Is wearing a headscarf somehow insulting to muslims?

[BrittaPerry]

Sorry if this comes out wrong.

Quite often in extremes of weather (both hot and cold) I feel more comfortable with my head covered. In fact, I have been known to do it in private anyway. I suppose it is to o with me being a bit weird with sensory stuff and it making me feel secure, but I also think it looks nice (I have some lovely scarves, but I suppose I do tend to buy them in quite asian areas). I also cover my hair when baking and just leave it on. Sometimes it is a hippy style, sometimes it is wrapped round my neck abd covering my hair completely, sometimes just kind of loosely draped on my head and shoulders.

I also quite often wear long flowing dark clothes, mostly because I find them more practical - nobody wants to see random bits of my flesh poking out when I bend over to help the kids.

A couple of people have said I sometimes look Islamic, or like some kind of russian peasant or Amish. Some people have assumed it is some kind of political statement to look traditional Russian.

I honestly don't do this on purpose - sometimes I wear miniskirts and doc martens.

I'm just a bit worried that this is a kind of 'badge' of Islam for many people, and I would hate to offend anyone.

AIBU?

You mean crucifixes, ten a penny round here. I don't think St Christopher is an actual Saint anymore, but I know people who wear the medal to keep them safe ie firefighters, police etc. It was the done thing when I was about 18 to give your boyfriend a St Christophers medal for your first Christmas together.

Which Church, certainly not the Catholic one!!!!!

I'm pretty left wing. I know quite a few people who are very very keen on Lenin, Trotsky etc, and see the russian peasant (as a concept) as a very good thing.

I am starting to think I maybe know more extremists than most people.

Britta you are living proof of the damage some evangelical churches can do - as can any OTT branch of any religious movement - (and yes I am thinking Taliban here).

Step back, get a grip and BREATHE...

And be part of the liberal consensus like (most) of the rest of us.

I really wouldn't worry about offending anyone. Carry on wearing your scarf :)

FWIW my mum used to HATE it when I wore a cross when I went through my grungy phase as a teenager. She told me it was insulting. So did my brothers/father and Grandparents! None of my family are religious either.

I didn't say Catholic. The church is evangelical, with a very american slant (speaking in tongues, healing, etc)

wiggles Catholic US Latinos get the St Christopher very often for their baptism, also.

Agree Imperial

I'm pretty left wing too. Also a speaker of Russian, teacher of Russian, married to a Russian, used to live in Russia, visit Russia frequently. And I don't know of anyone anywhere who wears a headscarf as some sort of political statement to indicate an affinity for Lenin or Trotsky. BTW, those two probably would not have been mad keen on being associated with anything "traditional."

Ok, breathing :-)

I just know that many people I know will use muslim traditional greetings to people who look muslim and I know that the church I used to attend got really offended by people wearing crosses. So I put 2 and 2 together and got 5.

I get very anxious about people judging the way I dress however I dress anyway.

If you feel comfortable and like wearing a scarf dont let it bother you what other people think.

You can wear what you like.

This lady does:

Sorry, I have to ask. "They see the Russian peasant (as a concept) as a very good thing." What does that mean?

Kitchen - I know the extreme left friends are getting it wrong (eg one of them said his 'opiate' was fighting for the revolution, and accused me of not understanding Marx when I pointed out that 'opiate of the masses' is not a good thing ). I am Labour/Fabian moderate, I'm just surrounded by extremists, it would seem :-)

you have your style in dress and you are going to dress that way anyway, so best to try and find a way to not care so much how people react to you. What is the worst that can happen here? That someone mistakes you for a Muslim and greets you in Arabic or uses some Islamic form of address, as you wrote further down? I think you can cope with that. You can just say, sorry I don't speak Arabic. Or just respond to the greeting in English, just say good morning or hello in reply. It is polite and they know where they are. That is all you have to do IMO

Brita, I can say most people are too self involved to spend time judging your dress sense. Wear scarf, wear our cross, and for heavens sake, wear your knickers..

Gah, wear your scarf and your cross..

Perhaps you could sidestep the whle issue by wearing the plastic see-through style favoured by pensioners. Your head is covered but you can still see your hair, so nobody thinks you are doing it for religous reasons .

Really, I think YANBU, and over thinking it a little. I like the sound of your style, it sounds like the sort of thing I'd like to wear if I weren't short and dumpy. I suspect you are the willowy, floaty type and I'm slightly jealous.

Its definitely not disrespectful to muslims, headscarves are worn by all types of people and various religions including christians. When my DD went on a school trip to a mosque they all covered their hair with a headscarf out of respect which I would say proves the opposite really

I've been mistaken for Spanish, Italian, Kosovan and Greek in my life time...despite the fact I have Irish parents

A couple of years ago (and I shit you not) I was walking back from dropping my DS at school, when a strange lady stopped her car in the middle of the road...got out and said something in a foreign language.

I looked at her blankly and she said, "Sorry I thought you were Kosovan and I wanted to ask you if you knew of any social groups in the area"?!

I said "No, I'm English" and we both had a good giggle.

The only embarrassment was on her part for being mad enough to stop a car in the middle of the road and approach a complete stranger

Thanks for the explanation, Brita. It does sound as though your friends have got it all spectacularly wrong.

Wear your headscarf and don't worry about other people's odd reactions. :)

Freddie, I already have my favourite bon marche cardi, often wear flowery pinnies around the house (and not the cool kind) and use a shopping trolley when I go to the market on the bus. I don't need any more old lady accessories . (Plus I tried one and it made my head sweaty)

Worra I also have this generic Mediterranean and Latin American look, people from two dozen countries could swear I am one of them!!!!!

I get asked if we are Catholic when people hear dd1s name. Tbf, we sponsored a catholic family in Latin America for a while and all the girls had various very similar names, and our surname is Irish, so I can see why they think that.