Translation of the Uploader's Comment
Police arrest a sister with jilbebe There is nothing to faireQUELLE ABOMINATION! Testimony of a Muslim woman aged 32. This Sunday, July 31, 2011 at 18h, my friend and I were walking peacefully toward the station of Aulnay sous Bois. Arrivals near the car park of the station, a police car stops at our level and the officer shouted: "remove me it is forbidden !!!", I replied that one of my rights, I can dress as I see fit. He added, "do you want me to control?", I reply that I did not bother them. Something that he probably did not appreciate. He and his two fellow officers down the vehicle and there begins a dialogue of the deaf. The same officer reminds me that it is forbidden to hide my face and I told him that I have the right to practice my religion as I understand it both in public and private space. Another car arrived and three police officers including a woman, come out. The woman approaches me, pulling on a pair of gloves and tells me she'll feel. To my surprise they did not asked to identify myself, so I decided to call my lawyer. Nowhere in the circular Guéant, it is referred to palpation especially since I agreed to identify myself and to make the identification, I was therefore entitled to refuse to palpation. Astonished at my call to the lawyer, the police get together and pass calls to their superiors for their vehicles. From there begins a great discrepancy between them, namely ... I feel or not?. I decided to accept the conditional palpation to avoid my private parts, something they have refused. They decide to embark on the police station in Sevran, without asking me to identify myself, or make the identification. M'empoignent They put me in handcuffs, after an image ..

The translation is very difficult to understand. But you get the general idea.