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-Raghad Hamdi, Copyright, Ihsan Education, 2025. All Rights Reserved.
(This article is written in honor of the Afzaal Family, a Muslim family of four, who were killed in an Islamophobic terrorist attack on June 6, 2021 in London Ontario during an evening walk. One of the family members in this attack was Madiha Salman, a Muslim woman who wore the hijab (headscarf). Muslim women wearing the hijab continue to be targeted in hate crimes.) The hijab continues to become highly politicized due to world events, banned in some areas for government workers, including Quebec, as well as a target of Islamophobic acts due to its visibility. Yet, I consciously choose to continue to wear the hijab as a part of my faith journey, as an exercise of my rights as a citizen, and as a form of resistance to systemic oppression and gendered Islamophobia. As a Muslim woman raised in North America, when I consciously decided to wear the hijab over 25 years ago, it was and still remains a decision based on my faith journey and an expression of my identity. It was not by force or as a result of oppression based on faith. On the contrary, it was based on freedom of choice and the empowerment to have conviction in my faith and an expression of the love of God in my life. I understand the experiences of all women wearing the hijab are not uniform as there are several factors at play including politics, culture, country of residence, etc. I have appreciation and respect for the many challenges which women, especially women from visible minority backgrounds, endure and hope they will continue to thrive. In my experience, the decision to wear the hijab continues to allow me to take my power back, exercise my rights to freedom of thought, belief, and religion, and counteract body and systemic oppression. Dr. Sydney Spear, a former faculty member at University of Kansas and current director of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging at the Center for Mindful Self-compassion, explains body oppression. Through her work on cross-cultural, anti-oppression and racial identity issues, she states that the body is a focal source of systemic oppression because it is at the core of our identity, including our cultural identity. Therefore, depending on our bodies, and visible features, which can be tied to our culture, we may increasingly experience racism, sexism, ableism, etc. as a result of power dynamics and systemic oppression. People with different bodies who do not fit the ‘dominant norm’ are pressured to assimilate in order to feel worthy enough or a sense of belonging. So in my experience, the decision to wear the hijab enables me to take power back over my identity, my body, and my rights to freedom of religion. It enables me to resist gendered Islamophobia, which Dr. Jasmine Zine, professor of Sociology and the Muslim Studies Option at Wilfrid Laurier University and author of “Under Siege: Islamophobia and the 9/11 Generation” explains. She states gendered Islamophobia is “a specific form of discrimination targeted towards Muslim women rooted in colonial histories”. So my experience of the hijab empowers me to reclaim my own narrative. Everyday, instead of caving into fear and hate, I choose courage and I choose love. The courage to be who I choose to be and to resist oppression and to prioritize the love for God, for humanity, and for myself.
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-By Raghad Hamdi, Copyright, Ihsan Education, 2025. All Rights Reserved.
Our inherent dignity and self-worth as human beings is not dictated by any other human being’s limited and biased views about our identity or our causes. Our dignity is not dictated by any influencer, celebrity, politician, or other human being. It is endowed to us by the Creator of the heavens and the earth, as stated in the Quran: “Indeed, We have dignified the children of Adam, carried them on land and sea, granted them good and lawful provisions, and privileged them far above many of Our creatures.” (17:70). Nobody can take that dignity away from you. We are indeed witnessing a time where truth is mixed with falsehood and the truth is concealed as we are told in Quran 2:42: “And do not mix the truth with falsehood or conceal the truth while you know [it]”. Knowing this, we need to understand that validating our narrative or our truth is not left up to society’s whims and desires. The narrative of striving for justice and ihsan (moral excellence and grace) is first and foremost acknowledged and validated by God, The All-Knowing, All-Encompassing, several times in the Quran, including (90:16): "Indeed, Allah commands justice and grace....". This narrative of seeking justice while also maintaining the highest moral and ethical standards holds true for us even when it seems like the majority fail to see it as stated in Quran 21:24: “... But most of them do not know the truth, so they turn away”. As a human being, you have dignity, you have a voice, and you have agency. You have hope, you have willpower, and you have the ability to take daily and incremental positive actions to build a better future. Whether those positive actions are through your exceling and striving for ihsan (moral and spiritual excellence) in your schooling, work, community involvement and education, parenting, advocacy, volunteerism, and service. You can have the hope of a better future - one where justice, moral excellence and peace reaches all. Don’t let this life’s tragedies break you - hold on to the firmest, unbreakable hand hold of belief in God (Quran 2:256). |
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