Senior Katie Yates, 18, left, and junior Hannah Fuller, 16, students at Manlius Pebble Hill High School in DeWitt, N.Y., wear hijab scarves in a grocery store as a part of an exercise in an 'Introduction to Islam' class. (Photo by Michelle Gabel)
Posted on 05/09/2008 10:04:16 AM PDT by Incorrigible
Senior Katie Yates, 18, left, and junior Hannah Fuller, 16, students at Manlius Pebble Hill High School in DeWitt, N.Y., wear hijab scarves in a grocery store as a part of an exercise in an 'Introduction to Islam' class. (Photo by Michelle Gabel) |
|
DEWITT, N.Y. — Manlius Pebble Hill teacher Haleh Seraji explained to her students studying Islam about her personal decision not to wear the hijab, telling them she thinks it identifies her instantly as a Muslim woman and could subject her to harassment.
Born in Iran, Seraji came to the United States at 16 and grew up here, so she didn't feel comfortable wearing the hijab, the Islamic head scarf. She explained she believes the Quran doesn't require women wear the hijab; each can make the choice.
When students questioned her decision, she suggested they might want to get a taste of what life would be like for a Muslim woman by wearing a hijab.
Seraji said she knew the experiment would only give students a small glimpse into what life might be like for women who wear the hijab, but she thought it could help deepen their understanding.
Six of Seraji's female students wore the hijab for a week recently, then reported back to the class. The girls wore the hijab to school every day, to a shopping mall, grocery, feed store, department store and dance studio.
"We wanted to experiment and see how we felt wearing the hijab," said senior Katie Yates. "We wanted to see if it felt oppressive, and we wanted to see how others would react, and if they would treat us differently."
Rather than feel oppressed, the girls said they felt more confident wearing it. They also found people to be curious and wary, but generally accepting.
"I felt more confident and more feminine wearing it," Yates said. "I thought other people would treat me differently, but they really didn't. I thought more people would stare at me."
Junior Hannah Fuller said she got a few strange looks at a local mall. But wearing the hijab prompted discussion among her friends, who didn't understand why Islamic women wear it.
"I found out it means people have to take you at face value," she said.
According to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center, 53 percent of Muslims living in America said it has become more difficult to be a Muslim in America since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Fifty-one percent said they are "very worried" or "somewhat worried" that women wearing the hijab are treated poorly, according to the poll.
One girl said her mother wouldn't let her wear the hijab in public outside of school because she's not Muslim and she thought it might offend other Muslims.
Seraji said she didn't worry that Muslims would be offended by the class experiment because the faith encourages its followers to pray in other churches and unite with those of other faiths.
Magda Bayoumi, of Syracuse, a Muslim and member of the Central New York Islamic Society, spoke to the class about how she feels wearing the hijab.
Bayoumi said she finds people will stare at her hijab at a meeting rather than listen to her ideas, and that can be frustrating.
(Elizabeth Doran is a staff writer for The Post-Standard of Syracuse, N.Y. She can be contacted at edoran(at)syracuse.com.)
Not for commercial use. For educational and discussion purposes only.
And if the teacher recommended the girls follow their Christian faith (assumed) more closely and remained chaste and performed acts of charity would she still have a job?
Interesting that the students found there was no discrimination while wearing the hijab but both of the Islamic women were concerned about it and felt they would be demeaned in some way.
That leads me to ask if it's the hijab that makes you paranoid or Islam?
If they feel more ‘feminine’ wearing the scarves then they clearly do not understand Islamic law.
But what the hey....the sand washes out.
>> “I thought other people would treat me differently, but they really didn’t.”
Americans generally will only treat you differently if your Hijab is ticking — otherwise, wear whatever floats your boat.
H
Heads will roll.
"Introduction to Islam"
Oh just peachy. Tax dollars at "work."
Yeah, Katie, that hijab goes well with the knee-length skirt.
Moron.
studying a religion in public school? WTF?
The answer to your questions regarding a Christian teacher’s exhortation to chastity and charity is probably “yes.”
Barring the headscarf, the girls are obviously American in dress, manner and language. People were probably curious about why any American girl would be so foolish.
>> “Introduction to Islam”
>>Oh just peachy. Tax dollars at “work.”
A quick web search shows that it’s a private school, not public. And they do also offer Christian-themed coursework.
She looks like she’s wearing a minnie mouse costume without ears.
Odds are good that your grandmothers wore scarves.
That didn't turn them into Moslems.
Odds are good that your grandmothers wore scarves.
That didn't turn them into Moslems.
When I see them in public I always look for wires.
I see enslaved Muslim women wearing headscarves in my local supermarket and neighborhood on an every day basis. No one bothers them. There is no harassment. In the days after the 9/11 attacks, Muslims went about their business without being harmed in any way. If radical Christians had declared holy war on the Muslim world and flew planes into buildings in Saudi Arabia, how would Christians in Muslim societies have been treated? They would have been slaughtered on the streets by “tolerant” Muslims.
LOL - not a bad idea.
Look for that disproportionate top-heavy look as well.
Truth be told!
Silly young females. They, 1) don’t know what “feminine” is, given that it is not even definable. 2) They feel better because they are getting more ATTENTION, which is something all teenage girls crave; like breathing air.
Well put, and quite true. This experiment was quite flawed, but I think the teacher was trying to teach something in good faith: ie, why she is here (US) and not over “there”.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.