Itto:

salam alaikoum sister brooke,
thank you for the post. I agree. and I am happy to wear hijab, alhamdulillah, as I feel much more pure, protected, respected, following Allah’s order, Muslim, feminine, fullfilling my duty… since I wear it.
xxx

Samira:

Assalamualaikum-
exactly! One of the great things about Bullock’s books is not only her thorough deconstructing of anti-hijab polemics (beginning by looking at how post-colonialism creates an inferiority complex that must always work its way towards Western supremacy) but also the way in which she shows the multiple perspectives on hijab from those who wear it.
I think my favorite recent treatment of the topic of hijab was in Ingrid Mattson’s The Story of the Qur’an. Why? Because it is short and sweet. She looks at the ayah in Suratul Nur and says quite succintly “those many Muslim men and women would come to dress modestly and many Muslim woman would wear some type of headcovering.”
So basic.

Br00ke:

Thanks for your comments!

Samira – I kind of doubt I will get to Mattson’t book too soon, so quote away I should probably read a good review of it at least. Colonial Fantasies by Meyda Yegenoglu is an excellent read. It named many things I have believed only viscerally–which is always nice and reassuring.
Love and Peace

Ginny:

Assalamu alaikum, it’s not only some Arabs who say that hijab is just an “arab thing”, I’ve also talked to many west african (mainly gambian) Muslims who will also tell you the same thing. “oh hijab is just what the arabs do, it’s not part of our culture” and really it isn’t. Not that you don’t have modest dress and all, but not as much covering as, well, perhaps in North Africa. I actually reember someone saying to me that “hijab was not condusive to our culture as traditionally women were out in the fields working and hijab just wouldn’t have been condusive to that kind of work”. Interesting…