Andrews University is a private, Seventh-Day Adventist University that prides itself on being one of the “most culturally diverse universities in the nation,” according to the U.S. News and World Report. I attended Andrews University as an undergraduate and graduate student, and was later employed there as a full-time faculty…
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I recently had the opportunity to interview Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah, Chairman of the Board & Scholar-in-Residence at the Nawawi Foundation, a non-profit educational foundation based in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Abd-Allah offered me his insights into the growing phenomenon of Muslim women taking off their headscarves. The first part of the four-part interview can be read here, the second part of the interview can be read here, and the third part of the interview can be read here. The fourth and final part of the interview follows:
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Image: Powerhouse Museum This article was written in response to the “Why cover your head when you expose your body?” by Shahful Shaffiq. Today I read an article shared over 20,000 times on social media that shamed Muslim women for not wearing the hijab correctly. To me, this highlighted that thousands of…
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Just last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a hijabi job applicant in a case against Abercrombie & Fitch. The case is one in a line of cases where women in hijab deal with workplace discrimination – one of many problems facing American Muslims in the aftermath…
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A quick look at social and traditional media over the last 24 hours and you wouldn’t be faulted for thinking that one of the most important events that occurred this week wasn’t the Ukrainian war intensifying with a deadly attack on civilians in a government-held city, but that Michelle Obama,…
Read MoreIn the end, the point isn’t about how much of a difference the hijab makes – the point is, rather, that perhaps we’re using the wrong litmus test when defining our religious obligations. An Islamic mandate to wear the hijab need not be legitimated by cultural, sociological proofs; rather, we submit to God’s commands because He commanded us to do so.
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After a brief, identity-driven swell in the number of hijab wearers, there now appears to be a decline. Why did women who spent years, or decades, in hijab decide to dehijabize? What is it that women feel must be fulfilled in life without the hijab that is apparently missing while wearing it?
Read MoreSome social scientific studies, such as a recent study by well-known Princeton psychologist, Dr. Susan Fiske, have been misleadingly used to promote the use of the hijab. Misrepresenting these studies – acknowledged by their authors to require further investigation – does little to serve such a cause, nor does it fairly portray the reality of Muslims (and non-Muslims) who choose to dress without it.
Read MoreEvery day, issues related to gender intersect with our society, politics, economics, and culture. Altmuslimah is your source for up-to-date news and commentary on these critical intersections. Here are our news briefs for the week of March 9, 2009.
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