VEILED: PERSPECTIVES
Noor knew she would eventually start wearing the headscarf. She officially started
covering at the beginning of the school year during the 8th grade. She decided to wait
for the new school year as it was her way of a fresh start. Her mom subtly encouraged
the hijab and eventually Noor grew serene to the idea of covering her head. Previously,
she would always wear a loose scarf around her neck.
It becomes emotionally draining for Noor to constantly hear about how Muslims are
viewed in media through the popular Orientalist perspective. All it’s doing is creative
a barrier between people and a mass delivery of misguided information. You can’t
always know the basis on which people treat you. Unless someone says directly why
they are doing or thinking something, it’s difficult to know where that person is
coming from or what their motives are.
“If opinions were made clear, it would in a way be easier because then you can address those thoughts and tell
them the truth.”
Being a visible Muslim, you experience a lot of ignorant opinions and comments,
either directly or indirectly. Exposure is so important in these topics. A lot of people
are worried to ask about the veil and Islam becuase they feel they will say something
offensive. Majority of people would rather you ask them about things you are interested in or uncertain of rather than making your own presumptions based off what
you gather through open sources such as the internet. The online world is filled with
information, but not all of that information is correct. So long as you are aware of
what you are asking and have a genuine interest, even if offensive, majority of people
would rather they provide you insight of their thoughts and choices over having negative
presumption made about them.