KARIMA OMAR on HIJAB

"Tell the believing men to subdue their eyes and keep chaste; this is purer for them. God is fully cognizant of whatever they do. And tell the believing women to subdue their eyes and keep chaste, and not to reveal their beauty, except that which is necessary, and to cover their chests...." [24:31]

I have also re-examined the issue of hijab. This was another careful and painstaking process and, after 5 years or dressing like everything from a nun to the Grim Reaper to a chemotherapy patient (pharmacists always looked at me with such pity, assuming that I was bald under my' scarf!), have stopped imposing man made restrictions on myself. It feels so good simply to follow the commands for general modesty and actually, I feel more modest-more Islamic-without a scarf than with It.

However, I have been rather cowardly in "coming out of the closet" on this issue. Although I stopped wearing a scarf several

months ago, I hadn't appeared at any large Muslim gatherings-until my official "coming out" recently. Ya Allah! What an experience! All In all, it went better than I thought, although at first I was ready to hotfoot it out of there. Those who knew me had never seen me sans scarf - and of course, didn't recognize me at first! (I noticed that many were scrutinizing my scalp to see if I were a natural blond!) Although I had to explain and argue a bit, there were several other uncovered women there, women who had been through similar experiences and had come to the same conclusion regarding the ayat on general modesty.

At one point, I almost chickened out. I had brought a scarf along for prayer (I know, that's not required, but I didn't want to cause a scene amongst the poor souls who would deem it necessary and may have feared that their own prayers would be invalidated by the sight of my hair!) and the organizer (who is/was a good friend of mine) said he'd prefer if I wore it - all night.

I actually started to, but was checked by an encouraging look from my husband-which of course led to rumors that my new spouse had forced me to run amuck "scarfless"! Needless to say, I did a lot of explaining that night, but it was good - you see, I have some skeletons in my Islamic closet in the form of ghastly articles I wrote in favor of hijab, in a galaxy far far away, so, they had come back to haunt me!

I think one of the saddest things about these culturally imposed cloth prisons is the fact that so many women view hijab as a goal to be attained - I can't stand to hear them say, "I'm not ready for it," as if they were talking about a higher state of consciousness (or unconsciousness, rather!). Anyway, I finally feel comfortable, al hamdulillah, and, contrary to the propaganda of the "fossilized" ulema (I love that term!), my uncovered head hasn't caused pandemoneum or riots in the streets (alas, I don't think any of us is that beautiful!)

INTERNATIONAL  CONFERENCE OF  THE  UNITED  ISLAMIC  NATION

CONFERENCE DATE: SEPTEMBER 2, 3, & 4, 1988 MUHARRAM 21, 22 & 23

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CONFERENCE FEES:  Individual   $76.00                     Family         $95.00