How it feels to be an outsider

Here's another article a friend of mine sent to me about a Non-Muslim trying to figure out what it's like for Muslim women. This one is from Australia. It's interesting to see how people's opinions begin to change once they actually know what it feels like. Insha'Allah more people will begin to open their minds and go in search of real truth instead of blindly believing all that they are told. In these times when things are becoming increasingly difficult for Muslim women May Allah give all Muslims strength Insha'Allah.

This reminds me of a lecture by Sheikh Khalid Yasin entitled 'The strangers', if you haven't seen it you should check it out, its availabale for free download on http://www.kalamullah.com/. Alhamdulila this is a beautiful lecture which talks about how Muslims are different and this woman referring to Muslims as "outsiders" just reminded me of that.
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How it feels to be an outsider

By LOUISE PEMBLE
13nov05

TO walk around Perth dressed as a Muslim is to be treated as an outsider in your own town.In a week of allegations that Muslims were plotting a terrorist attack in Australia, I donned full Islamic garb and walked through the city to gauge public reaction.

Would people see me as a harmless shopper, or would they suspect I was hiding a bomb under my clothes?

My mission was to test tolerance towards Muslims by dressing as one for the day. I had the full support of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, whose president, Ameer Ali, viewed it as a chance to highlight some of the issues faced by Australia's Muslims. I visited shops and cafes in Forrest Chase, Northbridge and Hay St Mall, before catching a bus and train. I was surprised at how accepting younger people were, suggesting that Perth may be able to shrug off racism. But I wasn't prepared for the hostility from older Australians. The first cheap shot came from an elderly woman walking through Forrest Chase. "Stupid woman," she hissed at her mate as they passed me. Later, as I was waiting at the crosswalk outside Perth railway station, a woman in her 60s saw me standing beside her and said to her companion: "Move away from the bomber."

With the help of Perth's Muslim community, I was fitted in black trousers, a long black dress called an abaya, a headscarf (hijab) and a facepiece (niqab). My eyes were the only visible part of my body. I chose the facepiece because I wanted to test its impact on others, but my Muslim adviser told me it was up to individuals to decide whether they wore just a headscarf or covered their entire face. My senses were on high alert the minute I stepped out of The Sunday Times building. Most people did a double take on seeing me and then either gave me a hostile stare or – in the case of several young women – smiled encouragingly. It soon became obvious that many people thought I was dressed this way as an act of defiance. In their view, I was snubbing my nose at the anti-Muslim feeling said to be running high in the Australian community. I had heard of Muslim women being spat at and abused. One woman even had her headscarf torn from her head at Carousel Shopping Centre. In the morning, I was accompanied by a Muslim woman wearing the headscarf, but not the facepiece that I wore. In our two hours of walking around the city we were twice subjected to vilification. "Imagine how this must affect you if it happened every time you left your house," she said. It was then I realised how much we take for granted our right to feel safe in our own community and how people take only seconds to decide if you are friend or enemy. But for every snide remark and hostile stare, I was surprised by the extra respect I was shown by young men and women. Every shopkeeper I approached was much more polite than I had experienced when dressed in my usual clothes. And on a train, where I feared I might be regarded as a suicide bomber, I was twice offered a seat. It was a similar story on a bus, which was standing room only. By this stage I had removed the niqab so that my face was showing – but nothing else. This seemed to ease some of the tension I had sensed earlier in the day.

Back at the office, workmates asked me how uncomfortable I had been walking around Perth in my Muslim clothes.

The icy stares on the street had forced me for the first time in my life to be wary of anyone who came near me.

Of all the garments I wore, the facepiece caused the most discomfort. With it positioned just under my eyes, I found it difficult to look straight down. It also made drinking a juice in a city cafe a challenge. On the plus side, I found being hidden under all those garments surprisingly liberating. For the first time I was able to walk down the street without the usual scrutiny of my figure, face and hair. (emphasis added by Zarina) On the downside, dressing as a Muslim woman showed me how it feels to leave home every day unsure of your own safety.

The Story Of A Finnish Journalist Experimenting With The Veil

Someone sent this story to me as an e-mail and I decided to post it here because it is so relevant and very interesting. Just goes to show that if people truly find out for themselves what its like to wear the niqab and abaya, their perceptions will not be so negative and they will gain a proper understanding. May Allah Almighty guide us all towards the real truth. Insha'Allah

Jamadi-ul-Awwal 28, 1431 A.H, Thursday, May 13, 2010

The sight of a woman wearing an entirely black abaya dress complete with its veil became the center of attention in the Itäkeskus mall in Helsinki , the biggest city in Finland . No one knew that the person behind the niqab was not a true Muslim woman, but a journalist, a non-Muslim from the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper, one of the leading newspaper in the Scandinavian region.

The name of the journalist is Katja Kuokkanen. She purposely disguised herself as a Muslim woman because she wanted to feel herself how it is like to wear the Islamic clothing's complete with its veil in the midst of the society in Finland which is still foreign to Islam, how does it feel to be stared at with a strange and terrified gaze from the people around her.

Kuokkanen wrote about her experience and feelings during and after she put on the niqab.

This is what she wrote…

The black niqab made from chiffon material sometimes dropped and covered both of my eyes. At one time, I tripped and hit the shoulder of a guy in an ethnic goods store. The man gesticulated apologetically - in the usual slightly absent manner.

Then, he looked at me and realized that I am a woman dressed in a black abaya-niqab, the dress specific to Muslim women. Suddenly, the man nearly bowed and renewed the apology. I think he is an Arab, through the dialect when asking for the apology. I had never been regarded with such great respect before.

From the ethnic store, I headed for the Metro station. When I got onto an orange metro car, I received an unexpected reaction. A drunken man shouted to his three equally wasted friends in the crowded carriage:

“Hey, that is one hell of a sight!” the drunken man yelled.

Hearing that scream, the other passengers skillfully avoided looking at my veiled face. But suddenly a middle-aged woman said to me, “hey, you dropped your thing,” while giving me my hairpin that had dropped on the seat behind me. I could not say thank you to the woman as I could not decide whether I could speak Finnish and blow my cover.

Next, a young Somali girl who worked as a shopkeeper, helped me fix my veil. She said that it was unusual for a Muslim woman in Helsinki to wear the dress like I was wearing. The Somalian girl also said that she, as much as possible, tried to abstain from wearing an all black clothing. She considered the color black as dramatic, attracting a lot of attention. Cheerful multi-coloured scarves are better, she said, adding that in Finland Muslim women are allowed to decide themselves how much of their face they want to cover.

And at the Itäkeskus mall, I noticed many people staring at me with a strange or even frightened look. A young man with a can of cider in his hand loomed up from behind a column and almost spilled his drink in panic.

I began to get myself used to wearing the abaya and veil. I myself begin to get used to the garment. It was light and yet warm, though it was difficult to see properly from behind the veil sometimes.

Then, I decided to drop in to a flea market located in the car park on the roof of the adjacent Puhos mall. On the Turunlinnantie pedestrian crossing, I suddenly met an elderly Somali woman who says in a quiet voice: “As-Salamu Alaykum”, an Arabic greeting used by Muslims which means “Peace be upon you”. I was touched by her greeting. I do not usually have any contact with Muslim women. The same is repeated many times: Muslim women of different ages and from different ethnic origin wearing various styles of niqab greeted me using words that I do not understand at that time, but I eventually found out that the utterance consists a prayer for prosperity and safety.

Later on, another man was hanging out at the door of an ethnic store and shouting: “Hello! Hey! Wait!” I did not wait. I felt that a fully-covered Muslim woman would not respond to such a call as she always look after her honor very much.

Some hours later, I decided to take the Metro back into town, to the downtown Kamppi Center .

Usually I have to run away from eager cosmetologists or hair stylists who are badgering me with their sales pitch at the mall. Not this time. If you are wearing an abaya-niqab, you are left in peace.

Along the course, the journalist was reflecting on her experience throughout the day, on the reactions of the people towards the abaya and veil that she donned and she herself felt that wearing the abaya and veil was not as bad as many people think. She then without hesitation affirmed that wearing the abaya and veil, “is absolutely not bad at all. If you wear it you would feel peace.”

This story becomes an irony at a time when the European countries are racing towards banning the jilbab and niqab. Those who are imposing the restriction should be reading this story of the journalist from Helsinki , so that there should no policy of prohibiting the jilbab or niqab, which originally was imposed due to the Islamophobia attitude of the western society.

Submitted by a Mujahid

Theunjustmedia.com