Niqaab

[Beardo]

Sooo, I had an interesting encounter with a Niqaabi today. Most Niqabis I see usually avoid eye contact and act as if they have a 10 ft restraining order. But that's fine. I respect them for what they do, all jokes aside.

Today, I met a Niqabi who was handling a booth. And SubhanAllah, it was just so interesting. I kept coming by the booth to see which thobes I wanted to buy before I left, and she's saying, "We have more sizes here, too, by the way."

And I was like, "Oh no, I'm just showing my friend."

And then she jokingly said, "Oh, okay, so you're just going to keep coming back here."

And then she asked me for my business card packet etc. And she didn't hesitate, is what I am trying to say.

Her husband knows me well, since he was my former editor for a paper I used to write for. But yeah.

Interesting experience. And dare I tell you guys, this is the type of personality that flourishes, you know what I mean? It gives a decent impression on Islam.

I don't know, I may be wrong...

[Reflections]

AsSalaamu '3alaykum,

So all sisters who observe niqaab, they should have the same sort of approach as this sister?..less of the keeping distance and lowering eyes business? I don't like the way people seem to always keep a close eye on how niqaabis are, the way they walk, talk,socialise and so forth. Give them a break..they're just as human as everyone else.

We're all different in our own ways, some sisters are more sociable, others hesitant...I am not pointing this post at you brother beardo..just saying what's on my mind.

[aadil77]

everyone is different, if she was dealing with you in a professional and islamic manner due to her business then nothing wrong with that

[Just_A_Girl13]

Salam brother,

What an interesting experience! I quite agree, I think it's nice when non-Muslims get a chance to see that Muslims are just like them and we are all brothers and sisters. At least in my experience, I think it helps to break stereotypes and makes people less afraid to approach us hijabis and niqaabis.

Peace be with you :)

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[Who Am I?]

Salam brother,

What an interesting experience! I quite agree, I think it's nice when non-Muslims get a chance to see that Muslims are just like them and we are all brothers and sisters. At least in my experience, I think it helps to break stereotypes and makes people less afraid to approach us hijabis and niqaabis.

Peace be with you :)

This.

As a Western Christian, I myself was duped by the Western media. "Islam oppresses women. See how they make them cover their beauty up?"

Of course, since joining this board, I have learned otherwise.

[ardianto]

This.

As a Western Christian, I myself was duped by the Western media. "Islam oppresses women. See how they make them cover their beauty up?"

Of course, since joining this board, I have learned otherwise.

Dear Just A Guy,

I am a Muslim since I was born, and I joined on Islamicboard since November 2008. But in the past I believed if niqaab is a symbol of oppression until ....................... the middle of 2010. :D

My eyes started to opened after I know closer Muslims from community in Indonesia which their women wear niqaab. I was so surprised when I knew those women are high educated women. One of them is my high school mate. They are not oppressed, and many of them came from families which other women in the families wear not niqaab, but only hijab. It's means their families did not force them to wear niqaab.

They do not work outside. However, some of them have their own business that managed from homes. Some of them started to wear niqaab after they married, including my school mate. But not because their husband force them. Those husbands had tell in their marriage proposal, if those women accept them as their husband, they must wear niqaab, and they accepted this condition. Actually not every woman accept it. I know a woman who refused a marriage proposal because she didn't wants to wear niqaab.

[Who Am I?]

From what I have gathered by being on this forum, the hijab/niqaab is a matter of security and confidence for women and not a symbol of oppression.

[Alpha Dude]

And dare I tell you guys, this is the type of personality that flourishes, you know what I mean? It gives a decent impression on Islam.

How do you define flourish? A muslimah wearing niqab who is bashful around men can give just as good an impression on Islam. It depends on the nature of the one she is talking to. If it's a guy who has never seen modesty before and sees her behave in this manner, he'd be impressed. If it's a guy who sees modesty as being a sign of weakness, he'd be more impressed by the talkative one. It's all relative.

I came across this today. It's kind of funny, but raises some true points. Fits in with what some of the posters were saying about people being of different temperaments. Worth a read. People who talk without thinking (and this is just mentioned generally after having read that article, not in reference to the sister you talk about), in my humble opinion, need to take greater effort in watching their words. The tongue is a tool that can lead to many evils. It ought to be moderated.

[Beardo]

Well, she was running a business, as someone mentioned above. She didn't sit there and chitchat with me. But I told her to come by the Jannah Network Booth, and when she saw me walk by again, she said she didn't have the time to drop by so she asked if I could drop some fliers off or something instead. And it's just that there's a stereotype that Niqaabis are hidden in their own homes.

I'm not saying everyone should be like her, but it was a decent change. That's all. Even as a Muslim, I thought all Niqaabis were reserved. Which isn't a bad thing, once again.

[Who Am I?]

I am an introvert myself, so I can sort of relate to that aspect of this conversation. I used to have really bad anxiety issues about leaving the house and dealing with people in public. Whenever I did go out, I felt like people were staring at me and it made me feel uncomfortable. Part of the problem was that I had no confidence in myself and that made me feel uncomfortable anyway.

I've gotten a lot better about this over the years, but I still have my moments of insecurity and doubt.

[S_87]

i am not a shy person by nature but with niqab i think i would be more 'friendly' with a non muslim man if that makes sense. with muslim men i wouldnt really make jokes etc as there is that level of 'respect' thats always there.

[May Ayob]

i am not a shy person by nature but with niqab i think i would be more 'friendly' with a non muslim man if that makes sense.

Salaam sister :)

Well i dont know if that makes sense , but if i were you the last thing i would want to do is be friendly with a non-muslim man for several many reason , one is that i dont really trust them and me being friendly with them kind of makes me feel like i'm giving them the green card to treat me like any normal girl they met before , and because they dont really have any type of adherence to things like lowering your gaze and being modest. also an interesting thing is that when i was in highschool which is not very long ago , the grade11th media class posted some study based on a survey they made in Canada - Ottawa about women and rape guess what the study said that 60% of men that is 6 out of 10 men have no problem with raping a woman if they had the chance to and if they got away with :o thats shocking where did all the women's rights and respect mask go ?

to be honest i wouldnt be interested in being friendly with both Muslim and Non muslim, Most men are not very trust worthy thats why its better not to care about them at all except if they are you family members and things like that - i hope what i said made sense

Salaam

[S_87]

Salaam sister :)

Well i dont know if that makes sense , but if i were you the last thing i would want to do is be friendly with a non-muslim man for several many reason , one is that i dont really trust them and me being friendly with them kind of makes me feel like i'm giving them the green card to treat me like any normal girl they met before , and because they dont really have any type of adherence to things like lowering your gaze and being modest. also an interesting thing is that when i was in highschool which is not very long ago , the grade11th media class posted some study based on a survey they made in Canada - Ottawa about women and rape guess what the study said that 60% of men that is 6 out of 10 men have no problem with raping a woman if they had the chance to and if they got away with :o thats shocking where did all the women's rights and respect mask go ?

to be honest i wouldnt be interested in being friendly with both Muslim and Non muslim, Most men are not very trust worthy thats why its better not to care about them at all except if they are you family members and things like that - i hope what i said made sense

Salaam

i dont mean friendly in that way :p

[May Ayob]

i dont mean friendly in that way

Salaam sis ,
No i understand , you mean as in being good behaved and polite so as to give a good impression about Islam. Don't worry. :)