My Hijab: What Does America Tell Me?

Two weeks ago I started a summer job in an affluent part of the suburbs. The summer camp was packed with kids of all ages and counselors from all professions. On my first day I was looking for the main office to sign in and meet my "client." It immediately became obvious after a quick glance at my surroundings that I was the only Muslim in the house. A better second look made it apparent that I was one out of 3 minorities at the camp.

I stuck out of the crowd like a sore thumb. My bright turquoise scarf, my long jeans and layered dress was too modest compared to the tankinis and shorts sported everywhere.

From my experiences of being in similar situations, one of two things always happen: 1) either people are way "too" nice welcoming you into the new situation; 2) or people ignore you and pretend that you aren't there to avoid being caught looking curiously.

**

Two weeks later, the kids and staff have become accustomed to seeing the "covered" lady on the premises. Yesterday I wore a bright pink scarf with my Egyptian earrings. A number of young girls stopped me to praise my outfit and choice of accessories. A little girl not older than five, stopped by the tree I sat under to introduce herself. We chatted for a bit and parted ways after exchanging names and the normal pleasantries. The little girl was so fixated the earring her mommy wore that looked just like mine and couldn't I accept a little flower she just picked out of the grass from her magical garden, I wondered if she saw that I was "different" at all?

During lunch, one of the little boys asked where I was from. When I stated I was from Los Angeles, born near Hollywood, he gave me that look of "are you serious?" When I further explained that the scarf was a religious practice and my hair color was the same as my eye brows, he looked satisfied and moved on. I couldn't let him go without asking this question.

Me: "Have you ever seen a Muslim before?"
Little boy: "Never!"

**

Now, many weak Muslims in the world use the excuse of being a little different as means to blame the universe for their failure to succeed. I've heard numerous accounts of how a person didn't get the job because at the interview they realized that he/she were Muslim and it's racist world like that! Poor Muslims of the world! I am far detached from these notions because a piece of cloth or a name won't stop me from my dreams. And more importantly our faith teaches us to rely on Allah, the One. So why should I worry about people since they control nothing?

**

The little boy at the camp yesterday made me realize that I am different, and how uncomfortable it might be for some people to encounter something new for the very first time. I imagined that it does take a lot of courage to face a crowd of 400 who have similar backgrounds and upbringings. With every new encounter one must prove to be just as efficient, intelligent and normal.

**

This last week, a friend of a friend, a local Alexandrian, fellow classmate, an expecting mother, sister and daughter, Marwa El Sherbeini was murdered, in a German court because of her hijab and everything it symbolizes. She was stabbed 18 times. Her husband tried to rescue her and was shot in the leg while the murderer was allowed to complete his deed. Marwa was in court suing the man for making discriminatory comments to her son and self. She was fighting for her right to freedom, to exist like everyone else.

Yet she was murdered; her husband widowed and son orphaned.

**

I read this account from a fellow blogger that has left me shaking and grieving for the hate in the world.

**

As a Muhajabah in America, I feel safe in most places. I feel welcomed and respected. But sometimes that doesn't always hold true. I know the looks or the silent threats. I've been followed in the past by fanatics who wanted to take care of me for good; mistreated at a hospital and given the worst care; targeted at work or Uni. But those are very minor incidents compared to the greater good I've seen in the 8 years as a Hijabi or Muhajabah in America.

It's not about being Muslim or being a woman or a minority in the majority White land. It's the principle of freedom: To be, To practice and To Coexist.

Between the Old and New

Between the Old and New, originally uploaded by Organica59.

$1 Cold Water, the Gay Kissing Muslim and ISNA 2009 Bazaar Review

I spent the Fourth of July weekend in Washington D.C. sandwiched between the Capitol and Obama's new crib, the White House. I had packed a carefully coordinated outfit for the holiday weekend: a tee adorned with the U.S. Flag, a white dress to go under and a simple red scarf. I was a walking, talking and breathing Muslim version of the American Flag.

I checked into my hotel and decided to head first to the infamous ISNA bazaar. My goal was to buy as many funny tees from Hijabman's booth and get there before the crazy aunties bombarded him from every angle. I wore the "Make Chai, Not War" tee while sightseeing D.C.. I got a lot of positive attention from folks. Who would have thought that I would make a political statement EVER?

I wandered the bazaar for another 30 minutes and decided to leave to tour the area first. I met up with some friends and we set off to the Capitol. We walked a great deal and not before long I was thirsty and needed to hydrate myself. We walked for hours trying to find one vendor but with no avail. After 3 hours of searching, we found a tent that sold a variety of beers, pita sandwiches and $3 water bottles. Yes, you heard it right: 3 fricking dollars!

My friend and I joked that it would be a great business opportunity to buy a case of water, stick it in a cooler and compete by selling our bottles for $1 on the streets of D.C.

The joke turned into reality when the next day my friend bought an actual case and executed the plan. We made signs and stood between the Convention Centre and the hotel nearby. In an hour, we had sold 22 botles and made $18 pure profit from Muslims and cars at the light. It was awesome haggling and making money we later spent on a fancy dinner at Vapiano.

On our way back from touring the area, we stopped by a little park. A man sitting on one of the benches shouted a "Salaamu alaikum" our way to which we promptly responded. When I turned around to see who I was sending my peace to, I couldn't stop giggling. It was a Muslim homeless man making out with another man. I couldn't stop laughing at the IRONY and walked away with a smile. Only at ISNA will you experience life at its fullest!

Now back to the bazaar. Since I haven't attended enough sessions to properly review the conference as a whole, I will leave that for others to do.

Before I state my opinion, let me make you aware of the different items and services offered at the Bazaar.

-Financial services
-Books
-Clothing/Jewlery
-Matrimonial Services
-Food Items
-Muslim Stationary
-Muslim Decor Pieces
-School/Masjid Fundraising
-ETC.

On a positive note, the companies that offered various Muslim stationary items were impressive. They offered Eid cards, stamps, buttons that say "I'm fasting" and other cute ribbons that would be an awesome gift during Ramadan or Eid. The quality of products were reasonable for the price. I especially liked a certain booth that offered handmade calligraphy greeting cards, custom-made marriage certificates and bookmarks with Quranic verses.

Some food items were also exceptional like the honey with black seeds, halal beef jerky and other items that aren't found in regular food stores.

Now when it comes to clothing it was an ABSOLUTE catastrophe. The one booth sold "You Got Hijab?" tees for women weren't Islamically made, i.e. if anyone wore them they were skin tight and weren't modest or you had to be a size ZERO to make it modest. But on a positivge note, they did offer a long sleeve shirt that was longer that may work for some women. Some of the speciality boutiques that sold long sleeve dresses/shirts for professional Muslimahs looked great from far away. Once you got close to the fabric, stitching and price tag you would want to run! I was displeased by the materials many of the Muslim fashion designers used: SPANDEX. The quality was so poor and the prices were so high, I was ready to buy an entire wordrobe from WALMART and be thankful after seeing the rubbish they were selling for $50, $75 and $100.

A large number of the booths sold ethnic Indian/Pakistani clothing for bargains like 3 Sarees for $100. The scarves sold at these Paki/Indian places were see through, slippery and inexpensive. They sold them for whopping $5 a piece which is a good deal if you can handle the material.

The Abayas/Jilbabs and men's thobes were in abundunce. They are same brands I've seen in other bazaars, mostly imported from Emirates or Jordan. To get a good price on these Middle Eastern items you would need to haggle a bit with the seller, and the more you buy the better the deals.

Scarves were in abundunce, but they were more geared towards Pakistani and Indian women. The fabrics were fancier that suited more of a Shalware Kameese more than an outfit put together from Old Navy. The beautiful turkish cotton scarves were missing from the bazaar. I found the plain square hijabs that are so out of style or the over-sized wool pashminas that are too warm for the summer. The only hijabs I bought were from an Egyptian vendor, My Ummah, who happens to be related to a fellow blogger, MamaMona. I bought the simple plain solid color wrap pashminas that were made of lighter material. He sold them for $4.99 a piece which is extremely reasonable and compatible with the prices on Canal Street in New York City. I was disappointed with the cotton work shirts he sold. The cut and style made the shirts look like sleepwear instead of professional wear! The store kept its inventory pretty basic: black abayas, cotton men's abayas, solid color cotton shirts and solid color wrap hijabs.

In a booth nearby, I stopped by a vendor who sold the famous abayas from the UK-based online store, Silk Route. Although the Abaya designs were made for active Muslimahs, the quality didn't match the expensive price. I would assume that is due to the expensive import costs. However, I was pleased to see Muslim designers think "outside" the traditional box of Muslim designs. I am positive that this is only the beginning to an explosive new line of modest clothing that will be available to the mainstream as the new generation of Muslimahs use their experiences, needs and current fashion to create a fusion of new Muslimah fashion.

My favorite of the bazaar were the number of t-shirt booths available with funny, catchy lines. My favorite was "I am not a Terrorist, I just look like one!" I spent most of my money on t-shirts. The average cost was $15 for a short-sleeve tee. Compared to the cheap toursity t-shirts sold on the streets of D.C. for a whopping $5 piece or 3 for $10, itt was hard not to pass. But it's understandable that the small Muslim business doesn't produce as much, thus cost is higher.

Another favorite was the Khan-El-Khaleeli Store where I bought a number of gifts for family and myself. The traditional silver earlings were amazing and for only $5 you get a piece of Egypt on your ears :-).

Overall, ISNA bazaar was a fun experience. I enjoyed the children book collection. I carefully selected books produced in the Western world. The most popular were books published in UK and Canada. I stayed away from the traditional U.S. based IQRA publishing house for my own reasons. I bought a number of story books that I will be reviewing separately in the near future.

If you have any reflections from your own experience, please share!

P.S: A moment to remember at ISNA.



The line was pretty long for this particular booth. The funniest part is that there were no young men in line. Only young ladies and their respected fathers.

I wonder where all the single brothers were at?

Bribing My Dentist: Part Deux

Check out last year's bribe!

The Summer Job

I didn't plan for this job, it sorta came my way unexpectedly. I was planning to be a happy jobless person for the 2 month summer break but on my third day it got old. It didn't feel as refreshing wearing my PJ's all day nor sitting doing nothing. My glorious plans to pursue certain hobbies, exercise, and see people never worked out. Instead I sat in the same spot all day watching myself turn into what they call a "potato couch" or Facebook game junkie (stalker).

The job is located in the perfect world of suburbia where kids are way over-educated, indulged and stimulated at all times. Their parents paid more than 4 grand for the 8 weeks of day camp heaven. They are guaranteed attention, love and lots of food. LOTS OF IT.

Although I am assigned to one specific little boy, I still get to interact and observe other children in the camp. I must confess, it was difficult adjusting the first couple of days. Children at this camp are courteous; they follow directives closely; and can work individually or in groups without any problems. I am yet to hear a curse word. I think the worst I've seen was a tennis ball hit a boy on the back BY ACCIDENT.

I was a little taken back by my own reaction. I expected violence, defiance and disrespect. It's strange how my 6 month experience has changed my expectations of the world. The worst of my worries is falling into the swimming pool by accident or not putting enough sunscreen on to avoid the hijab-tan line!

What a change in pace. Life sure does take sudden turns.

P.S: This is a temporary summer position in case you were wondering.

Blueberries

Blueberries, originally uploaded by Organica59.

Feeling Domestic

Feeling Domestic, originally uploaded by Organica59.