I'm a hijab wearing Muslim woman, ask me anything!

[hijabijabi]

Happy to answer all questions, but most comfortable with questions about my experiences - I can try to answer questions about Islam but am no expert, and other Muslims may hold different opinions.
I'll only be checking the thread intermittenty, so my answers might not be immediate.

Exactly! Your rights to practice Islam are protected. Whereas a Christian, Jew, Hindu, Sikh, or any other religion would be prosecuted in most Islamic countries. How does that make you feel? Doesn't that tar Islam with a very ugly brush if it's so scared of other religions that the powers to be are willing to literally scare people to death from practicing their own faith or god forbid talk about it?

OP I’m also a white British concert and I applaud you for sticking with the hijab and belief. I tried wearing hijab and I couldn’t stand the judgement and extra attention. I think white hijabis get it worse than ones born into the religion and I think you are being very brave.
I have a few questions , how did your parents take to you wearing it and how do people who know you react when they saw you wearing it for the first time?

• convert

Female circumcision is a North African tradition, not Islamic.

Immigrant; non Muslims are allowed to practice their religion in Muslim countries they’re not allowed to proselytise.

Have you been campaigning against our government maintain ties with these opressive regimes and selling them arms and doing trade deals?

You really should if you care so much about women’s rights in these countries.

immigrant the rights of others to practise their faith are protected in Islam, we come back again to the fact that most Muslim countries are not good examples.

headstone I've had it easy because I live in a multi cultural area, I'm also slightly oblivious to what' going on around me when i'm out and about, which might also help!

My parents found it hard it first, but now seem fine with it.

I found the first few weeks hard, but while people were surprised, no one was really negative.

What made you revert

I couldn't agree more about British Muslims becoming increasingly devout. I have been in the ME for 22 years. Over the past 7 or so years, we have seen a massive rise in British Muslims in Qatar where I work and in Dubai where my husband works.(and yes its crap being under seige and not being able to live together!) He has a colleague who has just had a baby girl. She was pit in a hijab before anyone was allowed to visit. I think as racism and general hatred towards Muslims increases in the UK, people feel less safe than ever and depend more on a more literal interpretation.

Fuzzy even talking about another religion is often viewed as efforts to proselytise. So yes, people are punished severely for not being Muslim. A friend was not even allowed to bring in a cross to a recent trip to a Muslim country. It was confiscated at the airport after hours of grilling as to whether she was planning to proselytise people. Are Muslim officials so scared no one will remain Muslim if given the chance? Is this why they banned proselytism? Also removal of freedom of speech is rather bad isn't it?

JJS putting a baby girl in hijab is ridiculous - that's not a literal interpretation of Islam, as you would find nowhere in Islamic texts that suggests doing that - it's just wrong.
I agree with your last sentence to some extent.

That's funny. In Doha there are more nativity scenes than baubles in Carrefour at Christmas. Probably why Saudi hate us so much.

Sorry can I ask again as I can’t seem to see an answer to my question...in a world that desperately needs kindness, courage, charity, fairness, justice, and generally looking after other people, why do you think God has any interest in what people wear? Clothes don’t seem to me to be very morally significant, why is God som8nterested in them?

Immigrant so what are you doing about defending the rights of all these oppressed people?

Apart from attempting to oppress Muslim women in England who freely choose to excercise the exact same rights you have? Which does not in any way change the conditions of someone being orpessed in Iran.

sorry booboo overlooked your original question. Muslims beleive that Allah has a vast understanding of the world, and so would not judge something to be a small matter just because it seems so from our perspective. However, the majority of rulings is Islam relate to your list, 'kindness, charity etc' - the hijab has become the focus of a lot of discussion, maybe because it is so visible.

Fuzzy I am not obliged to explain anything about myself. The fact you have turned a valid question I asked of the Op and you as Muslims shows you have no ability to actually answer anything without deflection. Typical! Can you answer why proselytism is banned in Islam? What are the officials so scared of when your most loved prophet was a master of proselytism? Under threat of knife may I add?

And needless to say I have not oppressed anyone fuzzy. But I can't help wonder how fragile you are when my asking genuine questions and debating things makes you feel attacked and oppressed? I am debating several issues and have serious concerns, but I have not oppressed anyone. What has happened in your life to make you so defensive and fragile to simple curiosity and open debate?

Immigrantsong the OP and fuzzy are not interested in an honest and open debate. They have no argument when faced with numerous examples of oppression and rigid rules and regulations under the name of Islam. They don’t spare a thought for the millions of women and people of different faiths (we haven’t even touched upon LGBT!) living in countries where adherence to Islamic regulations are given more importance than humanity, fairness, kindness and respect. It’s all good, as long as they get to wear a headscarf and feel superior to the feckless faithless.

Thanks that’s very helpful. So faith is truly blind, it follows even utterly incomprehensible things unquestioningly. I don’t mean to be rude but given how many times religious texts have been transcribed what if there was a typo?

What does Islam think about the LGBT community?

I’ve read that Muhammad married a child and consummated the marriage when she was 9/10 and he was in his 50s - is this true or a myth?

Well this turned out well...was there similar bullying on the Jewish AMA? Because I fins some of that peculiar but I don't think it's any of my business. Women who aren't allowed to drop.off at certain schools etc. Why is it always Muslims who are subjected to a free for all when many other religions are not exactly modern?

JJS888 She said ask her anything, I don’t think anyone has been bulling towards her at all.

JJS888 That’s awful about the baby. I don’t belive that most would do that though, surely?

I have a question. You said that nowhere states a baby should wear one, but where does it state a woman should? I’m not religious in anyway so am genuinely asking as I don’t know. If it’s not a problem not to wear one then why are you going to tell any daughters of yours that it is? You said you will tell them it’s obligatory, but then say they don’t have to? So why tell your girls, if you have any, that they should wear it if they actually don’t need to?

Those of you demanding the OP answers for repressive middle eastern regimes, do you also insist that your local C of E vicar justifies what the US right wing gets up to in the name of God?

Are Muslim officials so scared no one will remain Muslim if given the chance

I wonder how many people are counted as Muslim who have either converted or just stopped practising and who's children are counted as Muslim even though they have never been in a Mosque and follow either nothing or another religion.

Do you think that the number of Muslims in the world is overstated.