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On Faith Mona Darwich |
Head scarf promotes
spirituality"Hey, Mona, why you wear that thing on your head? Why you cover your hair? Do you have cancer? Did the Taliban make you wear it?"
I remember about 15 years ago, people would ask me, "Is the ayatollah ordering you to put this on?" Depending on what year it is or what Muslim "authority" is mostly talked about in the media, the questions get even funnier. But I do not mind. I like curious people, and you can ask me any question.
Today, I will relieve part of your curiosity and tell you why I wear my head scarf, or as Muslims call it, the "hijab." First, let me make it clear I am neither an authority of Islam nor a scholar. I am talking from my personal perspective and experience.
My father forced me, unfortunately, to wear it when I was about 8 years old. I remember him saying, "You either wear it or you leave the house."
Of course, whatever a parent says goes, at least in my little world. He told me: "A woman is like a diamond. She must be protected." The only thing that I could think of as a child was that the world is a dangerous place and someone is out there to get me, and the head scarf will protect me from evil.
My elementary, middle and high school years were completed in a private Catholic school in Brazil, but being a Muslim girl with a cloth on my head was not hard because I grew up with the same classmates over the years. It was not hard to find me in the middle of the crowd. Sometimes, a non-Muslim classmate would come to me and say, "Mona, your hair is showing." It showed me that my friends cared for and respected my beliefs.
The head scarf is a topic of controversy even among Muslims. For some it is mandatory, and they support their argument with this passage of the Quran: "Oh Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veil) all over their bosoms. That will be better, that they should be known (as free respectable women) so as not to be annoyed."
Muslims have debated over the meaning of this passage. Some believe it is for only Prophet Mohammad's wives and daughters, while others believe it is a message for all Muslim women. Either way, wearing the hijab does not make a female Muslim better than those who choose not to wear it. I believe that a person's deeds are more valuable than how a person dresses. But as we all know, appearance does matter in our world.
The hijab has become part of my identity. It has been 20 years that I am wearing it, and I have tried to see myself without it but I could not. It was like being naked.
As an adult, I choose to wear it for various reasons. For one, it identifies me as a Muslim woman. Secondly, my good deeds accompany me everywhere, meaning I try to counteract the bad actions of terrorists with my good deeds while driving, shopping and helping neighbors or strangers every day. Hijab is the visual way anyone would know I am a Muslim, so I am nicer to others; I represent Islam in the eyes of people regardless of their faith.
The hijab also promotes spiritual modesty. I have to think twice before saying something negative, before cursing and before doing anything wrong because I know others will think, "Oh, so that is what Muslims really do."
Some people ask me, "Mona, aren't you hot wearing this?" I adjust the type of cloth to the climate I am in; I don't wear polyester hijabs in Hawaii. In Hawaii there are no stores that sell hijabs precisely, but there are places that sell scarves.
There are many Muslim women in Hawaii who do not wear the hijab, and they are from all walks of life. They are my friends and must not be ostracized for their choice by anyone. I believe in the freedom of choice and respect it.
If I were to ask you to remember one thing from all this hijab talk, it is that the idea behind it is modesty from the inside out. And what is considered modesty in one culture might not be necessarily modest in another, and thus the difference of interpretations for the use of the hijab.
Mona Darwich is a senior at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. She and her husband are members of the Muslim Association of Hawaii and of the military Muslim community on Oahu. She is active with the Key Volunteers Network at Kaneohe Marine Base Hawaii.
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